Negotiating ethnic boundaries and resource use patterns in Loagan Bunut
2006
Egay, K. | R. Malong | D. Ngidang
This paper explores the various social mechanisms employed by the Iban, Penan and Berawan communities in defining their territorial domains with respect to resource utilisation in Loagan Bunut National Park (LBNP). As such, several issues were addressed, such as the social and political access that the Iban, Penan and Berawan communities possess to natural resources, and the cultural and economic conflicts that underlie their relationship. We argue that the modes of exploiting these natural resources are dictated by their own unique cultural practices according to their ethnic identities that span for more than a century. This assertion of ethnicity and cultural distinctiveness by each ethnic group has become even more pronounced with the establishment of the LBNP since 1990, which inevitably led to the conflict of interests regarding the management of natural resources in the area. In order to understand this conflict, it is imperative to identify the social mechanisms - i.e. inter-ethnic marriages, adoption practices, social interactions and language - that the Iban, Penan and Berawan communities use in order to negotiate their cultural boundaries in managing their resources in Loagan Bunut. The results from this study show that the social relations and management of resource use in the area have dramatically altered the power relations among the communities living along Sungai Tinjar Tengah. In conclusion, we argue that it is crucial that the LBNP authorities acknowledge these communities as the main catalyst of change in the area. Therefore, any proposed changes relating to resource use patterns in the area would directly affect the socio-political structures of the Iban, Penan and Berawan communities living within the fringes of LBNP. Unless these factors are recognised, the conflicts in relation to resource use between the three main ethnic groups in the area will never be solved.
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