Impacts of modernisation on traditional food resource management and food security on Eauripik atoll, Federated States of Micronesia

This paper discusses the changes that are occurring in the management of food resources in a remote Pacific community due to modernising influences, such as the introduction of imported food and outboard motors as well as contemporary trends, such as emigration and greater population mobility. The paper focuses on several social circumstances observed during a seven month fieldwork period, many of which drive consumption of imported goods. Noting parallels to other isolated communities in the region, generalised observations are made and conclusions reached on the importance of understanding the social effects of ‘modernising’ projects for community food security.

Andrew ScourseEmail:

---

Andrew Scourse   read mathematics at Cambridge University where he developed an interest in social anthropology of remote communities. He took part in two expeditions to Micronesia in this period focussed on resource management and ethnomedicine. More recently Andrew has also spent time with indigenous communities in Ecuador, the Sakha Republic in Russia and the Republic of Congo, again with a focus on resource management. Corinne Wilkins   had recently completed a degree in geography at the University of Cambridge when the fieldwork was conducted. She has a long-standing interest in sustainable consumption and after several years in social and market research, now works for a small, research-lead consultancy which specialises in questions of sustainability from the level of individual and household behaviour through to local communities and strategic policy.