This project involves the dissertation research of an anthropology student from Rutgers University, studying how participation by tribal people in conservation projects in Papua New Guinea affects people's identity. Using a controlled measure of participants and non-participants in the conservation project (the Crater Mountain Wildlife Management Area), the study will examine local ideas and understandings of what it means to be `modern`; local identity politics; and specific environmental actions and events. The hypothesis to be tested is that participation in certain practices (learning the regional Pidgin language, desiring an airstrip-there are no roads in the area, participating in a `revival` movement, and consideration of mining ventures) is tied to an image of `modernity` which has become part of local cultural identity. Methods include survey questionnaires to about 500 individuals in each of three villages impacted by the project, an open-ended questionnaire interview with about 300 persons from the set of villages, and general ethnographic participant observation. By documenting and analyzing the relationship between identity and participation in the conservation project in Papua New Guinea, the research will contribute to theories of conservation practice and to the contemporary ethnography of Melanesia. The project will advance our understanding of how development projects appear to local people who are most impacted by them. This knowledge will help conservation planners and politicians design projects that protect the environment while at the same time garner the understanding and support of local populations.
