Marine conservation in Vanuatu: Local conceptualisation and ‘assemblage’

This article deals with the local conceptualisation of ‘conservation’ in the village Siviri in Vanuatu where villagers have established and maintain a small marine conservation area. Looking at villagers’ motivations, the aim is to carve out the local conceptualisation and practice of ‘conservation’, to show what conservation is for the villagers. The theoretical framework is a combination of two approaches, namely ‘assemblage’ and ‘world-making’. Conservation in Siviri is ontologically different from the concept of conservation used in Vanuatu national policy. It can be regarded as a creative engagement of villagers with their environment(s) to preserve the specific world-making assemblage consisting of humans and marine life for future generations.