3 - Unnegotiable Stakeholders: Power Relations in the Process of an Indigenous Community's Self-Initiated Marine Protected Area Establishment in Taiwan

Etolan, the indigenous Amis community in southeast Taiwan, initiated a Marine Protection Area (MPA) project in 2020. The traditional leader convened a meeting to plan the establishment of an MPA. This initiative marks the first MPA project independently initiated by an indigenous community in Taiwan. Given the author's dual identity as a community member and a researcher of Amis indigenous traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), I was appointed to lead the project. I adopted the prevalent theory of coastal resource management, known as the social-ecological system (SES), in designing and planning the project. In terms of the ecological system, there were no significant issues, as substantial research data had already been accumulated. However, within the social system, following the principles of SES theory, the indigenous community needed to engage in consensus-building through communication with various stakeholders, starting from within and working from the grassroots. Yet, during this process, it became evident that certain stakeholders, especially local political figures and commercial fishing associations of Chinese Han settlers, regarded indigenous people as passive agents and were reluctant to negotiate with the indigenous community. Faced with this impasse, the indigenous community was compelled to engage in political power dynamics. The outcome remains uncertain, and it is unclear if the indigenous community will successfully establish an MPA and its management regulations based on the marine TEK of the Amis people. Therefore, this paper will focus on discussing the power relations between indigenous people and Chinese Han settlers, providing further insights into SES theory.