Relationship between traditional/local knowledge and scientific/technical knowledge: customary management systems in Samoa: a future for culture-based conservation

Abstract

In Samoa, the great majority of the population reside in and around coastal areas and have maintained a traditional way of life as subsistence farmer/fisher folk. Samoan culture and traditions are very strong and alive despite the conflicts between traditional and modern practices. The subsistence fishery continues to be crucially important to the majority of those living in rural areas.