Human and historical ecology in Krisa, far northwest Papua New Guinea
Principal Investigator: Stefanie Klappa (now Belharte)
Project dates: 1996-2005
Funding: EU DG8
Partners: National Research Institute of Papua New Guinea
Aims: to explore and model past and present subsistence strategies and forms of land use in Krisa within their socio-cultural matrix, and to hypothesize their evolutionary trajectories.
Project Description
This on-going project commenced with my doctoral field research in Krisa Village (Sandaun Province of Papua New Guinea). This was both part of a multidisciplinary EU initiative for generating information on the livelihoods of populations in rainforest areas worldwide, and embedded into the research focus 'Conservation of Renewable Resources' at the National Research Institute of Papua New Guinea.
The project reached a preliminary conclusion with the completion of my doctoral thesis in 2005, in which I model local land use strategies and speculate on their evolutionary trajectories; correlate the model with scenarios reported from the tropics worldwide; and examine on this basis conventional notions of human–environment relations more generally.
I will continue the project through further publication, based on my PhD dissertation, and new field research to explore in particular the link between marriage practices and long-term migrations in the region.
Research Output
Klappa, S. 2005. Fallow Farming: Exploring subsistence in Krisa, far northwest Papua New Guinea, and beyond. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Kent.
Kocher Schmid, C., with J. Beu, C. Coiffier, C. Filer, R. Kameata, R. Kara, S. Klappa, O. Kortendick, A. Kuaso, I. Leklek, M. Maibala, H. Mandui, J. Mange, R. Mondol, W. Schiefenhövel, P. Sillitoe, V. Siuta Sam, F. Topni, S. Yoma. 2000. "Vanimo-Kilimeri, site of intensive interdisciplinary research," in
Les Peuples des Forêts Tropicales aujourd'hui/ Tropical Rainforest Peoples Today, vol. V: Melanesia. Edited by C. Kocher Schmid and R. F. Ellen, pp. 57-86. Brussels: Programme Avenir des Forêts Tropicales (APFT)/ Future of Rainforest Peoples.
Klappa, S. 1999. "Cultivating (for) Fallows," in
Cultivating Trees, vol. Issue 5,
People and Plants Handbook. Edited by G. Martin, A. L. Agama, and R. B. Leakey, pp. 4: WWF-UNESCO-Kew People and Plants Initiative.—Full-length article at
http://lucy.kent.ac.uk/Rainforest/frp-website/Publications/klappa/fallow_cult.html
Stefanie Belharte Home Page
