It was early morning when an explosion ripped apart the silence. USS Mississinewa, an American WWII supply ship that had been sheltering at Ulithi Lagoon deep in the Pacific on a refueling mission, was hit by a Japanese torpedo. It only took an hour for the ship to sink, but the vessel's damaging legacy has lasted eight decades.
The communities of the isolated Ulithi atoll in Micronesia now live with the legacy of this World War II wreck contaminating their island chain’s reef, a changing climate undermining generations of traditional knowledge, and a host of introduced species and practices that disrupt a finely balanced ecosystem. This potent mix threatens to make life unsustainable. Many other communities across the Pacific face similar challenges.
But the 500-700 residents of Ulithi are fighting back.
Embracing traditional knowledge and working with invited scientists, the communities of Ulithi have been monitoring and measuring their ecosystem and plan to revitalize their people's traditional songs and stories.
This approach to simultaneously embrace traditional knowledge and modern science has required years of consultation and commitment. It represents a new paradigm for how Pacific communities can fight back against often-overwhelming problems without discarding their connection to culture and tradition.
Emblematic of many of the challenges in the Pacific region, the story of this community’s fight is one of hope, innovation, and a celebration of Indigenous marine stewardship.
