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Coral reefs of the Pacific Ocean, Marshall Island and Hawai'i

Misria

Roughly a third of the above-ground nuclear blasts in Earth’s history have taken place on the coral reefs of the Pacific Ocean. In my paper for this conference, I argue that the US approach to weapons testing at Bikini and Enewetak atolls in the Marshall Islands drew on a long tradition of scientific visitors treating such coral formations as though they were indistinguishable from one another. I also show how this logic was subverted when the displaced islanders of Enewetak atoll mounted a successful legal challenge in the early 1970s to a US Air Force plan to continue using the reef as a site for “cratering” experiments with conventional explosives. This act of local resistance forced scientists to abandon the older conceit that atolls were interchangeable, and instead to argue that the weapons testing had transformed Enewetak from a literal “control atoll” (during the initial US blasts at Bikini) into a unique artefact of forty-three nuclear detonations. It is apt to recall this episode here in Honolulu, not only because this archipelago has also been a site of resistance to weapons testing by the U.S. military but moreover because the specific coral-cratering experiments that were blocked at Enewetak ended up being pursued on the reef of Hawai‘i Island instead.

Sponsel, Alistar. 2023. "Coral reefs of the Pacific Ocean, Marshall Island (Bikini and Enewetak Atoll) and Hawai'i." In 4S Paraconference X EiJ: Building a Global Record, curated by Misria Shaik Ali, Kim Fortun, Phillip Baum and Prerna Srigyan. Annual Meeting of the Society of Social Studies of Science. Honolulu, Hawai'i, Nov 8-11.

Zambezi floodplain, Zambia

Misria
In response to

Lozi people living on the vast Zambezi (Barotse/Bulozi) floodplain in Western Province, Zambia, are experienced agriculturalists long adapted to seasonal patterns of flooding and drought. Compounded histories of colonialism, administrative disenfranchisement and neglect, extractive activities, and the concomitant reduction of territory and authority have impoverished the regional ecology and people. Increased climatic variability and other ecological challenges threaten Lozi ways of life, crops, and biodiversity more generally. Fish stock depletion is a major challenge reportedly partially caused by chemical contamination from insecticide treated mosquito nets used for fishing, other poison-based fishing methods, and from a Canadian mining company’s activities there. A Chinese construction company that built the bridge spanning the floodplain reportedly cultivated shrimp and snail species that threaten native fish populations. While seasonal fish bans are in place, their timing does not always correspond with traditional bans, and increased hunger (along with the impossibility of enforcement) renders such bans ineffective. In addition, some fish species have disappeared altogether. Biodiversity losses, which include water serpents deemed to be responsible for maintaining the structural integrity of the river, impact biopolitical life, cultural heritage and TEK. Appeals to UNESCO for Heritage status and WWF projects are underway and may confer some protection, however local suspicion remains due to prior agreement violations (with other bodies).

Liu, Jennifer. 2023. "Mapping otherwise?: weaving waterscape knowledges" In 4S Paraconference X EiJ: Building a Global Record, curated by Misria Shaik Ali, Kim Fortun, Phillip Baum and Prerna Srigyan. Annual Meeting of the Society of Social Studies of Science. Honolulu, Hawai'i, Nov 8-11.