TEAHUPO'O, Tahiti — On the remote south coast of Tahiti, its Jurassic peaks and azure lagoon accessible only by boat, Patrick Rochette is explaining how centuries-old Polynesian conservation traditions are being revived to protect this unique environment. Mingled with gruesome tales of the island's history of tribal wars and the roots of wave-riding, it's a compelling account that resonates with the school children that the Tahitian elder has brought to this idyllic spot close to the Olympic surfing venue of Teahupo'o. Among the interconnected Polynesian concepts lost or repressed during Tahiti's French colonization that Rochette describes: respect for tupuna, the ancestors; mana, the spiritual power of people and places; tapu, that which is sacred; rahui, a restriction or prohibition; and the guardians—the whales, sharks, turtles.
"It's up to the children to go home with this information and explain it to their parents," says Rochette, a burly 63-year-old. For Rochette and others, countering the pressures of over-exploitation and climate change go hand-in-hand with a cultural renaissance in the Pacific island group, a distinct Polynesian identity that spans the world's largest ocean. "We Polynesians, in 15 or 20 years, if we don't do anything, there'll be nothing left," Rochette said in a boat, speeding down the jungle-clad coast.
"We have to do it together, not just here, but the Pacific community has to do all of this together." The Polynesian Triangle encompasses some.