The Use of Critical Discourse Analysis in Understanding Claims for Legitimacy in Marine Protected Area Management at Jibondo Island, Mafia Tanzania: the Memoirs of Mzee Popote

Abstract

Legitimacy claims by communities otherwise limited by various factors to access reliable mechanisms for such purposes are often manifested in a range of subtle ways that include verbal or written text.  Through text, people not only express resistance or compliance to social processes, but they also articulate the nature of discourse regarding coastal and marine resource management from a local perspective.  This article discussed the experiences of Jibondo Island, a coastal community in Mafia District Tanzania, in trying to express their disagreement towards the imposition of a state-led marine resource management system, that to them had implication on the way they led their lives.  The article employs Critical discourse Analysis to draw meanings from the verbal accounts of Mzee Popote, an elderly Jibondo resident, and his memoirs written over a period of time.  From these sources it becomes possible to make a historical analysis as to why and in which context certain claims for legitimacy in access and power over resources were made and articulated by JIbondo residents.