Abstract
The Moken people, often called ‘sea nomads,’ exemplify a deep connection with the marine ecosystem. Their complex cultural understanding of climatic and environmental change, intricately linked to their nomadic lifestyle, provides a distinctive viewpoint on Indigenous adaptation. Moken populations have flourished in coastal and marine environments for ages. Their environmental understanding is deeply spiritual, perceiving humans as integral to nature, with marine health closely associated with communal welfare. Despite this rich marine knowledge and their inherent cultural mobility as a climate strategy, the Moken face escalating challenges that threaten their traditional life and expose unseen vulnerabilities. Government policies promoting land settlement and fishing restrictions erode their ancestral way of life. Concurrently, climate change significantly alters marine environments, challenging the direct applicability of traditional knowledge. Furthermore, younger generations, influenced by mainstream society, are experiencing a gradual loss of vital seafaring skills and ecological knowledge. This research adopts a mixed-methods approach. To clarify community-specific issues and adaptive measures, we combine qualitative ethnographic techniques such as mobility mapping, seasonal calendars, and problem trees with quantitative climatic data analysis. This paper argues these combined pressures represent hidden risks to long-term well-being, not just for the Moken, but globally. By detailing how external policies and environmental shifts undermine Indigenous adaptive capacities, we highlight a critical dimension of “Unseen Unsustainability”. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for informing more inclusive and effective global responses to climate change, ensuring historically proven adaptive strategies contribute to truly sustainable futures.
Presenters
Somrak ChaisingkananontLecturer, International PhD Program in Multicultural Studies, Mahidol University, Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia , Nakhon Phanom, Thailand Vithaya Chaidee
Co-research, Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia, Mahidol University, Nakhon Phanom, Thailand Kwanchit Sasiwongsaroj
Lecturer, Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia , Mahidol University, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2026 Special Focus—Unseen Unsustainability: Addressing Hidden Risks to Long-Term Wellbeing for All
KEYWORDS
Indigenous Ecological Knowledge, Cultural Mobility, Climate Strategy
