**5. Conclusions**

How to manage natural resources sustainably has been a long-term discussion, not only in terms of theories but also at a practical level. Traditional Ecological Knowledge has been one of the core elements in managing local natural resources, which is also one of the foundations of local social–ecological resilience. Community-based natural-resource management (CBNRM) focuses on both TEK and the local community's participation in the managing system. Recently, in indigenous areas, CBNRM has further stressed the indigeneity of self-determination and the diversity of local political interactions in the indigenous community. CBNRM needs all the parties who participate in the natural-resource management to work adaptively as part of a co-management system.

In A'tolan, Amis freediving spearfishing men have comprehensive TEK about the local marine area, which is different from the scientific perspective. A'tolan Amis have also noticed that marine resources are decreasing. However, this is barely recognized in the management plan for A'tolan marine resources, either by the government or by the community. Even if the A'tolan Amis will be in charge of protecting the local marine area, some difficulties still need to be solved. For one thing, the government needs to understand that local marine TEK is not only related to the indigenous resilience of the social–ecological system but also the key to managing local natural resources and could provide many details about the local environment such as monitoring data for scientists and NGOs. The government also needs to support the community as it comes to agreement, and sometimes, social and cultural issues are among the keys to executing natural-resource management sustainably.

On the other hand, the indigenous community needs self-determination and autonomy as it raises environmental awareness, especially about how climate change and development projects would affect local marine resources. It is necessary to cooperate with external experts in demanding sovereignty, treasuring those who have TEK and teaching it to the next generation. Scientists and NGOs also need to learn to respect local TEK and to work with local TEK knowledge-holders and the informal cultural and community institutions that support them. In this way, scientists and NGOs might become more

effective in overcoming the misunderstanding and mistrust between the government and the local community, and become advocates for the importance of local TEK in managing and monitoring marine resources.

The co-management of forests between the government and the local indigenous community is becoming common in Taiwan at present. Ironically, though, there is a lack of discussion about co-management in marine areas. Freediving spearfishing requires knowledge of marine life and the environment. If the government wants to manage marine areas successfully, TEK from those underwater hunters can be a first step in adaptive learning for a local community or institute.

**Funding:** This research was funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan, grant numbers MOST 103-2420-H-143-002-MY3; National Academy of Marine Research, Taiwan, grant numbers NAMR-108-009.

**Acknowledgments:** The author is heartily grateful for the team work and inspiration provided by all research team members in the joint research project entitled "The Development of Indigenous Tribes and Environmental Changes: Exploring the Multiple Meanings of Landscape from the Perspective of Ethnic Science." Special thanks are given to all research partners in local community including my diving partners, spearfishing masters, and all the members of the age organization in A'tolan. Earlier version of this article was presented at the "2017 North American Taiwan Studies Annual Conference: RE: Taiwan as Practice, Method, and Theory", Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA, 25–27 May 2017. The author thanks the panel participants at the conference for their valuable comments. The author thanks Mucahid M. Bayrak for assisting in the English editing of the draft of the manuscript. The author also thanks two anonymous reviewers for their constructive suggestions which improve the content of the article.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The author declares no conflict of interest. The funder had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.
