Final Report to Land & Water Australia, Canberra, ACT.

Australian Government programmes are directed to ensure appropriate opportunities are provided for Indigenous people to access and own land with which they have an ongoing traditional association, or which can assist with their continued social, cultural and economic development.

At the national level, the Government provides a range of programmes and services to support Indigenous people in natural resource management (NRM). These are delivered largely through the Department of Environment and Water Resources under the Indigenous Australians Caring for Country banner.

Land & Water Australia is a statutory research and development corporation within the Australian Government Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry portfolio. As such, it supports Australian NRM policies and programmes through investing in research which improves the way natural resources are managed for sustainability.

Land & Water Australia actively builds and maintains collaborative partnerships with industry, government and communities in NRM. This includes funding research projects which establish partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. These projects are aimed at supporting Indigenous people in NRM on their lands and also informing broader NRM policies and practices through traditional knowledge gained over millennia.

Land & Water Australia has a portfolio of NRM research concerning the relationship of Indigenous Australians to the environment and their involvement in NRM. This portfolio spans a number of its programs over the period from 2000 and comprises 12 completed projects and a further 12 projects in progress.

In order to make the results of the research more accessible to NRM policy makers, managers, practitioners, researchers and Indigenous community members, Land & Water Australia commissioned a synthesis of the knowledge being generated by the projects and from literature reviews. This report outlines the key messages, principles and outcomes that emerge from the totality of the research.

The outputs of the project include this synthesis report, a research fact sheet which is targeted to NRM managers and practitioners, a policy briefing for policy makers and a listing of the individual LWA funded projects and their outcomes (Appendix 1 of this report and also attached to the Policy Briefing and Research Fact Sheet).

A further objective of the synthesis is to guide possible further investment by Land & Water Australia, particularly through its Social and Institutional Research Programme, or by other interested funders.

Key Findings

The research that has taken place since 2000 is making a significant contribution to Indigenous engagement in NRM. In particular, it is generating and applying knowledge and methods that are leading to the formation of trust in relationships, the prerequisite for effective NRM. The research is also contributing to increased capacity for Indigenous NRM at national, regional, catchment and local community levels.

A key outcome of Land & Water Australia’s portfolio of Indigenous research is the collaboration that is occurring between Indigenous communities, many of Australia’s leading scientists from across diverse disciplines. This collaboration is leading to integrated actions and solutions to NRM challenges on Indigenous lands.

From successful experiences, many of the projects provide an understanding of working with Indigenous communities, the natural resource issues they are challenged with, and capacity for participation in NRM planning, strategy setting, policy development and onground activities. These understandings are critically important as Indigenous people are responsible for the land they own or occupy in many catchments and NRM regions. The synthesis identifies research outcomes under several key themes:

1. Values and methods for effective engagement of Indigenous Australians in NRM and knowledge management.
   
2. The nexus between land, water and health of Aboriginal people.
   
3. Developing Indigenous livelihoods through NRM, and
   
4. The implications for developing and implementing NRM policy in Indigenous Australia.

1 Values and methods for effective engagement of Indigenous Australians in NRM and knowledge management

For effective landscape protection, restoration and rehabilitation, it is by engaging Indigenous people through practical activities ‘on country’ which leads to the most successful outcomes. In this way community members are also able to fulfill cultural responsibilities, meet social and economic needs and transfer knowledge across generations.

This research portfolio shows that critical factors are: l Understanding core Indigenous values In Indigenous NRM these are about the particularity of place, and about the cultural and spiritual values of water, plants and animals. This can present difficulties for Western scientific measurement; some of the research projects have adopted ways of incorporating traditional knowledge into NRM.

2 Engagement with Indigenous people

When engaging Indigenous people in projects, customs relating to gender, kinship and law are significant and so appropriate community members should be involved in the work. Research projects have found that participatory models which involve training opportunities and employment of local people have positive outcomes for communities and can lead to future employment opportunities for Indigenous people in NRM. The NRM agenda eventually needs to be driven by Indigenous land managers and their communities.

3 Data collection and knowledge management

Traditional knowledge is very specific to people and place. It involves intellectual property issues that need to be well recognised and understood by all parties. Baseline data requires an Indigenous perspective to be relevant for use, so databases need to be appropriately designed for specific users.

PRINCIPLES

Key principles to emerge from the synthesis:

• Indigenous Australians understand landscapes are integrally connected
  
• NRM is more effective when driven by a local people with a local agenda
  
• NRM approaches are most appropriate when they build on the existing capacities of the group and allow on-going group learning and adaptation
  
• NRM investment should be targeted towards long term projects which create opportunities and employment for local people
  
• Clear working agreements with communities that protect peoples’ rights and interests, in the data collected and future management of knowledge, are necessary in establishing confidence
  
• An Indigenous traditional knowledge protocol which defines and respects Aboriginal intellectual property and associated intellectual property rights should be adopted to ensure high ethical standards
  
• Intergenerational knowledge should be facilitated for long term impact
  
• Resource materials and capacity building strategies are required for future self management

2 Land, water and human health

Land, water and human health are linked in Indigenous Australia and research is now trying to understand and even quantify the nexus. The Caring for Country programme is associated with better human health in Maningrita, such as lower body weight independent of factors such as age, gender and education level. The long history of Aboriginal people’s association with country is very important for achieving future environmental health. The research indicates that effective management for improved environmental health depends on mutual understanding of its environmental, scientific and cultural uses, seen from a range of perspectives.

3 Indigenous livelihoods through NRM

The traditional pastoral industry is facing difficulties and stations are looking for opportunities through diversification. Land use in areas managed by Indigenous Australians is a mixed regime of community cultural, recreation and harvesting activities, conservation, mining and exploration, small scale pastoral use such as agistment and tourism/outdoor recreation. Most production for markets is through the art industry. Commercial harvest of wild plant foods and harvest of camels are small-scale entrepreneurial activities in some regions. The establishment of commercial kangaroo harvesting is being explored through a Land & Water Australia sponsored PhD project. A new Land & Water Australia project is investigating NRM and Indigenous employment opportunities from well managed fire regimes. As Indigenous people have always been active in fire management, this is an area where opportunities exist as results from good fire management include increased biodiversity and protection of cultural heritage sites. Sustainable market-based instruments (e.g. payment for environmental services) will be established through the project with study sites in Cape York Peninsula, Arnhem Land, the Victoria River District, the Kimberley and the Northern Territory-Queensland border Gulf fire management project.

PRINCIPLES

Key principles to emerge from the synthesis are:

• Sustainable tourism on Indigenous lands needs to be specifically designed for place and incorporate protection of cultural and biological diversity
  
• Successful Indigenous pastoral/diversified businesses are built through collaborative, long-term, participatory project processes
  
• Approriate engagement of Indigenous people in the management of projects helps to ensure ownership of the outcomes
  
• Flexibility is needed when establishing livelihood opportunities for different groups of Indigenous people arising from their involvement in enterprise development
  
• Reducing institutional complexity (e.g., multiple environmental and development approvals and administrative requirements) facilitates Indigenous enterprise development.

4 Implications for developing and implementing NRM policy in Indigenous Australia

With many current policies and programmes, there are difficulties with short timeframes, piecemeal approaches, shifting eligibility criteria, heavy reporting requirements and the lack of recurrent core funding. These difficulties constrain Indigenous communities in their efforts to respond to environmental problems and meet the social and cultural responsibilities of their community members. Hence, there is a need for more effective resource governance arrangements, management models and engagement approaches.

PRINCIPLES

Key principles to emerge from the synthesis are:

• Policy frameworks and processes that incorporate Indigenous administrative and management approaches enable Indigenous people to engage equally and result in fairness in resource distribution
  
• Effective policy development and implementation incorporate appropriate timeframes for genuine Indigenous participation
  
• Key individuals from government who provide quality commitment over a length of time improve working relationships between government and communities and help to build capacity in communities
  
• Recurrent funding and reduced administrative responsibilities may increase Indigenous capacity and engagement in NRM
  
• No one size fits all
  
• Policy must encompass the specific cultural values Indigenous people attach to place

Research Outcomes

Through the 12 completed projects, knowledge has been generated and a range of changes have occurred in the NRM associated with the projects:

• There is greater knowledge and increased capacity in cross-disciplinary approaches required for effective research in Indigenous communities and better methods for understanding landscapes through integrating perspectives and ways of knowing country
  
• Guidelines have been developed for effective and equitable engagement with Indigenous communities
  
• Methods have been developed and documented for appropriate collection and storage of traditional ecological knowledge in culturally appropriate ways to provide baseline information that allows Indigenous people to more confidently contribute knowledge to NRM
  
• Indigenous people have gained employment in research and NRM through the projects
  
• A co-management model for ecologically sustainable tourism on Indigenous lands has been developed and implemented in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Lands of Central Australia
  
• Agreements regarding river flow and sharing of benefits have been reached across affected communities in the Tropical Rivers regions and incorporated into mainstream NRM strategies
  
• Planning frameworks, including risk assessment and management for Indigenous pastoral properties, have been established in the East Kimberley; business plans for integrated property management and mixed enterprises are being developed
  
• The Indigenous fire management plan for Bow River Station is the first crosscultural management plan to go before the Western Australian Pastoral Lands Board. This provides a model for incorporating cultural values in mainstream pastoral lease administration.

Key Messages

Key messages to emerge from the research that can guide Australia’s future response to Indigenous NRM include the following:

• Establishing, building and maintaining relationships must be adequately resourced because relationships are central to Indigenous values and the trust gained through participatory projects is critical to success
  
• More effective governance arrangements, management models and engagement strategies are needed. At present, Indigenous people are challenged to articulate their cultural relationship with land and water in policy development, programme design and project implementation
  
• Indigenous values are mostly non-market in nature. This poses critical management challenges in a policy environment that places emphasis on ‘market’ solutions. Priorities set by Aboriginal land managers tend to be very integrated across social, environmental and economic factors and could add significant value to current models of sustainability
  
• The core aspect of sustainability for Indigenous natural resource managers is intergenerational equity and continuity. It is only through its application that Indigenous knowledge will retain its relevance and be perpetuated by future generations
  
• Land, law, culture and language are inseparable for Aboriginal people. Each language links specifically to ‘country’
  
• New culturally appropriate designs developed through participatory processes are needed for Indigenous business. One model will not fit all emergent Indigenous enterprise developments based on natural resources
  
• The CDEP scheme is an integral part of several land management strategies such as Caring for Country and Ranger programs. Current modifications to the scheme may threaten its potential to support such programmes

Future Research

Some key areas the LWA projects suggested for further research are:

• Robust mechanisms to involve Aboriginal people in water planning, management and monitoring
  
• Estimations of actual resources required for non-market allocative systems in water management
  
• Quantifying the extent, quality and environmental role of ground and surface waters in the Tropical Rivers region to ensure allocations are available to protect environmental and cultural flows and to provide evidence of whether environmental and Indigenous cultural values complement and/or compete with each other
  
• Identifying how changes brought about by the National Water Initiative will impact upon Indigenous incomes, quality of life and welfare
  
• Evaluating rivers in regards to the major industries in the Tropical Rivers region
  
• Efficient water pricing systems
  
• Mechanisms for equitable allocation of water among stakeholders that vary greatly in terms of distribution of income and wealth, and
  
• Institutional arrangements for joint management of land.

This synthesis concludes that cross-cultural NRM research is resource intensive, particularly the investment of time in establishing the trusting relationships which lead to effective co-research and co-management in NRM. The imperative for future success is that we look to continue work in progress and focus on building on past research efforts. We must continue to reflect on analyses of broader outcomes through cross-cutting exercises, such as this synthesis.

Download the entire paper here (.pdf).

Tags: natural resources  management  Australia