Indigenous participation in TERN ?Insight from 2-way ecological research in Arnhem Land

Dr Emilie Ens1 and Gill Towler 2

1 Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research2 National Herbarium of NSW

Indigenous estate and land use agreements

Relationship between the Indigenous estate and the conservation estate

From Altman 2006

Woinarski et al. 2007

Residual Eucalypt woodland

What is different about Indigenous land management?

“Country is a place that gives and receives life” (Deborah Bird-Rose, Nourishing Terrains)

• Holistic approach• Indigenous worldview, values, history, and culture• Management of natural resources that are essential

for life• Customary responsibility • Millenia of management and use

Who supports Indigenous land and sea management (ILSM)?

• Government – federal and state/ territory• Indigenous land councils eg NLC, CLC, ILC

• Universities• NGOs eg TNC, Bush Heritage

• Philanthropy eg Myer Foundation

• Market-based economies eg Carbon offsets

What ecological data are collected by ILSM groups?

• Diverse range at different levels and scales

• Three main types– Baseline biodiversity data– Ethnobiology and ecology– Ecological monitoring

• Intensive eg plant surveys• Extensive eg Remote sensing

Participatory research in Arnhem Land

35 long term monitoring sites

Maningrida

Jabiru

Ngukurr

Yirrkala

Kabulwarnamyo

Arnhem LandKakadu NP

Innovative software: CyberTracker

Example 1: Feral animal impacts

Example 2: Wetland condition

Example 3: Flora inventory

How can TERN help?

• Collate data• Provide data• Find the gaps• Focus research

Things for TERN to consider

• Extent and biodiversity value of the Indigenous estate

• Recognition of the value and depth of Indigenous ecological knowledge (including IP and prior informed consent)

• People already collecting biodiversity data, using both indigenous and non-Indigenous methods

• With the potential for a lot more!

References• Altman, J. C. 2006. The Indigenous estate and the conservation estate: Integration

possibilities for effective environmental management. Paper presented at the Parks and Protected Areas Management (PPAM) Conference, Queanbeyan, NSW, 2–3 August.

• Altman, J. C., Buchanan, G. and Larsen, L. 2007.The environmental significance of the Indigenous estate: Natural resource management as economic development in remote Australia, CAEPR Discussion Paper No. 286

• Bird-Rose, D. 1996. Nourishing Terrains: Australian Aboriginal views of landscape and wilderness. Australian Heritage Commission, Canberra.

• Woinarski, J.C.Z., Hempel, C. et al. 2006. Distributional pattern of plant species endemic to the Northern Territory, Australia. Australian Journal of Botany 54(7): 627-640.

• Woinarski, J. C. Z., Mackey, B., Nix, H and Traill, B. 2007. The nature of northern Australia. ANU Epress, Canberra