Looking after country : examining conditions for effective community-based natural resource management in Aboriginal Australia

Abstract

Over the last few decades Aboriginal land management (ALM) has received increased interest and investment as a strategy to both conserve Australia's environment and assist in improving Aboriginal livelihoods. Yet thirty years of international community based natural resource management (CBNRM) experience shows that attempting to combine conservation and livelihood goals and integrate local knowledge and interests into environmental management is a serious challenge, particularly in areas involving Indigenous people. Based on a case study with Warlpiri people from the Southern Tanami region of Central Australia, this research examined conditions for effective CBNRM in remote Aboriginal Australia, that which promotes both livelihood and environmental outcomes and equitably integrates Indigenous knowledge into conservation. Findings from this research show that a major challenge to CBNRM in remote Australia is the limited recognition and reconciliation of the ontological differences that exist in this context. A key contribution of this thesis is in elucidating the pivotal role of brokers, the individuals who carry primary responsibility for mediating ontological differences at the cultural interface of ALM (usually known as 'coordinators' or 'facilitators'). This research explores the challenges brokers face and the dependence on non-Aboriginal brokers in Central Australian ALM, highlighting the task of navigating differing systems of accountability at the cultural interface. This research shows that supporting and investing in cross-cultural partnerships at the local level is essential for improved CBNRM in Aboriginal Australia. It implies the need for greater re-examination of the human-environment relationship in CBNRM theory and policy. Overall, this research highlights the importance of acknowledging process, relationships and inherent power dynamics for effective CBNRM, and indicates that Aboriginal people use the term 'two-ways' in an attempt to focus ALM discourse on these issues. Show more