Recognising and Protecting Indigenous Values in Water Resource Management

A two-day workshop on Indigenous cultural values and water resource management was held at CSIRO in Darwin, NT in April 2006, with the aim of exploring what Indigenous managers of water resources in northern Australia could learn from other regions where water has been developed. The workshop attracted participants from the Northern Territory, Western Australia, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT. Several institutions were represented, including Aboriginal communities, Aboriginal land management bodies, conservation and natural resource management agencies, research organisations, the Northern Land Council, the Kimberley Land Council and the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority of the NT. Case studies were presented from throughout Australia and these served to focus discussions on the implications for water policy and management. This report presents an overview of the workshop proceedings and its outcomes.

The idea to have a workshop to discuss Indigenous values and water was conceived in 2004 when there was much interest in Indigenous values in the Daly River region of the NT. In collaboration with the Northern Land Council, CSIRO received funds for the workshop from Land Water Australia’s (LWA) tropical rivers program (Project code CSE26). The aim of the broader project, of which the workshop was one outcome, was to investigate the means of addressing Indigenous cultural requirements for water in planning processes underway in the Daly River region (see map on following page).

The project team (CSIRO and NLC) recognised that Indigenous people in the Daly River region had been previously disenfranchised from ecological research and environmental planning and that information exchange is essential if Indigenous people are to participate effectively in water planning.

Aims

1. Ensure Aboriginal people in a significant section of the Daly River catchment understand the contemporary water resource management regime, especially water allocation planning
2. Demonstrate how Aboriginal environmental knowledge can contribute to the determination of environmental water requirements
3. Define the Indigenous cultural values of water and investigate the means for incorporating and protecting cultural values in the Daly River water allocation plan
4. Develop and communicate a generic framework and methods from the Daly experience for use in other tropical catchments, and where Indigenous interests are similar. 

These objectives were met through close collaboration with, and financial support from, the peak Aboriginal organisation, the Northern Land Council (NLC), and the NT Department of Resources, Environment and the Arts (NTRETA).

Background

Water allocation processes across tropical Australia are struggling with the question of how to acknowledge and protect Aboriginal values and interests in water-dependent ecosystems. Indigenous interests in environmental flows research and water resource policy have tended to be neglected, consequently Aboriginal people have rarely participated equitably in water management decision-making. This project was conceived as a pilot with the intention of engaging Aboriginal traditional owners and resource managers in applied research and problem – solving. It examined international sociological approaches to environmental flow assessment and water management and developed a framework for addressing Australian Indigenous interests. The project provided funds for community engagement and products to raise awareness of hydrological science and water management institutions amongst the Aboriginal community of the Daly River. Academic publications conveyed results from the project and a workshop held in Darwin on cultural values and water, generated dialogue between water resource managers, researchers, and Aboriginal people from numerous Australian regions.

Publications and Resources

• Recognising and protecting Indigenous values in water resource management (CSIRO)

Citation

Land & Water Australia. 2009. Recognising and Protecting Indigenous Values in Water Resource Management. [Online] (Updated July 14th, 2009)
Available at: http://lwa.gov.au/node/3549 [Accessed Sunday 1st of August 2010 09:14:28 AM ].