Environmental Policy Commons^™

Bridging The Gap Between Theory And Practice In Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments For Remote Indigenous Communities In Northern Australia, Donna Green, Stephanie Niall, Joe Morrison

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

This paper considers the Australian federal government’s approach to climate adaptation policy for remote northern Indigenous communities through the close examination of a seminal Scoping Study. This approach is taken to illustrate the lag between adaptation theory and practice, and to highlight important considerations to enable the development of a just and effective policy. The analysis suggests that policy in this area would benefit from the further consideration of three factors, namely the role of uncertainty in climate policy, the need for meaningful consultation with communities, and the benefit of integrating contextual and bottom-up assessment of vulnerability with decision-making in …

Utilising Indigenous Seasonal Knowledge To Understand Aquatic Resource Use And Inform Water Resource Management In Northern Australia, Emma Woodward, Sue Jackson, Marcus Finn, Patricia Marrfurra Mctaggart

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

Indigenous ecological knowledge can inform contemporary water manage- ment activities including water allocation planning. This paper draws on results obtained from a 3-year study to reveal the connection between Indigenous socio-economic values and river flows in the Daly River, Northern Territory. Qualitative phenological knowledge was analysed and compared to quantitative resource-use data, obtained through a large household survey of Indigenous harvesting and fishing effort. A more complete picture of Indigenous resource- use and management strategies was found to be provided by the adoption of mixed methods. The quantitative data revealed resource-use patterns including when and where species are harvested. The …

Who’S The Boss? Post-Colonialism, Ecological Research And Conservation Management On Australian Indigenous Lands, Wayne Barbour, Christine Schelesinger

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

The involvement of Indigenous people in the national conservation effort is increasingly being acknowledged and valued in Australia. Ecological research can play an important role in reinforcing the efforts of Indigenous land managers; and interest from Indig- enous and non-Indigenous ecologists and land managers to work together on ecological issues of common concern is increasing. Although there are many examples of successful collaborations there are also many instances where expectations, particularly of the Indige- nous partners, are not met, and this is less frequently communicated. This paper, written from the perspective of an Arrernte researcher in partnership with his non-Indigenous …

‘Caring For Country’: A Review Of Aboriginal Engagement In Environmental Management In New South Wales, J. Hunt

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

This article discusses some emerging models of Indigenous engagement in environmental management in New South Wales and urges expansion of such engagement. NSW Aboriginal people own only around one per cent of the state’s land, which suggests that land ownership and rights-based approaches to Aboriginal participation in environmental management are insufficient in NSW. Alternative approaches that recognise Aboriginal responsibilities to ‘care for country’ are needed. This article reviews opportunities for Aboriginal people to be involved in environmental and natural resource management activities, noting some of the constraints. It suggests some ways to extend such Aboriginal engagement, emphasising both employment creation …

Conservation Planning In A Cross- Cultural Context: The Wunambal Gaambera Healthy Country Project In The Kimberley, Western Australia, Heather Moorcroft, Emma Ignjic, Stuart Cowell, John Goonack, Sylvester Mangolomara, Janet Oobagooma, Regina Karadada, Dianna Williams, Neil Waina

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

This article illustrates how a conservation planning approach combined Indigenous knowledge and Western science to support Indigenous Traditional Owners to make decisions about managing their ancestral lands and seas, and communicate more strategically with external stakeholders

Empowering Indigenous Peoples’ Biocultural Diversity Through World Heritage Cultural Landscapes: A Case Study From The Australian Humid Tropical Forests, Rosemary Hill, Leanne C. Cullen-Unsworth, Leah D. Talbot, Susan Mcintyre-Tamwoy

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

Australian humid tropical forests have been recognised as globally significant natural landscapes through world heritage listing since 1988. Aboriginal people have occupied these forests and shaped the biodiversity for at least 8000 years. The Wet Tropics Regional Agreement in 2005 committed governments and the region’s Rainforest Aboriginal peoples to work together for recognition of the Aboriginal cultural heritage associated with these forests. The resultant heritage nomination process empowered community efforts to reverse the loss of biocultural diversity. The conditions that enabled this empowerment included: Rainforest Aboriginal peoples’ governance of the process; their shaping of the heritage discourse to incorporate biocultural …

More Than Wind: Evaluating Renewable Energy Opportunities For First Nations In Nova Scotia And New Brunswick, Diana Campbell

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

More than Wind: Evaluating Renewable Energy Opportunities for First Nations in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick is one of nine new research reports on Aboriginal economic development released by Atlantic Aboriginal Economic Development Integrated Program, (AAEDIRP) in 2010/2011.

The AAEDIRP is a unique research program formed through partnerships between the 38 member communities of the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs (APCFNC), plus the Inuit, 12 Atlantic

universities and 4 government funders, both federal and provincial. AAEDIRP funders include Indian and North Affairs Canada, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Aboriginal Affairs, …

Crisis On Tap: Seeking Solutions For Safe Water For Indigenous Peoples, Jeff Reading, Danielle Perron, Namaste Marsden, Robynne Edgar, Bianka Saravana-Bawan, Lauren Baba

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

Water which is safe to drink straight from the tap is taken for granted by many Canadians, despite the fact that access to safe drinking water is far from universal. Across the country, many communities endure conditions unimaginable to most Canadians: water accessed through pipe systems causes gastrointestinal illness, must be boiled prior to consumption or not used at all, and these drinking water advisories can last anywhere from a few days to several years. First Nations are over-represented in both the number and severity of drinking water advisories, and face considerable barriers in (re-)establishing clean drinking water in their …

Sharing Knowledge For A Better Future: Adaptation And Clean Energy Experiences In A Changing Climate, N.A.

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

No abstract provided.

The Use Of Joint Ventures To Accomplish Aboriginal Economic Development: Two Examples From British Columbia, Jeremy Boyd, Ronald Trosper

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

“Aboriginal economic development” differs from other forms of development by emphasizing aboriginal values and community involvement. Joint ventures, while providing business advantages, may not be able to contribute to aboriginal economic development. This paper examines two joint ventures in the interior of British Columbia to examine their ability or inability to contribute the extra dimensions of development desired by aboriginal communities. The AED framework examines business structure; profitability; employment; aboriginal capacity in education, experience, and finance; preservation of traditional values, culture and language; control of forest management over traditional territory; and community support. Established in the context of unresolved land …

Health Risk Of The Walpole Island First Nation Community From Exposure To Environmental Contaminants: A Community-Based Participatory Research Partnership, D. Jacobs, D. White, N.C. Williams, R. Williams, J.R. Bend, Corbett R. Darnell, C.P. Herbert, J. Hill, G. Koren, M.J. Rieder, K. Schoeman, C.V. Stephens, C.G. Trick, Van Uum

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

No abstract provided.

Aboriginal Health And Well-Being: The Paradox Of Globalization, Robert Rattle

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

No abstract provided.

Traditional Knowledge, Sustainable Forest Management, And Ethical Research Involving Aboriginal Peoples: An Aboriginal Scholar’S Perspective, Deborah Mcgregor

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of The National Boreal Standard Survey Results, N.A.

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

No abstract provided.

Deeper Than Mere Consultation: Negotiating Land And Resource Management In British Columbia, Post-Delgamuukw, Andrea Holly Kennedy

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

First Nations in Canada are seeking new land management relations that fully include and accommodate their Aboriginal rights, any outstanding Aboriginal title, and other interests. Various Canadian judicial decisions have stated that, at a minimum, consultation with First Nations is required when Aboriginal rights may be impacted by land-use activities. This research involved applying case study to identify critical elements that lead to something deeper than mere consultation, as called for in the 1997 Supreme Court of Canada Delgamuukw decision. This thesis describes six land management cases from four First Nations communities in British Columbia. The cases involve natural resources …

The International Management Of Aboriginal Whaling, Michael F. Tillman

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

Prior to the development of commercial whaling, several indigenous communities undertook hunts of whales to fulfill their subsistence needs. Fortunately, the two international conventions that implemented the regulation of commercial whaling did not lose sight of the needs of these aboriginal communities. How this was done, as well as the eventual evolution of the management of aboriginal whaling, is summarized in this review. The record shows that, whether in terms of exempting these aboriginal hunts from required management actions or of setting precautionary catch limits for otherwise protected stocks, an overriding management principle has emerged wherein international managers have been …

How On Earth Can We Live Together? In Search Of The Common Sense, N.A.

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

Beginning on June 26, 2008 the Tällberg Forum will gather leaders and thinkers from seventy nations for four days of conversations and workshops related to the opportunities and chal- lenges of global interdependence. Tällberg conversations have increasingly focused on the sys- tems problems emerging from the growing imbalance between nature and human activity. Can we design, govern and manage the sustainable interaction between natural systems and the systems of human activity? Can we negotiate among ourselves the resolution of the planetary crisis? Can we find better ways to integrate the work of governments and institutions with the actions of other …

Rethinking Devolution: Challenges For Aboriginal Resource Management In The Yukon Territory, David C. Natcher, Susan Davis

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

After decades of state administration, indigenous peoples throughout the world are now succeeding, to varying degrees, in the reimplementation of self-governing institutions and administrative processes. This reorientation has been most observable in the context of natural resource management, where a major policy trend has been to devolve state authority and administrative responsibility directly to local levels. While the language of devolution and local control now permeates local–state interaction, in many cases the new institutions that have been created following devolution have little resemblance to indigenous forms of management. In this article, we present some of the institutional and ideological factors …

Environmental Governance Literature Review Report, Christopher Paci

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

No abstract provided.

The Canadian Water Sustainability Index (Cwsi) Case Study Report, Anne Morin

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

The Policy Research Initiative (PRI) Sustainable Development Team began working on the Canadian Water Sustainability Index (CWSI) in the summer of 20051 as part of a broader project on freshwater2. Inspired by the Water Poverty Index3, the PRI developed a draft framework4 for a composite water index that could be used to assess various elements of water well-being in Canadian communities. This draft CWSI framework provided the basis for a data review and an expert workshop. Outcomes from the data review and the workshop, as well as additional consultation and information sources, were used to further refine the index framework …

Responding To Climate Change In Nunavut: Policy Recommendations, James Ford, Johanna Wandel

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

No abstract provided.

A Glass Half Empty: Drinking Water In First Nations Communities, Sarah N. Morales

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

No abstract provided.

Natural Resource Management And Indigenous Well-Being, Brenda Dyack, Romy Greiner

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

No abstract provided.

Fishing Lifestyles: ‘Territorians’, Traditional Owners And The Management Of Recreational Fishing In Kakadu National Park, Lisa Palmer

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

The relationships between traditional Aboriginal land owners and other Park users in Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory are characterised by competing agendas and competing ideas about appropriate ways of relating to the environment. Similarly, the management of recreational fishing in the Park is permeated by the tensions and opposition of contested ideas and perspectives from non-Aboriginal fishers and Aboriginal traditional owners. The local know- ledge and rights of ‘Territorians’ [non-Aboriginal Northern Territory residents] are continually pitted against the local knowledge and rights of Aboriginal tra- ditional owners. Under these circumstances, debates between non-Aboriginal fishers and Aboriginal traditional owners …

Working Towards Regional Agreements: Recent Developments In Co-Operative Resource Management In Canada’S British Columbia, Cathy Robinson

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

No abstract provided.

Resource Development And Resource Dependency Of Indigenous Communities: Australia's Jawoyn Aborigines And Mining At Coronation Hill, Marcus B. Lane, Roy E. Rickson

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

Indigenous people and their communities are often critical actors in resource development networks dominated by large-scale private and public sector organizations. Development policies and projects have often been contentious in Australia because lands on which development has occurred or been proposed are frequently areas of spiritual and traditional significance to Aboriginal people. Conflicts over development are therefore intense, occur in the context of a history of social and political exploitation of Aboriginal people, and focus on issues of symbolic value, local autonomy, power, and participation in planning. This article applies social assessment models recognizing resource development as a power network …

Discussion Paper Presenting A First Nation Environmental Vision Statement And Self-Government Implementation Strategy, N.A.

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

No abstract provided.