Sustainable Indigenous Livelihoods From North Australian Land And Sea Resources: Towards A Research And Development Agenda And Implementation Strategy

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The North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance Ltd. (NAILSMA) delivers large-scale initiatives across northern Australia and is committed to finding practical solutions that support Indigenous people and the management of their lands for future generations. Its culture-based economy approach aims to assist Indigenous people through livelihoods and employment on their country. NAILSMA is an Indigenous owned and managed not-for-profit company. It has a strong track record of delivering award-winning programs in challenging and complex settings.

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Sustainable Indigenous Livelihoods from north Australian Land and Water Resources

Towards a Research and Development Agenda and Implementation Strategy

April 2012

Romy Greiner, Owen Stanley, Beau Austin

Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods
Charles Darwin University and
North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance Ltd
Darwin NT 0909

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National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry:

Title: Sustainable Indigenous Livelihoods from north Australian land and water resources – Towards a research and development agenda and implementation strategy

Edition: First edition

ISSN 1837-4166

ISBN 978-0-9808524-5-5

Series: North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance
Knowledge Series

Subjects: Indigenous studies, livelihoods, water rights, north Australia

Disclaimer

Charles Darwin University, acting through the Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods (RIEL) has exercised due care and skill in preparing and compiling the information set out in this report. Notwithstanding, RIEL, its employees and advisers, disclaim all liability, including liability for negligence, for any loss, damage, injury, expense or cost incurred by any person as a result of accessing, using, or relying upon any of the information set out in this report, to the maximum extent permitted by law.

Suggested citation:

Greiner, R., Stanley, O., and Austin, B., 2012. Sustainable Indigenous livelihoods from north Australian land and water resources - towards a research and development agenda and implementation strategy. NAILSMA Knowledge Series 8/2012. North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance Ltd. Darwin.

Contact details:

Professor Romy Greiner email: tel 0418 242 156

Executive Summary 1

Introduction 4

Context: Northern Australia Water Futures Assessment 4

Project Scope 5

Methodology 6

Conceptual Framework: Livelihoods 6

Consultative Approach: Regional Workshops 10

Review of Literature and other Relevant Documents 11

Aspirations 12

R&D Agenda 13

Implementation Strategy 18

Principles 18

Dichotomies 20

References 23

Appendix 1: Workshop Plan 29

Appendix 2: Workshop Summaries 35

Cape York Regional Workshop 35

Gulf of Carpentaria Regional Workshop 42

Kimberley Regional Workshop 47

Top End Regional Workshop 55

NAILSMA Staff Workshop 59

Integration Workshops: Consolidation of regional workshop R&D ideas 66

Appendix 3: Review of Literature and Documents 75

Kimberley 75

The Top End 94

Gulf of Carpentaria 111

Cape York 115

Northern Australia 136

Listing of Tables

Table 1: Elements of livelihood asset categories 8

Table 2: Details of regional workshops conducted 10

Table 3: Generic agenda for regional workshops 10

Table 4: Details of whole-of-Northern Australia consolidation workshops conducted 11

Table 5: Key components of a Sustainable Indigenous Livelihoods R&D agenda for northern Australia 14

Table A2.1: Aspirations for and elements of livelihood asset and wellbeing categories developed in the Cape York regional workshop 36

Table A2.2: Aspirations for and elements of livelihood asset and wellbeing categories developed in the Kimberley regional workshop 48

Table A2.3: Aspirations for and elements of livelihood asset and wellbeing categories developed in the Top End regional workshop 55

Table A2.4: Elements of livelihood asset and wellbeing categories developed in the NAILSMA staff workshop 60

Table A2.5: Draft regional summary of strategies for workshop purpose 69

Listing of Figures

Figure 1: Illustration of the five capitals or asset classes making up livelihoods 6

Figure 2: Livelihoods and well-being 9

Figure 3: Interpreting the livelihoods framework through a natural assets lens 9

Figure 4: Conceptualisation of requirements for improved livelihoods and well-being 12

Figure A2.1: CLCAC mental model of Indigenous livelihoods development in the Gulf of Carpentaria 43

Abbreviations and Acronyms

ABS Australian Bureau of Statistics

CDEP Community Development and Employment Program

CLCAC Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation

CNRM Cultural natural resource management

CT Communication technology

CY Cape York

F Financial capital—in the livelihoods assets framework

FFS Fee-for-service

G Gulf of Carpentaria

H Human capital—in the livelihoods assets framework

ICRM Indigenous natural and cultural resource management

ILUA Indigenous Land Use Agreement

IP Intellectual Property

IPA Indigenous Protected Area

IT Information technology

IWPG Indigenous Water Policy Group

K Kimberley

KI Kimberley Institute

KLC Kimberley Land Council

N Natural capital—in the livelihoods assets framework

NAILSMA North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance Ltd

NASY Northern Australia Sustainable Yields

NATSIS National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey

NAWFA Northern Australia Water Futures Assessment

NGO Non-government organisation

NLC Northern Land Council

NT Northern Territory

NWC National Water Commission

P Physical capital—in the livelihoods assets framework

PBC Prescribed Body Corporate

QLD Queensland

R&D Research and development

RDA Regional Development Australia

S Social capital—in the livelihoods assets framework

SIL Sustainable Indigenous livelihoods

SIR Strategic Indigenous Reserve (in relation to water)

TO(s) Traditional Owner(s)

TRaCK Tropical Rivers and Coastal Knowledge

W Well-being—component of the expanded livelihoods assets framework

WA Western Australia

Acknowledgements

This project was funded as part of the Northern Australia Water Futures Assessment (NAWFA). NAWFA is a multidisciplinary program being delivered jointly by the Department of Sustainability, Water, Population and Communities and the National Water Commission, in close collaboration with the Office of Northern Australia and State and Territory government agencies.

The project was administered through the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance (NAILSMA).

We would like to thank Mr Tristan Simpson of NAILSMA who was the project administrator, project liaison as well as activity coordinator. He also kindly provided the drawings shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3.

Peter Whitehead, project leader of NAWFA sub-project 1, contributed to team discussions and provided helpful comments on the draft report.

We would like to thank all participants in regional workshops for their time contributions and sharing of knowledge and ideas. We thank those participants who provided feedback on workshop reports and commented on the draft of this research report.

Page | VI

Sustainable Indigenous livelihoods in north Australia – towards a R&D agenda and implementation strategy

Executive Summary

This report results from a project which set out to: (i) articulate Indigenous social and economic aspirations with respect to water in northern Australia; and (ii) develop a ‘sustainable Indigenous livelihoods’ research and development agenda and implementation strategy. The project was funded by the National Water Commission (NWC) as part of the Northern Australia Water Futures Assessment’s (NAWFA’s) Cultural and Social program and administered through the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance (NAILSMA).

The project ran from October 2011 to March 2012. It combined a consultative process with NAILSMA’s partner organisations and review of relevant literature and other documents. In particular, regional workshops were conducted for Cape York, the Gulf of Carpentaria, the Top End of the Northern Territory and the Kimberley. Regional workshop contributions were further consolidated in two whole-of-northern Australia integration workshops. Through the definition of its scope and broad methodological approach, the project focused on a Traditional Owner perspective of Indigenous aspirations. It did not deal with Indigenous people living in urban centres and/or those isolated from traditional lands in northern Australia.

The project task was conceptualised within a livelihoods-and-wellbeing framework.

The project conceived the term livelihoods as being broader than income from employment, enterprise or other means. Consistent with the literature, Livelihoods were defined as entailing five types of assets or capitals.

· Natural capital: refers to the stocks and flows of natural resources that support activities that contribute to livelihoods.

· Social capital: refers to the governance structures and processes, norms and networks that enable people to act collectively.

· Human capital: refers to the skills, knowledge and health embodied by people that contributes to their ability to engage in livelihood activities through labour.

· Financial capital: describes the financial resources accessed by people to create livelihoods and that can be used to access other resources.

· Physical capital: refers to both the infrastructure and tools and equipment used by people in their livelihood activities.

Personal well-being is pluralistic and composed of a variety of objects, including material wealth, health, happiness, associational life, job satisfaction and a diversity of freedoms to be and to do. It is inherently subjective in that it is based on an individual’s evaluation of his/her life. Social (or community) well-being, then, is the aggregate of personal well-being at a given geographical or group level. ‘Livelihood’ is therefore a sub-set of well-being and as such the livelihoods framework is unlikely to capture all Indigenous aspirations.

The project presumed that growth in ‘natural capital’, including Indigenous water rights, represented a strategy for improving Indigenous livelihoods and well-being in northern Australia.

The workshops and literature allowed us to develop a region-by-region and whole-of-northern Australia picture of Indigenous aspirations relating to livelihoods and well-being from land and water resources. Both methods generated empirical evidence of a close nexus between the various dimensions of livelihoods and well-being. Most prominently among aspirations was featured more, and more clearly defined Indigenous property rights to land, water and other natural resources including biodiversity and carbon. Property rights were seen as the keystone to improved Indigenous livelihoods and well-being.

Indigenous people regarded their social capital as intimately linked to their natural resource base, as encapsulated in their conception of ‘country’, and maintained and strengthened through living and caring for ‘country’. While strong in some places, Indigenous leadership was identified as an area that required improvement along with Indigenous governance. Social capital was particularly linked to the ability of Indigenous people to shape the direction of economic and regional development across northern Australia. Social capital was also seen as being intimately linked to human capital, which required improvement through education, training and active participation in research and governance, and active exchange of ideas with other Indigenous people inter-regionally, nationally and internationally.

Improvement in financial situation of individuals and households was regarded as important, with aspirations articulated for increased income from employment, self-employment, entrepreneurial profit, royalties from natural resource mining and payments for ecosystem services. Aspirations also included economic participation in general public service provision and industries such as information and communication technology. Improvement to physical capital—private, communal and public—was regarded as essential for realising many of these opportunities. Critically important were also access to finance (again requiring property rights) and reduced ‘red tape’ associated with Indigenous and other administration. For many people consulted, financial capital was seen as a means for fulfilling their social, cultural and spiritual obligations.

Articulated aspirations for greater economic, social and environmental well-being, combined, represented a quest for ‘reliable prosperity’ and improved ‘resilience’ of Indigenous peoples.

From the various focus group discussions and documents we propose an R&D strategy for sustainable Indigenous livelihoods in northern Australia. The R&D strategy encompasses four themes, with activities happening concurrently and interactively between themes, and themes embedded within a unifying framework.

Theme 1: is about conducting a systematic evaluation of northern Australia’s natural, social, cultural and human assets. It responds to the need for a more comprehensive scientific basis for decision making, expressed across all regions This component entails predominantly scientific research of an interdisciplinary nature, with a development co-agenda in terms of building Indigenous scientific research capacity. The research is to strategically complement past and existing research and data collection with the dual goals of: (i) supporting social and economic development choices; and (ii) enabling longitudinal analysis across all aspects of livelihoods and well-being. The necessary research paradigm is one of multi-disciplinary and participatory action research couched in systems thinking.