Australian Indigenous insights into ecosystem services: Beyond services towards connectedness – People, place and time (original) (raw)
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We use the MEA (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment) framework to explore linkages between ecosystem services and the well-being of Aboriginal people living in the tropical savannas of northern Australia. Both the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities of this region are vitally dependent upon the ecosystem services available from savannas. Among these, only the monetary benefits such as from beef and mineral production are used to measure well-being by the Australia Bureau of Statistics (ABS). In this study, we gather evidence to support the proposition that non-monetary benefits are substantially more important for Aboriginal people, and highlight the drawbacks of the current approach to measure well-being by the ABS.
An ecosystem services framework to evaluate indigenous and local peoples' connections with nature
Indigenous and local peoples' connections with nature are not only limited to the benefits or services people derive from ecosystems, as considered by international frameworks, but also entail peoples' capabilities (knowledges and skills) that enable people to derive those benefits. Applying Sen's (1993) Capability Approach, this paper proposes an ecosystem services framework that underscores peoples' capabilities along with well-being benefits, to inform policy decision-making about the value of natural resources towards Indigenous and local peoples' well-being. We offer an economic perspective of considering Indigenous and local estates as a source of opportunities, and construct an integrated framework based on six case studies across the globe. We argue that supporting Indigenous and local peoples to utilize and build capabilities to manage natural systems will deliver manifold benefits to them as well as to the wider public. Moreover, learning Indigenous and local ethics to care for nature will help many of us to better manage and value our fast depleting natural resources.
The livelihoods and well-being of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities in remote and rural northern Australia are dependent upon the ecosystem services provided by tropical ecosystems. The well-being of all Australian citizens is measured by the Australia Bureau of Statistics (ABS) using socio-economic indicators. In this study we investigated the importance of non-market benefits derived from ecosystem services for Aboriginal well-being. Through a case study with the Mullunburra-Yidinji people in the Wet Tropics, Queensland, we applied the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) framework to identify the links between ecosystem services and the MA's six constituents of human well-being. The study demonstrated that cultural and provisioning services were key determinants of community well-being, and these are not currently measured by the ABS. We adapt the MA framework to include the ABS indicators and explore the potential strengths and weaknesses of the approach for measuring the well-being of contemporary remote and rural Aboriginal communities.
Ecosystems and indigenous well-being: An integrated framework
In Australia, role of natural resources in Indigenous well-being is completely ignored to date which further leads to inappropriate and ineffective well-being policies. This research addresses the need to develop an appropriate indigenous well-being approach that incorporates indigenous values in relation to natural systems. It focuses on Indigenous people in Australia and examines the available well-being frameworks from global as well as from local (i.e. Australian and Indigenous), perspectives. It applies a holistic approach to assess the role of natural systems in indigenous well-being demonstrating how people's social, economic and cultural worlds, and how people's capabilities relate to their natural systems. It integrates various social, economic and ecological values through the application of Capability Approach and the Millennium Assessment Approach. The study proposes an integrated framework that focuses on people's belongingness to nature i.e. people's values and capabilities that link to well-being. It emphasises the importance of each connection that people may have with their country in terms of people's capabilities. The proposed framework can contribute to improved and better-informed policies on indigenous wellbeing as well as on the use, value and management of natural systems.
Biological and cultural diversity are fundamental components of the Australian landscape that are overlayed by a variety of tenure, land and water use and threatening processes. Responsibility for conservation and management is shared across a broad cross-section of society including governments, natural resource management groups, landholders and Indigenous communities. From an Indigenous perspective biological diversity, cultural diversity and country are intrinsically interconnected; biodiversity and ecological functions are components of the cultural landscape. The ability of Indigenous communities to fulfil their responsibilities for caring for their cultural landscape within the current natural resource management framework is often constrained by a lack of access to resources, infrastructure, training and employment opportunities. This report introduces the Cultural Connections model as a practical approach for Indigenous communities to access ecological, cultural and economic benefits through biological and cultural diversity management. The Cultural Connections model is described and examples of how the model has been used by Indigenous communities in northern NSW are discussed.
Ecosystem Services, 2014
Cultural ecosystem services (CES) include the aesthetic, artistic, educational, spiritual and/or scientific values of ecosystems and have been described as 'intangible' and complex, reflecting diverse peoplenature interactions that are embedded in dynamic linked social-ecological systems. CES have proved difficult to value, therefore mapping CES has largely concentrated on more tangible aspects, such as tourism and recreation-presenting the risk that highly significant cultural relationships, such as those between Indigenous peoples and their traditional land, will be rendered invisible in ecosystem assessments. We present our results from co-research with a group of 'Rainforest Aboriginal peoples' from the Wet Tropics, Australia that illustrates a method to address this gap through mapping their perceptions of the health of Indigenous CES. We found that categories associated with biocultural diversity and governance matched their perceptions better than the usual framework that recognizes aesthetic, spiritual and other categories. Co-produced maps presented demonstrate spatial patterns of CES that are related primarily to variations in social attributes (such as adherence to cultural protocols), rather than the ecological attributes (such as biodiversity patterns). Further application of these concepts of biocultural diversity governance, and variation in social attributes when mapping CES, particularly in partnerships with Indigenous peoples is recommended.
ASSESSING ECOSYSTEM SERVICES IN AUSTRALIA
2000
The Ecosystem Services Project focuses on the values and opportunities that come from the relationships between people and their natural environments. The quality of these relationships is thought to be decreasing as ecosystems change worldwide. This national project seeks to convey an understanding of the services and benefits that we receive from ecosystems. The project will also seek to address