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Indigenous Socio-Economic Values and River Flows

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Indigenous Socio-Economic Values and River Flows © Skyscans © Skyscans Indigenous socio-economic values and river flows Sue Jackson, Marcus Finn, Emma Woodward and Pippa Featherston | 2011 TRaCK – Research to support river and estuary management in northern Australia TRaCK brings together leading tropical river researchers and managers from Charles Darwin University, Griffith University, University of Western Australia, CSIRO, James Cook University, Australian National University, Geoscience Australia, Environmental Research Institute of the Supervising Scientist, Australian Institute of Marine Science, North Australia Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance, and the Governments of Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia. Copyright and Disclaimer © 2011 CSIRO To the extent permitted by law, all rights are reserved and no part of this publication covered by copyright may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means except with the written permission of CSIRO. CSIRO advises that the information contained in this publication comprises general statements based on scientific research. The reader is advised and needs to be aware that such information may be incomplete or unable to be used in any specific situation. No reliance or actions must therefore be made on that information without seeking prior expert professional, scientific and technical advice. To the extent permitted by law, CSIRO (including its employees and consultants) excludes all liability to any person for any consequences, including but not limited to all losses, damages, costs, expenses and any other compensation, arising directly or indirectly from using this publication (in part or in whole) and any information or material contained in it. Tropical Rivers and Coastal Knowledge TRaCK brings together leading tropical river researchers and managers from Charles Darwin University, Griffith University, the University of Western Australia, CSIRO, James Cook University, the Australian National University, Geoscience Australia, the Environmental Research Institute of the Supervising Scientist, the Australian Institute of Marine Science, the North Australia Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance, and the Governments of Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. TRaCK receives major funding for its research through the Australian Government’s Commonwealth Environment Research Facilities initiative; the National Water Commission’s Raising National Water Standards Program; Land and Water Australia; the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation and the Queensland Government’s Smart State Innovation Fund. Citation Jackson, S., Finn, M., Woodward, E. and Featherston, P. (2011) Indigenous socio-economic values and river flows. CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences, Darwin, NT. ISBN: 978-1-921576-40-9 Enquiries Dr Sue Jackson CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences PMB 44 Winnellie NT 0822, Australia Phone: 08 8944 8415 [email protected] Tropical Rivers and Coastal Knowledge http://www.track.gov.au/ Indigenous socio-economic values and river flows Assets and Values Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................8 Acknowledgements........................................................................................................................15 1. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................18 1.1 Background........................................................................................................................18 1.2 Project Objectives.............................................................................................................19 1.3 Project Approach ..............................................................................................................19 1.4 Study Sites.........................................................................................................................20 1.4.1 The Daly River region ..................................................................................................21 1.4.2 The Fitzroy River region ..............................................................................................24 1.5 Research ethics and Indigenous engagement.............................................................25 2. INDIGENOUS USE OF AQUATIC WILD RESOURCES .....................................................27 2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................27 2.2 Aquatic resource use........................................................................................................30 2.3 Methods..............................................................................................................................31 2.3.1 Resource use mapping................................................................................................32 2.3.2 Seasonal calendars......................................................................................................34 2.3.3 Household surveys.......................................................................................................35 2.3.4 Sample size...................................................................................................................38 2.4 Statistical analysis ............................................................................................................39 2.4.1 Calculating replacement value – assumptions and data management................39 2.4.2 Resource valuation.......................................................................................................41 3. RESULTS ....................................................................................................................................49 3.1 Spatial distribution of resource use................................................................................49 3.2 Household survey responses – Daly River...................................................................53 3.3 Household survey responses - Fitzroy River................................................................54 1 3.4 Annual pattern of resource use from seasonal calendars..........................................56 3.4.1 Daly River catchment...................................................................................................56 The Ngan’gi Seasons calendar ......................................................................................................56 MalakMalak and Mangala plant knowledge.................................................................................58 3.4.2 Fitzroy River catchment...............................................................................................59 Gooniyandi Seasons Calendar (Mingayooroo – Manyi Waranggiri Yarrangi)...............................59 Walmajarri Words from the Riverside (Walmajarrijarti Wangki Martuwarra Kadaji)..................60 3.5 Household surveys ...........................................................................................................62 3.5.1 Frequency of trips by community ...............................................................................62 3.5.2 Seasonal pattern of trips .............................................................................................63 3.5.3 Frequency of trips by habitat ......................................................................................64 3.5.4 Species caught and consumed in highest numbers ...............................................66 3.5.5 Species with greatest replacement value (entire harvest) .....................................68 3.5.6 Daly River: Seasonal harvest patterns for the top 5 ranked species....................71 3.5.7 Fitzroy River: Seasonal harvest patterns for the top 5 ranked species................74 3.5.8 Sites contributing high value – Daly River ................................................................77 3.5.9 Sites contributing high value – Fitzroy River ............................................................79 4. ASSESSING THE IMPACTS OF FLOW ALTERATION ON INDIGENOUS RESOURCE USE ......................................................................................................................................................81 4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................81 4.2 Potential impact of flow alterations.................................................................................82 4.2.1 Qualitative risk assessment – Daly fish species......................................................82 4.2.2 Bayesian Belief Network – Black Bream and Barramundi.....................................83 4.2.3 Qualitative assessments of flow requirements – top 5 species.............................85 4.3 Management Strategy Evaluation model ....................................................................104 5. DISCUSSION............................................................................................................................105 5.1 Patterns of Indigenous harvest.....................................................................................105 5.2 Potential impacts of flow alterations.............................................................................106 2 5.2.1 The hybrid economy and flow alteration impacts ..................................................109
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