Cultural Water and the Edward/Kolety and Wakool River System
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Cultural water and the Edward/ Kolety and Wakool river system Jessica K Weir University of Canberra and AIATSIS Steven L Ross Member, Yarkuwa Indigenous Knowledge Centre David RJ Crew Manager, Yarkuwa Indigenous Knowledge Centre Jeanette L Crew Chair, Yarkuwa Indigenous Knowledge Centre RESEARCH REPORT, AIATSIS CENTRE FOR LAND AND WATER RESEARCH Weir, JK, Ross, SL, Crew, DRJ and Crew, JL 2013, Cultural water and the Edward/Kolety and Wakool river system, research report, AIATSIS Centre for Land and Water Research, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Canberra. © Jessica K Weir, Steven L Ross, David RJ Crew and Jeanette L Crew, 2013 http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/ntru/overview.html http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/research/lw/wakool.html YARKUWA INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE CENTRE ABORIGINAL CORPORATION AIATSIS CENTRE FOR LAND AND WATER RESEARCH AIATSIS CENTRE FOR LAND AND WATER RESEARCH 2013 Contents Shortened forms 2 Acknowledgments 3 Methodology 3 Note on spelling and terminology 4 Introduction 5 The Edward/Kolety and Wakool rivers, forests and floodplains 5 Country 7 Ecology 8 Forests, water, culture 10 Cultural flows 12 Developing an agenda 12 Indigenous water policy, Indigenous water rights 13 Cultural flows and environmental flows 15 Cultural water in the Edward/Kolety – Wakool 17 Translating cultural flows 17 Diverse Indigenous governance 21 Watering the Edward/Kolety – Wakool 25 Conclusion 28 References 29 Appendix 1: Water intervention 33 Appendix 2: Environmental and cultural flows time line 36 Figures, tables and maps Map 1: Map of the Edward and Wakool river networks 6 Table 1: NSW State Forest study of the extent of vegetation types (in hectares) in the Werai 9 Group of Forests and the North Deniliquin State Forest Study Area Table 2: Cultural flows reduction: anticipated benefits of cultural water in the Edward–Wakool 19 Figure 1: Werai Forest proposed change of management 20 Table 3: Indigenous governance bodies with land and water interests of particular relevance to 24 the Edward–Wakool rivers 1 © Jessica Weir, Steven Ross, David Crew, Jeanette Crew, 2013 CULTURAL WATER AND THE EDWARD/KOLETY AND WAKOOL RIVER SYSTEM Shortened forms AIATSIS Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies ATSISJC Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner CEWH Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder COAG Council of Australian Governments CSIRO Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation DAWP Deniliquin Aboriginal Working Party DLALC Deniliquin Local Aboriginal Land Council DSE Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment DWR Department of Water Resources, New South Wales DWE NSW Department of Water and Environment EWAG Environmental Water Advisory Group IPA Indigenous Protected Area JIG Joint Indigenous Group LALC Local Aboriginal Land Council MATG Murray Aboriginal Technical Group Murray CMA Murray Catchment Management Authority MDBA Murray–Darling Basin Authority MDBC Murray–Darling Basin Commission MDBMC Murray–Darling Basin Ministerial Council MLD EWAG Murray Lower Darling Environmental Water Advisory Group MLDRIN Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations MWWG Murray Wetlands Working Group NAILSMA North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance NBAN Northern Basin Aboriginal Nations NOW NSW Office of Water NRC Natural Resources Commission NWCPAG National Wildlife Corridors Plan Advisory Group NWI National Water Initiative NSW NPA National Parks Association of NSW OEH NSW Office of Environment and Heritage SEWPAC Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities TAFE Technical and Further Education WANT Werai Aboriginal Negotiating Team Yarkuwa Yarkuwa Indigenous Knowledge Centre YYNAC Yorta Yorta Nation Aboriginal Corporation 2 © Jessica Weir, Steven Ross, David Crew, Jeanette Crew, 2013 AIATSIS CENTRE FOR LAND AND WATER RESEARCH 2013 Acknowledgments The authors acknowledge Wamba Wamba and Perrepa Perrepa traditional owners and pay respect to elders past, present and future. This report is the result of a research partnership between Yarkuwa Indigenous Knowledge Centre Aboriginal Corporation (Yarkuwa) and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS). The work has been supported as an AIATSIS Council research project. The project originated in discussions between AIATSIS and Yarkuwa in 2010. It builds on work between the two organisations and on AIATSIS’s work with Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations and traditional owners along the Murray River on water management and cultural flows (including Ross 2009; Weir 2009; Weir and Ross 2007; and Morgan, Strelein and Weir 2004). During the fieldwork for this research, Yarkuwa held a workshop with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) for the Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) project ‘The Multiple Benefits of the Basin Plan’. CSIRO and AIATSIS collaboratively co-documented the workshop. The authors thank Yarkuwa staff, board and members for their support and insights. Jessica thanks Tran Tran and Nick Duff of AIATSIS for their collegial discussions on cultural flows. We also thank Nick Duff and David Leslie for their feedback on an earlier version of this report, and Pauline McGuire for her editorial expertise. Any errors or omissions remain the responsibility of the authors. Methodology This research developed out of a partnership between AIATSIS and Yarkuwa that considered the complexity of the cultural water agenda, and water reform more broadly, in the Edward/Kolety and Wakool river system. It has coincided with research and planning for environmental flows for these same rivers (Webster 2010; Hale & SKM 2011). During the fieldwork, a meeting with the Yarkuwa board identified a number of priorities for the research, including that it provide: • an overview of governance issues and stakeholders involved in water management in the Edward/Kolety and Wakool river system • identification of the diversity of Indigenous governance bodies with land and water interests in the Edward/Kolety and Wakool river system • a discussion of cultural water that identifies values broader than the emphasis on a water allocation in competition with other users. This research also draws on three Yarkuwa documents that interlink cultural and environmental values, authored by David and Jeanette Crew (Yarkuwa 2008, 2009 and 2012a). The project was scoped around the geographic area known as the Edward/Kolety and Wakool river system, with a focus on the work and priorities of the Yarkuwa board and broader membership. It was not broad enough to include spending time with the other Indigenous organisations and governance bodies in the Edward/Kolety – Wakool. Our research methods included the review and analysis of literature, as well as workshops, meetings and interviews with Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. The workshops and meetings were all held in Deniliquin and took place as follows: • scoping meeting on 7 December 2010 between Yarkuwa, AIATSIS and the NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water • AIATSIS workshop with Yarkuwa board on 17 August 2011 to discuss the first draft of the research report and develop a cultural flows definition and principles • Yarkuwa Effects of Sustainable Diversion Limits workshop with CSIRO on 8 September 2011 to discuss cultural and historical information and aspirations for future management • Yarkuwa membership meeting on 20 September 2011, where the cultural flows definition and principles were endorsed. 3 © Jessica Weir, Steven Ross, David Crew, Jeanette Crew, 2013 CULTURAL WATER AND THE EDWARD/KOLETY AND WAKOOL RIVER SYSTEM Steven Ross also attended monthly Yarkuwa board meetings where he outlined and received endorse- ment for the project, updated progress of the research, and discussed additional aspects of the cultural flows definition and potential governance models. Notice of the meetings and the project appeared in two editions of Yarkuwa’s Nyernila Newsletter. Jessica Weir conducted interviews with Yarkuwa members Debbie Flower, David Crew (a co-author) and Leo Briggs Jnr to complement the workshops and meetings. She visited North Deniliquin forest twice, once with Debbie Flower and her sons Patrick Moore and Jonathan Moore, and once with Debbie and co-authors Jeanette Crew and David Crew. Werai Forest was inaccessible during fieldwork because of heavy rains. As a Murray Catchment Management Authority board member, Steven Ross also discussed this project with the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder at the meeting ‘Western Murray Catchment Community Water Meeting: Edward–Wakool System’, hosted by the Murray CMA, in Deniliquin on Wednesday, 10 August 2011. In conjunction with the meetings and workshops, Steven Ross prepared a project brief and visioning paper, which was circulated twice to Yarkuwa board members and to the Murray Catchment Management Authority. Yarkuwa board members’ contributions to the paper included information on cultural aspects of the rivers and forests. Finally, we declare the interests of the authors in this project. Steven Ross, Jeanette Crew and David Crew have significant familial ties to Yarkuwa and the case study area. Steven identifies as Wamba Wamba, Jeanette identifies as Mutthi Mutthi. Steven, Jeanette and David are immediate family. Steven was employed by Yarkuwa to assist with this report. David is the manager of the centre and Jeanette the chair. Note on spelling and terminology There