Carbon Management Opportunities in Remote Indigenous Communities

ASSETS AND ASPIRATIONS: CARBON MANAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN REMOTE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES Joanne Stewart BBus PgDipPolSt(ESD) CPA This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Murdoch University 2016 School of Engineering and IT, Murdoch University, Australia Declaration I declare that this thesis is my own account of my research and contains as its main content work that has not previously been submitted for a degree at any tertiary education institution. J Stewart Joanne Stewart iii Words of Wisdom… If the gap between the wellbeing of Indigenous Australians and their fellow citizens is ever to be properly addressed, the starting point has to be a genuine engagement between our Indigenous peoples and all Australian governMents. The negotiation Must be fully informed and the first step is for governMents to reach a real understanding of the diverse nature of Indigenous societies, their hopes and aspirations. Professor Patrick Dodson, Aboriginal elder, March 2015 1 The knowledge of the past is captured in the land and cultural practices that bound it together and Made sense of it. Our knowledge for the future requires More than this… We can’t get our rich history back; in fact Many of the older people I talk with don’t actually want it back...Where people have new knowledge and full understanding of that, they Make responsible and good decisions that help theM to further establish their identity as Aboriginal people. Rosalie Kunoth-Monks, Aboriginal elder, November 2006 2 1 Dodson (2015) 2 Kunoth-Monks (2007) v Abstract Two current pressing global challenges, cliMate change due to anthropogenic carbon emissions and poverty, are inextricably intertwined. In Australia these two issues are particularly pertinent. The nation is one of the highest per capita carbon eMitters in the world, and despite being one of the Most developed, the socio-econoMic disadvantage of its Indigenous peoples continues. This thesis provides a contribution to the dual fields of resilient and sustainable coMMunity developMent and cliMate change Mitigation, with a sub-focus on asset-based assessMent Models for enabling coMMunity-directed low-carbon developMent in reMote Indigenous coMMunities. The reMaining socio-econoMic disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians has revealed a need for an alternative approach to the past policy increMentalisM that focuses on issues and needs, and improved engageMent with reMote coMMunities. Therefore, an asset-based Model, the Resilient CoMMunity and Livelihood Asset Integration Model (ReCLAIM), with a focus on aspirations and a continuous participatory appraisal cycle was developed for application with a coMMunity Advisory CoMMittee. The six-step decision support Model was applied, via a series of workshops, with two reMote Indigenous comMunities to assist their selection of goal-oriented carbon ManageMent strategies. The application of the Model identified the existing and aspirational assets of the coMMunities, their current carbon eMission profiles, the carbon ManageMent strategies they preferred for their settleMent areas, the Modelled outcoMes and iMplementation plans. The carbon profiles and strategies selected differed between the two coMMunities highlighting the need for a coMMunity-directed approach to understanding the drivers of carbon eMissions, reMovals and Mitigation responses. EconoMic benefits were highlighted with expected cost savings to coMMunities and service providers. The model could be adapted to a variety of contexts including urban Municipalities or reMote villages in developing countries. vii Acknowledgements This thesis would not have been coMpleted without the constant support, and care during periods of severe illness, given by My faMily, particularly my parents John and Tish Stewart. The research would also not have been possible without the contributions froM the Indigenous coMMunities, and I thank theM for their participation, hospitality and for sharing their knowledge, views and aspirations. I would like to thank my supervisors Dr Martin Anda and Professor Richard Harper for their guidance, encourageMent and advice. I aM also grateful for the discussions with Professor Goen Ho, regarding water and wastewater technologies, Dr Trevor Pryor, regarding renewable energy systeMs and Professor Glenn Albrecht regarding coMMunity resilience. Professor Chem Nayar also kindly provided renewable energy details and photographs, and the eTool teaM provided generous support with their software. A thank you also goes to Justin TeMMen for accoMpanying Me on one field trip and assisting with a renewable energy presentation, and to Ross Lantzke for digitising Figure 3.3 for Me. A further note of gratitude goes to John Stewart for identifying iteMs for inclusion in the abbreviations and acronyMs sumMary and the glossary. I aM very grateful for the funding provided by the Australian Research Council Linkage Programme (LP0990631) for the Decarbonising Cities and Regions project and froM industry sponsor Horizon Power, and collaboration with research partner Curtin University Sustainability Policy (CUSP) Institute. I would also like to acknowledge the funding and support received froM the Australian GovernMent's Inspiring Australia prograMMe through the Unlocking Australia's Potential grant (US010118). I aM also grateful for the solar-hybrid Metered data provided by the Centre for Appropriate Technology Ltd. Finally, I would like to thank fellow PhD candidates and office colleagues Maedeh, John, Veena, Ben, Stan and Sergio for their friendship and humour. ix Publication List The following publications were written and published during the research process: Stewart J., Anda M., Harper R.J., 2011, Carbon ManageMent and opportunities for Indigenous coMMunities. In '!st International Conference on Revisiting the Socio-Political and Technological DiMensions of CliMate Change'. (Eds C. GerMond-Duret, J. Goulding, F.P. RahiMian, A. Akintoye), pp 109-124. University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK. Stewart J., Harper R.J., Anda M., 2011, Developing a Model of carbon sources and sinks for Indigenous coMMunities in Australia. In '19th International Congress on Modelling and SiMulation'. Perth, Australia. (Eds F. Chan, D. Marinova, R.S. Anderssen) pp. 3085 - 3091. Modelling and SiMulation Society of Australia and New Zealand. Beattie C., Bunning J., Stewart J., NewMan P., Anda M., 2012, Measuring carbon for urban development planning. International Journal of Climate Change: Impacts and Responses 3, 35-52 Stewart J., Anda M., Harper R.J., 2016, Carbon profiles of reMote Australian Indigenous coMMunities: A base for opportunities. Energy Policy 94, 77-88. Publication coMMents and attributions: The first of these publications was an initial suMMary of literature related to Indigenous and cliMate change policies, carbon Management opportunities for Indigenous coMMunities and the Sustainable Livelihoods FraMework and forMed the groundwork for further literature review. JS wrote 100% of the paper with soMe literature suggestions froM MA & RH. The second paper explored the literature relating to carbon MeasureMent and proposed a carbon profile calculation Model for Indigenous coMMunities, including land sector emissions and removals. JS wrote 100% of the paper with soMe literature suggestions from MA & RH. The third paper explored the need for eMbodied energy MeasureMent and evaluation of the CCAPPrecinct and eTool software as potential tools for the Decarbonising Cities and Regions Project. JS reviewed the eTool software, assessed its suitability for application to Indigenous coMMunity contexts and provided Modelling using hypothetical coMMunity data. JS contributed 25% of the paper but it is not replicated in this thesis. The fourth paper is largely replicated in this thesis as Chapter 5, and includes a description of the carbon calculation Model used, research data collected from the two participating comMunities, results and discussion. JS developed the Methodology, designed the energy surveys, collected the data with the comMunities, calculated the carbon profiles and wrote the paper. RH and MA provided review coMMents and suggestions for additional discussion iteMs. JS contributed 90%+ xi Table of Contents Declaration ........................................................................................................................ iii Words of Wisdom… ............................................................................................................ v Abstract ............................................................................................................................ vii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... ix Publication List .................................................................................................................. xi Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. xiii List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... xv List of Figures ................................................................................................................... xvii List of Abbreviations and Acronyms ................................................................................. xix Glossary .........................................................................................................................

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