Developing an effective conservation and sustainable use economy: two Arnhem Land case studies N. Concu September 2011 Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research Research School of Social Sciences The Australian National University ii Developing an effective conservation and sustainable use economy: two Arnhem Land case studies N. Concu Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research Research School of Social Sciences The Australian National University September 2011 iii Disclaimer TRaCK has published the information contained in this publication to assist public knowledge and discussion and to help improve the sustainable management of Australia’s tropical rivers and coasts. Where technical information has been prepared by or contributed by authors external to TRaCK, readers should contact the author(s), and conduct their own enquiries, before making use of that information. No person should act on the contents of this publication whether as to matters of fact or opinion or other content, without first obtaining specific independent professional advice which confirms the information contained within this publication. While all reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the information in this publication is correct, matters covered by the publication are subject to change. Charles Darwin University does not assume and hereby disclaims any express or implied liability whatsoever to any party for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions, whether these errors or omissions result from negligence, accident or any other cause. Copyright This publication is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced, by any process, without written permission from the publisher, Enquiries should be made to the publisher, Charles Darwin University, c/- TRaCK, Casuarina Campus, Building Red 1 Level 3, Darwin NT 0909. 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 Australian Government'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. Concu, N. (2011). Developing an effective conservation and sustainable use economy: two Arnhem Land case studies. Charles Darwin University, Darwin. For further information about this publication: Nanni Concu, Centre For Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, The Australian National University Email: [email protected] Or to find out more about TRaCK Visit: http://www.track.org.au/ ISBN: 978-1-921576-39-3 Email: [email protected] Published by: Charles Darwin University Phone: 08 8946 7444 Printed by: Charles Darwin University iv Foreword The idea for this project was formed in early discussions with Dr Peter Whitehead and then also with Dr Sue Jackson. All too often community-based Working on Country rangers bid for funds to provide environmental services constrained by program guidelines and realism about availability of financial resources and the need for their equitable distribution. In the brief for this project, I was keen to do two things: First, explore the idea that environmental needs analysis should determine what was needed; and second, explore ways that provision of services to address these environmental management needs might be sustainably sourced from public, private and philanthropic sectors. Subsequently the research was commissioned and funded under Theme 6 of the Tropical Rivers and Coastal Knowledge (TRaCK) hub as project 6.3 ‘Developing an effective conservation and sustainable use economy in Arnhem Land: Options for payment for environmental services’. Initially, this work was to be undertaken in the Maningrida region only, focused on the Mann/Liverpool/Tomkinson and Blyth/Cadell Rivers catchments. This was primarily because a great deal of productive environmental research has been undertaken with the Djelk Rangers and the Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation for over a decade and there was a typically enthusiastic local response to this project proposal. It was also because TRaCK has a focus on fresh water. Owing to unforeseen delays, contractual arrangements for this project were only completed in the first half of 2009 and subsequently Dr Nanni Concu, an environmental economist, was recruited to undertake this project, initially funded for 18 months only, 1 July 2009 to 31 December 2010 (subsequently extended to 31 March 2011). Dr Concu was working with the Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation when recruited and so the nature of the project expanded somewhat as we now expanded its scope to look less at two catchments in central Arnhem Land and more at two Indigenous Protected Areas, Djelk and Dhimurru. This expansion not only added an important comparative perspective to the research, but also provided two very different contexts, the Djelk Indigenous Protected Area is very remote and experiencing little development pressure beyond applications for mineral exploration, the Dhimurru Indigenous Protected Area surrounds a major open cut bauxite extraction and alumina production operation at Gove, including the mining town of Nhulunbuy. This was to be an innovative ‘blue-sky’ research project from the outset mainly because this question, on behalf of the natural and cultural environment had not been asked before and we were well aware that we would only get a very preliminary and partial answer at best. The project was also constrained by major data shortcomings that we were aware of and so we committed to using some exploratory instruments, like questionnaires, that we know would be potentially problematic to administer in cross-cultural and political contested circumstances. While this project has been undertaken by Dr Concu as lead researcher, we were fortunate to be able to recruit a few others on a part-time basis to assist with both research and administrative support including Dr Jennifer Koenig who was coaxed back from maternity leave to assist us on a part-time basis in Maningrida through the Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation; and then when she left Maningrida, John White, Bill Fogarty and Susie v Russell in Canberra. In May 2011 Dr Concu left Australia to take up a university position in Sardinia and finalisation of this report after peer review was undertaken by Dr Koenig and Geoff Buchanan, a doctoral candidate at the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR). It is also pleasing that this project was able to dovetail with the People on Country, Healthy Landscapes and Indigenous Economic Futures project being undertaken at CAEPR, mainly sponsored by the Sidney Myer Fund, the Australian Research Council and the Australian National University: the Djelk and Dhimurru groups are two of our partners on this longer term project and so our research collaborations have been productively enhanced under the Tropical Rivers and Coastal Knowledge hub umbrella. Of particular practical importance, this project is very much about people working and living on their country, maintaining the environmental and cultural values of that country, and looking for future economic livelihoods using their country sustainably. So at one level, this report can be read as a valuable, but preliminary, environmental business opportunities assessment for the two IPAs, bearing in mind that the Djelk IPA was only declared in September 2009. At another level though, this report has important economic and political implications. On the economic front, it should be of value to the 40 other declared Indigenous Protected Areas throughout Australia, as well as to countless other less formal community-based Caring for Country initiatives. On the political front, there is a dominant national narrative of scepticism about the biodiversity value of the Indigenous estate and more so of the contributions made by community-based Indigenous rangers. In my view much of the factual information in this report should open up prospects for a more productive focus on what might be economically possible on Aboriginal-owned land in local, regional, national and even global environmental and cultural interests. Professor Jon Altman August 2011 vi Table of Contents Foreword by J. Altman ..................................................................................................... v Summary ........................................................................................................................... ix Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... xi Abbreviations ................................................................................................................... xii Glossary ........................................................................................................................... xiii 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................