Future change in ancient worlds: Indigenous adaptation in northern Australia Final Report Deanne Bird, Jeanie Govan, Helen Murphy, Sharon Harwood, Katharine Haynes, Dean Carson, Stephen Russell, David King, Ed Wensing, Nicole Tsakissiris and Steven Larkin FUTURE CHANGE IN ANCIENT WORLDS: INDIGENOUS ADAPTATION IN NORTHERN AUSTRALIA Authors Deanne Bird1,2, Jeanie Govan2,3, Helen Murphy4, Sharon Harwood4, Katharine Haynes1, Dean Carson2,5, Stephen Russell6, David King4, Ed Wensing7,8,9, Nicole Tsakissiris4 and Steven Larkin3 1 Risk Frontiers, Macquarie University, 2 The Northern Institute, Charles Darwin University, 3 Australian Centre for Indigenous Knowledges and Education, Charles Darwin University, 4 Centre for Tropical Urban and Regional Planning, James Cook University, 5 Poche Centre for Indigenous Health, Flinders University, 6 Defence and Systems Institute, University of South Australia, 7 National Centre for Indigenous Studies, Australian National University, 8 Urban and Regional Planning, University of Canberra, 9 SGS Economics and Planning. Published by the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility ISBN: 978-1-925039-88-7 NCCARF Publication 117/13 © 2013 Charles Darwin University This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the copyright holder. Please cite this report as: Bird, D, Govan, J, Murphy, H, Harwood, S, Haynes, K, Carson, D, Russell, S, King, D, Wensing, E, Tsakissiris, S and Larkin, S 2013 Future change in ancient worlds: Indigenous adaptation in northern Australia, National Climate Change Adaptation Research facility, Gold Coast, 257 pp. Acknowledgements This work was carried out with financial support from the Australian Government (Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency) and the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility. The role of NCCARF is to lead the research community in a national interdisciplinary effort to generate the information needed by decision-makers in government, business and in vulnerable sectors and communities to manage the risk of climate change impacts. Grateful thanks go to all of the residents, key informants, community members, and public servants who gave their valuable time to participate in this research. The research team also wishes to thank the following people, communities and organisations who assisted and supported this project: • The Traditional Owners, elders and residents of Broome, Western Australia; Maningrida and Ngukurr, Northern Territory; and Ayton, Thompson Creek and Wujal Wujal, Queensland. • The Eastern Kuku Yalanji ranger groups: Bana Yarralji Rangers, Shipton’s Flat and Dabu Jajikal Corporation, Wujal Wujal; Yawuru Rangers, Broome; Djelk Rangers, north-west Arnhem Land; Yugul Mangi Rangers, Ngukurr. • Emergency management organisations in Broome, Western Australia; Maningrida and Ngukurr, Northern Territory; and Wujal Wujal, Queensland. • Indigenous and government organisations and key Indigenous stakeholders in the four case study locations, including: the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance (NAILSMA), Ngukurr Art Centre, Northern Territory Government, Northern Land Council (NLC), Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation, Nyamba Buru Yawuru Ltd, the Shire of Broome, Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire Council, Roper Gulf Shire, Cook Shire, West Arnhem Shire Council, Yugul Mangi Corporation, Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation, and WA Rangelands NRM. • A particular thankyou goes to Northern Territory Government and the Northern Territory Library and Archives Service for their generous financial and in-kind support. • Carol Robertson, Risk Frontiers, Macquarie University for copyediting. • Kristilee Ransley from ‘A Quick Word’ for editing and proofreading. Cover image and internal photos: Unless otherwise stated, all photos within the report were taken by Jeanie Govan, Charles Darwin University and Deanne Bird, Risk Frontiers, Macquarie University. For further information please contact: Deanne Bird, Risk Frontiers, Macquarie University, North Ryde, Sydney 2109 Ph. 0434 498 910 [email protected] TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................. 1 1. Introduction.......................................................................................................... 5 1.1 Chosen case study locations across northern Australia .................................. 7 1.2 Research questions and report structure ......................................................... 9 2. Northern Australia demographics .................................................................... 11 3. Climate, hazards and change in northern Australia ........................................ 16 3.1 Rapid onset events and associate impacts ................................................... 17 3.2 Slow onset events and associated impacts ................................................... 18 4. Case study: Broome, Western Australia .......................................................... 20 4.1 The Yawuru people and their ever-changing environment............................. 21 5. Case study: Maningrida, Northern Territory .................................................... 27 5.1 The people of Maningrida and their ever-changing environment ................... 27 6. Case study: Ngukurr, Northern Territory ......................................................... 31 6.1 Yugul Mangi people and their ever-changing environment ............................ 31 7. Case study: Wujal Wujal, Queensland ............................................................. 34 7.1 The Kuku Yalanji people and their ever-changing environment ..................... 34 8. Demographic history and population volatility ............................................... 40 8.1 Approach and methods ................................................................................. 40 8.2 Results .......................................................................................................... 42 8.3 Broome population movement ...................................................................... 51 8.4 Summary ...................................................................................................... 56 9. Land use planning’s role in climate change adaptation ................................. 58 9.1 Approach and methods ................................................................................. 58 9.2 Land use planning and disaster risk management ........................................ 66 9.3 Climate responsive design ............................................................................ 75 9.4 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 90 10. Indigenous views of change and risk ............................................................... 92 10.1 Approach and methods ................................................................................. 92 10.2 Results and discussion ................................................................................. 95 11. Children’s understanding of weather and seasons in Broome .................... 187 11.1 Purpose ...................................................................................................... 187 11.2 Method ........................................................................................................ 187 11.3 Results ........................................................................................................ 188 11.4 Discussion .................................................................................................. 200 12. Discussion ....................................................................................................... 202 13. Recommendations and conclusion ................................................................ 207 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................... 209 APPENDIX A – COMMONWEALTH AND STATE/TERRITORY INDIGENOUS POLICY INITIATIVES ............................................................................................... 221 APPENDIX B - CLIMATE CHANGE WORKSHOPS IN BROOME ........................... 247 Future change in ancient worlds iii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1: The location of the four case study locations across northern Australia....... 8 Figure 2.1: Proportion of the total population in each Statistical Area 3 who were Indigenous in 2011 Census. ........................................................................................ 11 Figure 2.2: Proportion of the northern Indigenous population living in each Statistical Area 3 in 2011 Census. .............................................................................. 12 Figure 2.3: Age/sex pyramid comparing northern Indigenous and northern non- Indigenous populations. .............................................................................................. 13 Figure 2.4: Urban centres and localities in which Indigenous people lived in northern Australia. ....................................................................................................... 14 Figure 3.1. Mean onset date of wet season as determined when rainfall accumulation reaches 50 mm from 1st September ...................................................... 16 Figure 4.1: Region around the Shire of Broome .........................................................