Indigenous climate change adaptation in the Kimberley region of North-western Australia Final Report Sonia Leonard, John Mackenzie, Frances Kofod, Meg Parsons, Marcia Langton, Peter Russ, Lyndon Ormond-Parker, Kristen Smith and Max Smith Indigenous climate change adaptation in the Kimberley region of North-western Australia Learning from the past, adapting in the future: Identifying pathways to successful adaptation in Indigenous communities AUTHORS Sonia Leonard John Mackenzie Frances Kofod Meg Parsons Marcia Langton Peter Russ Lyndon Ormond-Parker Kristen Smith Max Smith Published by the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility 2013 ISBN: 978-1-925039-87-0 NCCARF Publication 116/13 Australian copyright law applies. For permission to reproduce any part of this document, please approach the authors. Please cite this report as: Leonard, S, Mackenzie, J, Kofod, F, Parsons, M, Langton, M, Russ, P, Ormond-Parker, L, Smith, K & Smith, M 2013, Indigenous climate change adaptation in the Kimberley region of North-western Australia. Learning from the past, adapting in the future: Identifying pathways to successful adaptation in Indigenous communities, National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, Gold Coast, 131 pp. Acknowledgment 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 (NCCARF). 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. Disclaimer The views expressed herein are not necessarily the views of the Commonwealth or NCCARF, and neither the Commonwealth nor NCCARF accept responsibility for information or advice contained herein. Cover image Miriwoong children playing in waterhole near Bubble Bubble Community, Keep River National Park, NT © Sonia Leonard. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................ 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................... 2 1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 4 1.1 Developing adaptation strategies based on participatory research and Indigenous knowledge .................................................................................... 5 1.2 Research objectives ........................................................................................ 6 1.3 Report structure .............................................................................................. 7 2. STUDY AREAS IN NORTH-WESTERN AUSTRALIA ............................... 10 2.1 Socioeconomic profile ................................................................................... 11 2.2 Weather and climate ..................................................................................... 12 2.3 Impacts of climate change ............................................................................. 13 2.4 Geography .................................................................................................... 13 3. RESEARCH DESIGN, ACTIVITIES AND METHODS ............................... 15 3.1 Research aims .............................................................................................. 15 3.2 Development of research design ................................................................... 16 3.3 Selection of case-study communities ............................................................ 18 3.4 Participatory research framework .................................................................. 18 3.5 Identification of issues ................................................................................... 19 3.5.1 Climate change adaptation workshops ........................................................... 19 3.5.2 ‘Back to Country’ field workshops .................................................................... 21 3.5.3 Stakeholder engagement .................................................................................. 22 3.6 Summary of community-based research activities......................................... 22 4. KEY RESULTS AND FINDINGS OF PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH....... 24 4.1 Priorities of Gija people of the Warmun community ....................................... 24 4.2 Priorities of the Keep River Miriwoong Traditional Owners ............................ 24 4.3 Priorities of the Karajarri Traditional Lands Association ................................. 25 5. PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF ADAPTATION PLANNING IN INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES .................................................................. 26 5.1 Defining adaptation planning ......................................................................... 26 5.1.1 Four aspects of adaptation planning ....................................................... 27 5.2 The need for Indigenous-specific adaptation planning ................................... 29 5.2.1 Vulnerability and adaptive capacity in Indigenous communities .............. 30 5.2.2 Community participation ......................................................................... 31 5.2.3 Barriers to participation .......................................................................... 33 5.3 Climate adaptation planning frameworks ....................................................... 34 5.3.1 Objectives and outcomes of Indigenous adaptation planning ................. 34 Indigenous climate change adaptation in the Kimberley region iii 5.3.2 Risk management .................................................................................. 36 5.3.3 Integrated development .......................................................................... 38 5.3.4 Community-based adaptation ................................................................. 40 5.4 Variations to an adaptation planning framework ............................................ 42 5.4.1 Scoping and initiation ............................................................................. 42 5.4.2 Drivers of adaptation planning ................................................................ 43 5.4.3 Scale of adaptation ................................................................................. 44 5.4.4 Engagement pathways ........................................................................... 45 5.4.5 Free, prior and informed consent ............................................................ 46 5.4.6 Establishing engagement protocols ........................................................ 48 5.5 Planning ........................................................................................................ 49 5.5.1 Language and concept definition ............................................................ 50 5.5.2 Objective-setting ..................................................................................... 51 5.5.3 Climate risk assessments ....................................................................... 53 5.6 Implementation .............................................................................................. 54 5.7 Monitoring and evaluation ............................................................................. 55 5.8 Summary ....................................................................................................... 56 6. UNDERSTANDING INDIGENOUS ADAPTATION, WORLDVIEWS AND INTEGRATION OF TRADITIONAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE .......... 57 6.1 Traditional ecological knowledge ................................................................... 57 6.2 Keep River case study .................................................................................. 61 6.2.1 Miriwoong and Gajirrabeng (MG) peoples .............................................. 61 6.2.2 The Miriwoong traditional ecological knowledge ..................................... 63 6.2.3 Weather and climate in the Miriwoong worldview ................................... 66 6.3 Warmun case study ....................................................................................... 68 6.3.1 Gija people ............................................................................................. 68 6.3.2 Gija worldview ........................................................................................ 70 6.3.3 Weather and climate in the Gija worldview ............................................. 71 6.4 Perceptions of climate risk ............................................................................. 74 6.4.1 How does worldview influence perceptions of climate change? .............. 74 6.5 Some practical measures in communication.................................................. 76 6.5.1 Use of fact sheets and presentations ...................................................... 76 6.5.2 Direct translations of climate change concepts ....................................... 76 6.5.3 Miriwoong weather words and perceptions of climate risk ...................... 77 6.5.4 Traditional knowledge of trees ................................................................ 80 6.6 The Miriwoong seasonal calendar: a case study in communication ............... 80 6.7 Integrating TEK and Western science: pathways to adaptation ..................... 83 iv Indigenous climate change adaptation in the Kimberley region 7. ADAPTATION