Indigenous Land and Sea Management Programs (ILSMPs) Enhance the Wellbeing of Indigenous Australians

Abstract

Conservation and environmental management have been reported as offering opportunities to substantially improve the wellbeing of Indigenous people. Using the holistic wellbeing impact evaluation (W-IE) approach—well suited for use in Indigenous communities—we interviewed 190 Indigenous Australians across four communities. All communities were involved in the Indigenous land and sea management programs (ILSMPs). Our study explored the conceptualisation of ‘wellbeing’ by participants. In particular, we were interested in the aspects of wellbeing perceived to be affected by ILSMPs. Out of the 26 wellbeing factors explored, ‘Health centres’; ‘Language’; ‘Schools’; and ‘Safe community’ emerged as being of highest importance to the largest percentage of the respondents. When grouped using principle components analysis (PCA), the ‘Community and society’ domain emerged as the most important; accounting for 52% of the overall importance of all wellbeing factors. The second most important domain was the ‘Country and culture’, contributing 31%. Lastly, ‘Economic aspects’ contributed only 17%. Respondents believed that ILSMPs have played a considerable causal role in improving wellbeing, by positively changing factors most important to them. Specifically, 73% of perceived causal links were related to improvements in the ‘Country and Culture’ and 23% to ‘Community and Society’ domain. We thus conclude that land management for Indigenous people is much more than ecological or environmental management with ILSMPs, perceived to cause a wide range of cultural and social benefits. We also propose ways in which the future design of such programs could be improved to further increase benefits.

Examining the Associations between Indigenous Rangers, Culture and Wellbeing in Australia, 2018–2020

“…It is also likely that Ranger work reinforces cultural participation. This corroborates other research that demonstrated Ranger work reinforces culture, facilitates connection to country, expands use of language and enables Rangers to connect with Elders transmitting cultural knowledge and learning [ 23 ]. In an applied sense this means Ranger employment utilizes and facilitates the: sharing knowledge and stories of sacred sites, learning tracks of endangered animals, knowing when plants flower, and passing the responsibility to look after sites, fauna and flora between generations.…”

“…More recently, a study of Aboriginal and Torres Strait participants involved in land and sea management programs from communities in far North Queensland (Australia) reported the value of the land and sea management programs were not only environmental, but importantly, encouraged the use of cultural practices, leading to an increase in cultural and social benefits for the community [ 23 ]. These papers raise the question—do activities on country facilitate the building and reinforcement of cultural involvement and therefore wellbeing and in what ways?…”

Visual Storytelling, Intergenerational Environmental Justice and Indigenous Sovereignty: Exploring Images and Stories amid a Contested Oil Pipeline Project

“…Our analysis resonates with the recently published article in this journal [74] by Larson and colleagues, in which 190 indigenous Australians across four communities were interviewed to ascertain impacts on the well-being of land and sea management initiatives. In common with indigenous peoples in Canada and elsewhere, the authors documented how traditional land and water management practices in Australia involve not only maintaining the physical environment but also carefully nurturing values, stories, and cultural obligations associated with the region, with the need for autonomy in creating opportunities for development.…”

Indigenous Land-Based Approaches to Well-Being: The Amisk (Beaver) Harvesting Program in Subarctic Ontario, Canada

“…The complementary use of Indigenous and mainstream western knowledge systems has been identified as an inclusive and equitable way for managing ecosystems and addressing environmental challenges [ 93 ]. The role of Indigenous people in sustainable land management is prevalent in Australia, where Indigenous land and sea management programs (ILSMPs) have been shown to play an important role in well-being, providing a range of cultural, social, and environmental benefits [ 94 , 95 , 96 ]. The ILSMPs further biodiversity conservation, protect natural resources and heritage, while also creating employment and economic opportunities [ 96 ].…”

“…The role of Indigenous people in sustainable land management is prevalent in Australia, where Indigenous land and sea management programs (ILSMPs) have been shown to play an important role in well-being, providing a range of cultural, social, and environmental benefits [ 94 , 95 , 96 ]. The ILSMPs further biodiversity conservation, protect natural resources and heritage, while also creating employment and economic opportunities [ 96 ]. A study by Larson, Stoeckl, Jarvis, Addison, Prior and Esparon [ 95 ] evaluating the well-being impacts on the Ewamian people involved in ILSMPs in north Queensland, Australia, found that having legal rights and access to “country” (i.e., land, sea, air), knowing that the country is being looking after, and having strong cultural connections were all identified as important factors to well-being.…”