australian academy of science 7sept10 b moggridge csiro

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ABORIGINAL KNOWLEDGE AND CULTURAL VALUES OF WATER Bradley Moggridge 7 September 2010 Australian Academy of Sciences Water management options for urban and rural Australia

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Presentation - ABORIGINAL KNOWLEDGE AND CULTURAL VALUES OF WATER to the Australian Academy of Science

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Page 1: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

ABORIGINAL KNOWLEDGE AND CULTURAL VALUES OF WATER

Bradley Moggridge7 September 2010

Australian Academy of SciencesWater management options for urban and rural Austra lia

Page 2: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

Name the Title Page cultural site, if not this one?

Page 3: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

Outline

1. Who I am as identity is important and NAIDOC 2010

2. Aboriginal Water Knowledge

3. Planning Opportunities

4. Values of Water

5. Cultural Flow

6. Gaps

Page 4: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

Me

Toongabbie NSW

Culturally I am Lucky and Unlucky:Lucky - as I have a huge proud Murri family and have a good education; and

Unlucky - as I have not grown up on Country and cannot speak my language

Kamilaroi Nation

Amaroo ACT 2010

Page 5: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

Unsung Heroes: closing the gap by leading their wayNAIDOC 2010 POSTER

Artist: Sheree Blackley from Mt Isa QLD

Description of work: The artwork depicts an Aboriginal mother who is an 'unsung hero' leading her children through example, showing that actions can speak louder than words. The dot work illustrates nurturing and teaching from birth, always guiding our children towards 'closing the gap', towards 'success' for those who choose to stay on the path.

Page 6: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

Unsung Heroes and Leaders

Aboriginal heroes and leaders struggle to influence on a grand scale, as locally their issues are to great

I don’t see myself as a leader, I just owe it to my ancestors

Dilemma for current generations:

� Aboriginal Demographics (75% under 24 years of age)� Losing our Knowledge Holders at a great rate� We are at risk of losing far too much � We need to sit down and listen to our grass roots people

Page 7: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

Outline

1. Who I am as identity is important and NAIDOC

2. Aboriginal Water Knowledge

3. Planning Opportunities

4. Values of Water

5. Cultural Flow

6. Gaps

Page 8: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

Aboriginal Water Knowledge = Survival

• Aboriginal people are still here (climate change and all)

• Aboriginal people’s ability to survive in and understand the Australian landscape is astounding this equates to:� Generations of Traditional Knowledge

• A precise classification system was developed for water sites� Aboriginal people know how to find and re-find water in a dry

landscape

• BUT, Aboriginal people are still not part of the “wes tern equation” in identifying how, when and where water flo ws in Australia

Page 9: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

Aboriginal Water Knowledge

A hypothetical addition:

D + TLC = 5000+/-D = The “Dreaming”TLC = Traditional Lore and Customs 5000+/-* generations of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and survival on the driest inhabited continent on earth*Based on 20years = 1 Generation (Wikipedia)

With the current state of the Country, who should protect and nurture our country back to health - Aboriginal people, why?

� Deep seated understanding and long relationship� Customary obligation� Are happier and healthier (in spirit and wellbeing) when we have the

same opportunities and standards of living as all Australians

Page 10: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

Word Break

Baiame’s Ngunnhu – Barwon River

Brewarrina Aboriginal Fishtraps

Frogs at

“Royal” Brewarrina Golf Club

Page 11: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

Outline

1. Who I am as identity is important and NAIDOC

2. Aboriginal Water Knowledge

3. Planning Opportunities

4. Values of Water

5. Cultural Flow

6. Gaps

Page 12: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

Opportunities - National Water Initiative

• The National Water Initiative of 2004 for the first time explicitly recognised Indigenous rights and interests in national water policy (paragraph 25(ix) ):“recognise Indigenous needs in relation to water access and management”

Paragraphs 52–54Indigenous Access

52. The Parties will provide for indigenous access to water resources, in accordance with relevant Commonwealth, State and Territory legislation, through planning processes that ensure:

i) inclusion of Indigenous representation in water planning wherever possible; and ii) water plans will incorporate indigenous social, spiritual and customary objectives

and strategies for achieving these objectives wherever they can be developed.

53. Water planning processes will take account of the possible existence of native title rights to water in the catchment or aquifer area. The Parties note that plans may need to allocate water to native title holders following the recognition of native title rights in water under the Commonwealth Native Title Act 1993.

54. Water allocated to native title holders for traditional cultural purposes will be accounted for.

Page 13: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

Second Biennial Assessment of NWI 2009

Indigenous Specific Findings and Recommendations:

Finding 1.6It is rare for Indigenous water requirements to be explicitly included in water plans, and most jurisdictions are not yet engaging Indigenous people effectively in water planning processes. The Commission notes that Indigenous groups are, at their own initiative, currently developing the capacity to participate more fully in water planning processes

Recommendation 1.4 The Commission recommends that all jurisdictions develop and publish processes for effective engagement of Indigenous people in waterplanning. Parties should ensure that all new water plans (including statutory reviews of existing water plans) provide for Indigenous access to water resources by at least incorporating Indigenous social, spiritual and customary objectives and strategies for achieving those objectives. Jurisdictional processes should also make clear how Indigenous groups can pursue their legitimate economic objectives

Page 14: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

Second Biennial Assessment of NWI 2009

Indigenous Specific Findings and Recommendations:

Finding 6.7Water to meet Indigenous social, spiritual and customary objectives is rarely clearly specified in water plans. It appears often to be implicitly assumed that these objectives, where considered at all, can be met by rules-based environmental water provisions

Recommendation 6.5 The Commission recommends further exploration of Indigenous needs in relation to water access and management, and mechanisms to meet those needs. The Commission proposes to initiate a national study on this matter

Page 15: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

The Third NWI Biennial Assessment

• The Third Biennial Assessment is due in 2011

• Will it be a cut and past from the 2009 Assessment?� Aboriginal interests in water planning are still neglected

• The formation of the First Peoples’ Water Engagement Counciljust recently will assist the NWC:� to incorporate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspective into

NWC processes and projects� to hopefully move on from a cut and past scenario

Page 16: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

UN Declaration

• On 3 April 2009 the Australian Federal Government gave its support to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous People, and for the purpose of this presentation Article 25 is of relevance as it states:

Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain and strengthen their distinctive spiritual relationship with their traditionally owned or otherwise occupied and used lands, territories, waters and coastal seas and other resources and to uphold their responsibilities tofuture generations in this regard.

Page 17: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

Word Break

Thirlmere Lakes - Tahmoor

Ngemba Mission Billabong

- Barwon River

Page 18: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

Outline

1. Who I am as identity is important and NAIDOC

2. Aboriginal Water Knowledge

3. Planning Opportunities

4. Values of Water

5. Cultural Flow

6. Gaps

Page 19: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

Value of Water to Aboriginal People

• Aboriginal peoples’ value to water is sacred, deep and necessary for survival.

• It is protected by Lore, which provide a system of sustainable management ensuring healthy people

• Aboriginal people’s connection with Country does not separate the individual features of the landscape

• Non-Aboriginal laws and traditions tend to separate water from the land and from the sky

Page 20: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

• Aboriginal cultural and economic values associated with waters are poorly understood by water resource managers including the cultural economy (i.e. 1 echidna may equal 3 yellow bellies)

• The poor understanding leads to poor allocations/entitlements

• Aboriginal people are critical of water managers for the exclusive focus given to satisfying ecological criteria in environmental watering

Value of Water to Aboriginal People

Page 21: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

The Value of Healthy Water

Water that is of adequate quantities and quality is the centre and life blood to a healthy existence for all

HealthyCulture

HealthyCountry

HealthyWater

HealthyPeople

Page 22: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

Water Dependent Cultural Values

The water dependent cultural values will relate to the below cultural assets in the form of:

• Creation sites and cultural hero stories linking with spiritual significance along a song line/dreaming tracks - non-tangible (“Dreaming Sites”);

• Language (connects culture to place);

• Resource sites for traditional bush foods and medicines;

• Resource sites for artefacts, tools, art and crafts; • Gender specific sites – men’s and women’s business;

• Ceremonial sites;

Page 23: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

Wait there's more:

• Burial places/sites;

• Teaching sites;

• Massacre sites where frontier battles occurred with traditional groups;• Tribal boundary indicators, landscape features, or stone

arrangements;

• Cultural specific environmental conditions to sustain totemic species; and

• Sites that contain physical/tangible evidence of occupation middens, campsites, artefact scatters, scarred and carved trees, stone arrangements and fish traps

Water Dependent Cultural Values

Page 24: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

Aboriginal Water Conceptual Model

Page 25: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

Outline

1. Who I am as identity is important and NAIDOC

2. Aboriginal Water Knowledge

3. Planning Opportunities

4. Values of Water

5. Cultural Flow

6. Gaps

Page 26: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

Cultural Flow

• Aboriginal people rely heavily on rivers, groundwater and wetlands to access their values both tangible and non-tangible,

• Many values require a flow, otherwise the story/connection is lost

• The terms Cultural Flow and Cultural Water have been mentioned and described in a number of published papers and reports, below is a personal description of both:

� Cultural Flow: is the water determined/managed by an Aboriginal group and ordered from an water authority to arrive at a certain time of year (seasonal) for a certain cultural purpose to sustain their local water dependant cultural values

� Cultural Water: is the water body itself that sits in a billabong, wetland or river that allows Aboriginal people to undertake their custodial and cultural responsibilities. This cultural water, Aboriginal people engage and interact with rather than extract, irrigate or store for economic or environmental purposes (Following discussions with F.Hooper, 2010)

Page 27: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

Cultural Flow

• Water Plans generally assume that environmental water or flows will meet cultural values, including Aboriginal social andeconomic values

• The problem here is that Aboriginal people are rarely engaged to determine environmental flows

• Other challenges include for Aboriginal water entitlements:� Lack of data� No clear definitions

� Lack of policy and guidance

� Lack of understanding

Page 28: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

Cultural Flow

• In a report to the NSW Healthy Rivers Commission by Behrendt and Thompson 2003 state that:

Cultural flows should be an essential component of river management. A ‘cultural flow’ can be set and monitored as sufficient flow in a suitable pattern to ensure the maintenance of Aboriginal cultural practices and connections with the rivers (Behrendt and Thompson 2003)

• Another definition offered by a MDLRIN delegate from the Yorta YortaNation, Professor Henry Atkinson:

Cultural Flows’ are water entitlements that are legally and beneficially owned by the Indigenous Nations of a sufficient andadequate quantity and quality to improve the spiritual, cultural, environmental, social and economic conditions of those Indigenous Nations (Atkinson 2009)

Page 29: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

Cultural Flow

• Definitions and needs for cultural water by Aboriginal people may differ at a local scale

• A representative definition of a Cultural Flow is yet to be agreed upon by the 250+ Aboriginal Nations within Australia

AIATSIS (2005)

Page 30: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

Australia with NO Cultural Water

Page 31: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

Australia with Cultural Water

Page 32: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

Outline

1. Who I am as identity is important and NAIDOC

2. Aboriginal Water Knowledge

3. Opportunities

4. Values of Water

5. Cultural Flow

6. Gaps

Page 33: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

Gaps in Knowledge

• No research is yet to quantify a cultural flow i.e. no credible evidence

• No research has compared a cultural flow to an environmental flow

• There is a severe lack of quantitative real data on Aboriginal water uses and values:� So a need for further primary data collection or case specific investigations

(Long Term)

• There are substantial gaps in science of identifying Aboriginal water requirements – Culturally and Economically

• Aboriginal people do not have the big reports or glossy maps, all their knowledge is obtained orally, in song, stories through TEK

Page 34: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

CSIRO

• CSIRO investing in Aboriginal water management through the Water for a Healthy Country Flagship:� Work to date in Northern Australia� CSIRO Indigenous Engagement Strategy� CSIRO Indigenous Employment Strategy, aiming to increase

Indigenous employment in CSIRO to 2.5%� CSIRO three National Indigenous Roundtables on:

o Indigenous Research, 2008 in Broomeo Water and Climate Change, 2008 in Mildura o Health, 2009 in Adelaide

� Employment of Brad Moggridge

• CSIRO has a strong interest in developing long term research activity to address Aboriginal water requirements

Page 35: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

Wrap Up

• Aboriginal people have a long and deep relationship with water but are not part of the water debate

• Aboriginal people have opportunities to engage in water through the NWI and UN Declaration, but jurisdictions need to allow this to occur

• Aboriginal people want to protect Country as their relationship with Country does not separate the individual features of the landscape such as water, land and sky

• A growing body of interest in a Cultural Flow• There are considerable gaps in knowledge in understanding how water is

used by Aboriginal people both economically and culturally and what benefits TEK can provide “Western Science”

• While I am at CSIRO I will be keeping this issue on the lab bench

Page 36: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

Thanks goes to

Chair, Professor Graham Farquhar Dr Tom HattonSavita KhianiDr Fiona Leves

Page 37: Australian Academy of Science 7Sept10 B Moggridge CSIRO

Thank you

Brad Moggridge ph: 02 6246 5633 or [email protected]

QUESTIONS

Contact UsPhone: 1300 363 400 or +61 3 9545 2176Email: [email protected] Web: www.csiro.au