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Kimberley Sustainability
Project Background: Sustainability is often related as a contested concept and in a complicated manner that makes it difficult for regional groups and communities to implement. The problem in this instance is the way in which sustainability is applied across the board as a one-size fits all approach, or in the way that it attempts to integrate all potential impacts into all decision making; which becomes overwhelming. This approach is further complicated where Indigenous priorities to sustainability need to be taken into account within mainstream, Western governance structures. The Kimberley has been the focus of competing interests between large-scale development projects, small scale community development, regional Indigenous cultural governance, and broader state development ideals. Kimberley Aboriginal leaders reiterated the need to act sustainably in numerous community forums and consultative planning processes since the Crocodile Hole Report (1991) and in subsequent community based forums including; Our Place Our Future (1998), Bungarun Caring for Country Meeting (2004) and the Kimberley Culturally Appropriate Economies Round Table (2006). Kimberley Aboriginal leaders also began practical on-ground collaborations with Environmental Non-government Organisations (ENGOs) toward developing sustainable livelihoods on country. Developing concurrently with the growing focus on regional sustainability within the Kimberley region was a growth in Cultural and Natural Resource Management (CNRM) activities integrating Indigenous Knowledge on country to generate sustainable livelihoods as a pathway/ transition to sustainability. A number of key reviews of progress toward sustainability identified that the most successful and appropriate scale to address sustainability is at the regional or sub-regional scale. The Kimberley Sustainability Project (Living Country: Working Country) sought to investigate Aboriginal aspirations for sustainability, identify an appropriate Indigenous Sustainability Frame-work for the Kimberley, identify current CNRM activities under-way, and recommend priority actions to begin a transition to sustainable livelihoods. This work involved documenting and participating in current on-country activities of the Kimberley Land Council’s Land and Sea Management Unit (KLCLSMU), interviewing key community leaders and managers of country, and responding to community direction regarding appropriate outcomes and focus for the project including the completion of the Aboriginal Chapter of the Kimberley NRM Strategy, documenting return to Sea-Country Trips for the creation of DVDs Traditional Owners, progressing work on the Kimberley Aboriginal Caring for Country Plan, and a report focusing on Sustainable Livelihoods in the Upper Fitzroy Valley.
Project Objectives: The objectives of the Kimberley Sustainability project were to:
- Understand the issues and opportunities for sustainable development in the Kimberley, and provide enhanced information for use in decision making processes with relation to a sustainable future for Aboriginal peoples of the region.
- Undertake consultation with relevant stakeholder groups.
- Report on existing areas of Aboriginal enterprise, their role in the economy, potential and their potential for sustainability and social outcomes.
- Identify current and potential barriers to entry for sustainable enterprises and industries.
- Report upon new and potential enterprises and their current or potential economic outcomes.
- Investigate and assess land management projects that may have potential positive economic outcomes for Aboriginal communities.
The initial aim of producing a Kimberley Sustainability Strategy was transformed through engagement with Kimberley representative organisations and ENGO groups into the completion of;
the Kimberley final Aboriginal Chapter of the Draft Kimberley NRM Plan; the completion of the Kimberley Aboriginal Caring for Country Plan for the Kimberley Aboriginal Reference Group (following further investment by the Kimberley Development Commission (KDC) and community consultation), and the production of audio visual materials within the KLC LSMU regarding
Connections to Sea Country for the Worrorra, Wunambal and Balanggarra Saltwater Traditional Owner Groups. Other outcomes included the completion of two AIATSIS Seminar Series including a joint series with the School of Environmental Research of Charles Darwin University focusing on Indigenous Natural and Cultural Resource Management. A final report focusing on Sustainable Livelihoods for the Upper Fitzroy Valley in collaboration with the KLC, Kimberley Development Commission, Environs Kimberley and Australian Conservation Foundation is being finalised for publication in 2012. This final report will conclude the project.
Project Team: Steve Kinnane
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