AIATSIS Centre for Land and Water Research (ACLWR)

The Land and Water Research Centre is led by a multidisciplinary team with research interests in land and water issues of relevance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, within the field of Indigenous studies. Our research is based on building a greater understanding of Indigenous peoples’ relationships with country and the governance of their lands and waters. This includes a greater understanding of Indigenous peoples’ engagement with government policies and programs. 

Our research is set within the context of environmental change – climate change, land use change, and the resulting consequences for people, ecosystems and biodiversity. Indigenous peoples, whose laws, cultures and knowledge are embedded in country, are at the forefront of experiencing and responding to these changes. Indigenous peoples have survived different climatic periods in earlier times; however, climate change is occurring on a much more rapid time scale, with profound implications for all. One of the challenges we now face is to research new ways of thinking and living sustainably with country.

Current areas of research focus are:

The Centre is situated within the AIATSIS Indigenous Country and Governance Research Program, and has a close relationship with the Native Title Research Unit (NTRU). The quality, independence and ethics of the research of the Land and Water Research Centre is subject to the oversight of the AIATSIS statutory Research Advisory Committee, the Research Ethics Committee and the AIATSIS Council.

Our research is often conducted in partnership with other research institutions, Indigenous regional alliances, Indigenous representative and corporate bodies, communities and individuals. Our guidelines for research ethics are available here.