Browsing by Author "Robinson, Catherine J."

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Boundary Work: Engaging Knowledge Systems in Co-management of Feral Animals on Indigenous Lands
(2012) Robinson, Catherine J.; Wallington, Tabatha J.
"The integration and use of Indigenous knowledge to inform contemporary environmental policy decisions and management solutions is a growing global phenomenon. However, there is little critical inquiry about how the interactions between scientific and Indigenous knowledge (IK) systems can be effectively negotiated for the joint management of social-ecological systems. Such issues are urgent on Indigenous lands where co-management efforts respond to pressing conservation agendas and where the contribution of scientific knowledge and IK is required to better understand and manage complex social-ecological systems. We draw on the notion of boundary work to examine how interaction at the boundaries of scientific and IK systems can be managed effectively as a contribution to co-management. The case study of feral animal co-management in Australia’s Kakadu National Park illuminates the work required for local co-managers to bridge the divide between scientific and IK systems and to ensure the translation of knowledge for management decisions. Attributes of effective boundary work demonstrated in this case include: meaningful participation in agenda setting and joint knowledge production to enable co-managers to translate available knowledge into joint feral animal programs, Indigenous and non-Indigenous ranger efforts to broker interactions between knowledge systems that are supported by co-governance arrangements to ensure that boundary work remains accountable, and the production of collaboratively built boundary objects (e.g., feral animal impact assessment data) that helps to coordinate local action between co-managers. This case study illustrates the contribution of boundary work to local co-manager efforts to translate across knowledge systems and across the knowledge-action divide, even when consensus is difficult to achieve."
Local Indigenous Perspectives of Community and Co-Management Arrangements
(1998) Robinson, Catherine J.
"In recent years the Haida of Haida Gwaii, British Columbia and the Yolngu of north-east Arnhem Land, Australia have had to negotiate and interpret various co-management programs operating within their territories. In both areas, various community management organisations have been established to respond to government management regimes and resource allocation programs, and to ensure native law and responsibility provides the template for contemporary agreements. This paper focuses on one such indigenous initiative, the Dhimurru Aboriginal Land Management Organisation in north-east Arnhem Land, a Yolngu community management response to increased coastal degradation associated with the nearby Nabalco mine. Now that native title is recognised in Australia and Canada, indigenous and non-indigenous legal systems are bound to consider the management regimes. It is within the philosophy and practices of indigenous community institutions like Dhimurru that innovative management dialogue might be found."
A Typology of Indigenous Engagement in Australian Environmental Management: Implications for Knowledge Integration and Social-Ecological System Sustainability
(2012) Hill, Rosemary; Grant, Chrissy; George, Melissa; Robinson, Catherine J.; Jackson, Sue; Abel, Nick
"Indigenous peoples now engage with many decentralized approaches to environmental management that offer opportunities for integration of Indigenous Ecological Knowledge (IEK) and western science to promote cultural diversity in the management of social-ecological system sustainability. Nevertheless, processes of combining IEK with western science are diverse and affected by numerous factors, including the adaptive co-management context, the intrinsic characteristics of the natural resources, and the governance systems. We present a typology of Indigenous engagement in environmental management, derived through comparative analysis of 21 Australian case studies, and consider its implications for the integration of IEK with western science. Sociological and rational choice institutionalism underpin our analytical framework, which differentiates on three axes: (1) power sharing, incorporating decision making, rules definition, resource values and property rights; (2) participation, incorporating participatory processes, organizations engaged, and coordination approaches; (3) intercultural purpose, incorporating purposes of environmental management, Indigenous engagement, Indigenous development and capacity building. Our typology groups engagement into four types: Indigenous governed collaborations; Indigenous-driven cogovernance; agency-driven co-governance; and agency governance. From our analysis of manifestations of knowledge integration across the types, we argue that Indigenous governance and Indigenous-driven co-governance provides better prospects for integration of IEK and western science for sustainability of social-ecological systems. Supporting Indigenous governance without, or with only a limited requirement for power sharing with other agencies sustains the distinct Indigenous cultural purposes underpinning IEK, and benefits knowledge integration. We conclude by advocating that the typology be applied to test its general effectiveness in guiding practitioners and researchers to develop robust governance for Indigenous knowledge integration in environmental management."