Indigenous leaders and researchers address climate change
Members of the Yorta Yorta Community are taking part in the project to integrate Indigenous and Western knowledge to deal with climate change.
Australia’s Indigenous leaders joined forces with researchers and international experts in Echuca to look at ways of using Indigenous knowledge and wisdom to combat climate change.
The workshop, run by the Monash Sustainability Institute in partnership with the Yorta Yorta Community, examined how Indigenous traditional knowledge can contribute to improved climate change adaptation for indigenous communities and the Australian community in general.
The initiative is part of a joint project run by the Yorta Yorta Nation Aboriginal Corporation, Monash University and Brown University in the US, to integrate Indigenous and Western knowledge to deal with the challenges of climate change.
Speakers addressed a range of topics, including indigenous knowledge ownership and confidentiality, bridging the generation gap, keeping community archives and developing indigenous research projects.
Lee Joachim, from the Yorta Yorta Nation Aboriginal Corporation, said Indigenous people had a fundamental spiritual connection to the land.
“For Indigenous people the health of the land and water is central to our culture,” Mr Joachim said.
“We have thousands of years of data, knowledge and practice in working with Australia’s diverse landscapes. We understand Australian species, the seasons and the natural events of our country.”
“Climate change is the big environmental threat of our age. Much more could be done to utilise Indigenous knowledge in land and water management practices and policy.”
Director of the Monash Sustainability Institute, Professor Dave Griggs, said the key to successful climate adaptation was to combine conventional and Indigenous knowledge and approaches.
“Indigenous communities can benefit from the vast quantities of conventional data and information on weather and climate, but even more so we can all benefit from Indigenous knowledge of natural systems and the respect they have for their country," Professor Griggs said.
The panel of international experts included Kekuhi Kealiikanakaoleohaililani from the Edith Kanakaole Foundation in Hawaii, Leota Pepe Pa’i from the Sili Community in Samoa, Chris Heider from the Watershed Professionals Network, USA, Matt Hamabata, Koahala Center Hawaii, USA, and Carolina Adler from ETH in Zurich, Switzerland.