PhD Abstract

PhD Thesis title: Mapping for Sustainable Livelihoods

The Kimberley is a contested landscape in the north of Western Australia. This region includes a diverse range of industry, government and community stakeholders, all with vested interests in its natural and cultural resources. The region is rich in resources, and Indigenous people’s intergenerational knowledge of the area is keenly sought after from sectors such as tourism, mining, national parks, education, health and environment. However, despite the amount of private investment and government funding for development that is poured into the area, it results in little change for its at risk Indigenous communities.

The goal of this research was to understand the reasons for overlooked or lost opportunities for sustainable livelihoods and sustainable growth of Kimberley communities despite the constant demand from academic, industry and government sectors to engage with them. The study explored research questions related to this goal using personal ethnography, interviews, a workshop and tailored cultural mapping practice, and engaged with a large range of sector leaders i.e., Kimberley stakeholders. The intent was to learn their perspectives about the constraints when engaging with communities and to identify opportunities for improving interactions and more sustainable outcomes for all parties. Another focus was the sharing of knowledge between Indigenous communities and the many stakeholders they engage with, and the benefits that might come from this. A bespoke designed method of cultural mapping was refined and accredited and used as a research framework. This method was used to design the research questions and a workshop involving interviewees. This method was also used to develop multi sector engagement scenarios that make sustainable livelihoods, and the constraints to achieving them, more visible.

The study found livelihood and growth opportunities were missed because:

1. cultural knowledge was not specifically recognised to be of value in sustainable development;

2. time poor community leaders cannot fully evaluate potential opportunities arising from the huge amount of investment;

3. Kimberley Indigenous communities do not feel heard or included in culturally appropriate ways in the large-scale development being implemented by others; and

4. knowledge collected from communities rarely had any benefits for the communities, yet that knowledge benefited those collecting it.

Further, the study found that stakeholders of the Kimberley predominantly work in silos. The consequence for communities is the effort expected when each stakeholder knocks on their door to ‘consult’ or gather information. This commitment takes time and effort that communities could invest into their own initiatives. More broadly, these findings indicate that community livelihood opportunities are not being realised because culture, and its complexity, are being ignored, which points to the need for including culture in a more practical and realistic way into the existing sustainable development paradigms. Culture remains ambiguous in these paradigms, indicating the lack of clarity that underpins efforts to incorporate it. As a result of this disconnection, decision makers and investors fail to acknowledge the urgency of reversing the loss of Kimberley cultural knowledge. This knowledge is potentially critical to addressing major challenges such as climate change, language loss, and loss of biodiversity. These findings, and findings of prior studies underpinning this one, show that for Kimberley communities to have the chance to achieve sustainable livelihoods, their single most important cultural asset, their practices and knowledge of the Kimberley and its natural environments, must be protected and acknowledged. These findings have wider implications for achieving sustainable livelihood and development objectives in Indigenous communities across Australia and in many other communities around the world.

Jennifer Joi Field

[email protected]

April 2023 https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-joi-field/