The role of First Nations people in leading the management of Country and its abundance of natural resources has been firmly recognised in recent times. In fact, First Nations peoples represent less than five per cent of the global population but manage about 40 percent of intact tropical primary forests. These lands cover some of the most remote and biodiverse regions on Earth. 

Many initiatives are expanding in number and extent, including jointly managed protected areas, Indigenous Ranger Programs and biocultural mapping to inform land management decision-making. To showcase these initiatives, the ESA curated an online gallery of images from Indigenous ecological practitioners around Australia. Images in this collection tell the stories of programs continuing, reviving and protecting the ecological practices and knowledge held by First Nations people for millennia.

Among them, Dr Nathan Wong and the Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation are using fire as a critical element for restoring resilience of transformed landscapes and managing country the right way. Dr Georgia Ward-Fear and Balanggara Elders are working on taste aversion programs to protect wildlife from toxic introduced species. The Djaara Women’s Knowledge Group has been collaborating with ecology post-grad student Nina Roberts to explore pathways for unfolding of knowledge about what is needed to return traditional food plants to Country. Territory Natural Resource Management ecologists have been working with Indigenous Ranger groups across the Arnhem Land Stone Country, combining First Nations knowledge and western science to survey for the white-throated grasswren. A collaboration between the Yirralka Rangers and researchers from three universities is developing a cross-cultural fauna strategy for the Laynhapuy Indigenous Protected Area. 

If you would like to read more about First Nations ecological science in Australia, our journal Ecological Management & Restoration has produced two special issues: Indigenous and cross-cultural ecology – perspectives from Australia and Indigenous land and sea management in remote Australia. 

Finally, to continue to support programs such as these, the ESA’s Indigenous Engagement Working Group is developing a number of important resources, including a Reconciliation Action Plan, an Indigenous Ecologist Network, a set of Indigenous Research Engagement Principles and Best Practice, and an Indigenous Intellectual Property Protocol. We look forward to keeping you updated as these progress. 

– Professor Stephen van Leeuwen, chair of the ESA Indigenous Engagement Working Group and Indigenous Chair of Biodiversity and Environmental Science at Curtin University.

This collection of stories is part of an ESA series spotlighting issues affecting Australian ecologists. The ESA is committed to supporting ecologists to find solutions to and develop resources for issues important to them. This includes networking and knowledge-sharing opportunities, grants and awards, mentoring programs, and more.

If you would like to join the ESA Media and Communications Working Group and help progress actions in this area, please visit the ESA website.

In this edition:

Reflecting on obstacles in our systems to doing right-way science

Feature: Conservation