By Bridget Campbell¹, Yirralka Rangers², Emilie Ens¹, Frances Morphy³, Craig Moritz⁴, Rachel Dudaniec¹

¹ School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, NSW.

²Laynhapuy Indigenous Protected Area, north east Arnhem Land, NT.

³Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, Australian National University, ACT.

⁴ Research School of Biology, Australian National University, ACT.

Indigenous peoples are increasingly securing greater recognition, rights and funding to maintain custodianship of their ancestral estates. This comes at a time when the interdependence of the Earth’s biological and cultural diversity is being recognised, as is their concurrent decline [1, 2]. Hence, globally, there have been calls for ‘biocultural’ approaches to conservation that simultaneously address these concurrent declines in diversity, recognise the limitations of Western conservation approaches, and realise the interconnection between ecological health and the rights, wellbeing, and knowledge system maintenance of Indigenous peoples [3, 4].

Across Australia there have been bottom-up and top-down calls for biocultural conservation approaches and adaptive management founded on collaborative engagement between researchers and Indigenous groups [5]. Biocultural approaches can provide socio-cultural and ecological benefits by empowering Indigenous values and priorities, formulating locally relevant, place-based data sets, and facilitating two-way knowledge and skill sharing [5, 6].

The ‘Warrakan-puy djäma’ project (‘animal-related work’) is a collaboration between the Yirralka Rangers and researchers from Macquarie University, the Australian National University and Charles Darwin University, aimed at developing a cross-cultural fauna strategy for the Laynhapuy Indigenous Protected Area (IPA), north east Arnhem Land. As part of this project, PhD student Bridget Campbell has been working with the Yolŋu Yirralka Rangers to codevelop new methods to better balance Western and Yolŋu priorities, values and knowledge in their fauna monitoring program.

Together, with the Learning on Country programs and high school students from the local Gapuwiyak and Laynhapuy Homelands school, three week-long fauna survey camps were conducted across remote regions of the Laynhapuy IPA. These camps were built on a modified Northern Territory Government fauna survey method previously developed by our research team, and provided opportunities for Yolŋu to reconnect with remote regions of Country and culturally important warrakan (animals) that are rarely if ever seen by younger generations. Species occurence data was collected from previously unsurveyed regions, and genetic tissue samples were collected to aid investigation of cryptic species. The camps also provided oppurtunities for intergenerational cultural knowledge transfer, and two-way knowledge and skill sharing.

Gapuwiyak High School student handling a yir’yir’ŋaniŋ (Burton’s Legless Lizard; Lialis burtonis) found in a pitfall trap on one of the survey camps. Image credits: Yirralka Rangers

Brendan Banygada Wunuŋmurra being trained by PhD student Bridget Campbell to measure and collect tissue samples from gunydjuḻu (skinks) on a survey camp. Image credits: Yirralka Rangers

Waṉ’kurra (Northern Brown Bandicoot; Isoodon macrourus), culturally significant species detected with a camera trap during one of the survey camps.

Adding to the modified Northern Territory Government fauna survey methods, semi-structured interviews with wäŋa waṯaŋu (Traditional Owners) and local ŋalapalmi  (knowledge holders, Elders) were conducted before and after the survey camps. During the pre-survey interviews, Yolŋu priorities and values around fauna were discussed and recorded. These interviews also helped to guide the selection of survey sites, detection of warrakan, Yolŋu cultural activities we could do during the camps (e.g. hunting, fishing, looking for gangurri (Long yams)), and to identify warrakan of concern. Wäŋa waṯaŋu and ŋalapalmi  were also invited to join the surveys and share their knowledge of Country with the students.

 Ŋalapalmi (Elder/ knowledge custodians) Clancy Marrkula, and Linda Bandawuŋu being interviewed by Thomas Butjiyaŋanybi Marrkula (Yirralka Ranger) and Bridget Campbell (Macquarie University PhD student) about culturally significant warrakan (animals). Image credits: Yirralka Rangers  Ŋalapalmi showing a ranger trainee how to dig for gangurri (Long yams) during a survey camp.   

Post-survey interviews provided a means to feed back the survey results to the community straight away, hear their feedback about the process, and listen to recommendations for next time. The post-survey interviews also provided an avenue for ŋalapalmi to ask researchers questions about the project, fauna survey methods (e.g. trapping techniques), invasive species (such as Yätj Garkman (Cane toads) and Bikipiki (Feral pigs)), and Western conservation strategies (including breeding programs, genetic analyses), facilitating two-way knowledge sharing. Community reports and short videos of the survey camps were also made to feed back the results to the broader community.

Our new methods revealed that many Yolŋu hold detailed knowledge of warrakan (animal) trends, ecology and distribution, and hold concerns for certain species undergoing decline, and for the cultural knowledge and skill transmission relating to these species. A list of Yolŋu aspirations for warrakan management was made, alongside the different types of knowledge wäŋa waṯaŋu and ŋalapalmi want djamarrkuḻi (young people) to learn about warrakan, and how they recommend going about it. The camps received positive feedback as latju (great) opportunities for Yolŋu to reconnect with Country and warrakan, and for djamarrkuḻi to learn about Balanda (Western) science. The data from these interviews will be used to inform ongoing fauna monitoring and management in the Laynhapuy IPA, and importantly facilitate inclusion of Yolŋu priorities and support Yolŋu leadership.

The partnership has also informed Yirralka leadership on the development of a new Yirralka Research Partnership Protocol, that will be used to guide future partnership activities. The protocol focusses on five elements: aligning initiatives to Yirralka’s priorities; respecting Yolŋu authority; co-design and benefit sharing; Yolŋu culture/language inductions prior to visiting; and, on-Country djäkamirr (carer) work protocol. The last element seeks to empower Yolŋu Djäkamirr (rangers) to honour, perform and continuously enact and develop their responsibilities, rights, skills and knowledge/s to manage Yolŋu Country.

Australian fauna conservation strategies need to recognise, respect and engage with Indigenous Australians as traditional custodians and managers of their ancestral clan estates. In doing so, together, we can create locally relevant, mutually benefical conservation efforts, that can support the diverse biological and cultural systems that are under increasing threat.

This research was funded by: an ARC linkage grant (LP200301589) with industry partners the Yirralka Rangers and The Nature Conservancy; an Australian Academy of Sciences Max Day Environmental Science Fellowship Award; and Macquarie University’s HDR fund. The project is supported by the Learnining on Country programs at Laynhapuy Homelands and Gapuwiyak schools. All work was carried out with approvals from the Yirralka Rangers, Macquarie University Human Research Ethics Committee,  Macquarie University Animal Research Authority and with permits from the Northern Land Council and NTG Parks and Wildlife.

References

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3. Steffen, W., et al., Trajectories of the Earth System in the Anthropocene. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2018. 115(33): p. 8252-8259.
4. IPBES, IPBES 2030 Work Program: Strengthening the knowledge foundations: Indigenous and local knowledge. 2019, Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: Bonn, Germany.
5. Ens, E.J. and G. Turpin, Synthesis of Australian cross-cultural ecology featuring a decade of annual Indigenous ecological knowledge symposia at the Ecological Society of Australia conferences. Ecological Management & Restoration, 2022. 23(S1): p. 3-16.
6. Ens, E., et al., Putting indigenous conservation policy into practice delivers biodiversity and cultural benefits. Biodiversity and conservation, 2016. 25(14): p. 2889-2906.