Investing In Indigenous Natural Resource Management

This book assesses the case for investing in Indigenous natural resource management (NRM) in tropical Australia. Indigenous people provide a number of public goods in relation to environmental management for which they are not remunerated. Their presence on country should be viewed as a national asset. The health of Australia?s Indigenous people remains unacceptably. Individual and collective engagement with ancestrally significant land and sea improves health outcomes, while also supporting individual autonomy and social cohesion through cultural practices. This book brings together a broad suite of authors with an understanding of Indigenous NRM and the economics thereof. Indigenous NRM emerges as a ?keystone policy area? that could allow integration of many policy fields commonly considered in isolation. The editors of this book all have wide experience in the fields covered by this book. Professor Marty Luckert from the University of Alberta has been offering insights into the economics of environmental management around the world for decades, Professor Bruce Campbell from Charles Darwin University (CDU) has an international reputation for his work on livelihoods among the rural poor, Julian Gorman (CDU) has played a key role in fostering wildlife-based industries among Indigenous people in the monsoonal tropics of the Northern Territory and Professor Stephen Garnett (CDU) has broad experience in management of tropical environments, particularly northern Australia.

Indigenous Knowledge (IK) reviews cutting-edge research and links theory with practice to further our understanding of this important approach's contribution to natural resource management. It addresses IK's potential in solving issues such as coping with change, ensuring global food supply for a growing population, reversing environmental degradation and promoting sustainable practices. It is increasingly recognised that IK, which has featured centrally in resource management for millennia, should play a significant part in today's programmes that seek to increase land productivity and food security while ensuring environmental conservation. An invaluable resource for researchers and postgraduate students in environmental science and natural resources management, this book is also an informative read for development practitioners and undergraduates in agriculture, forestry, geography, anthropology and environmental studies.

Key messagesInvestment in commons comes primarily from donors, governments and communities, but private sector investment is increasing.Commons-based investment readiness is conditional on the level of assurance stakeholders have that the obligations of each party will be met. Investment readiness develops over time and in stages, as levels of assurance increase.Each sector has specific roles and responsibilities for mitigating risk.Community rights have fostered investment that recognizes the social character of commons ownership and delivers environmental and social returns, as well as profits.There is a need for additional research on the origins, mechanisms, volume and direction of investment in community-managed resources that can help communities and investors alike better understand their options.

"The most current and comprehensive book of its kind, Aboriginal Peoples and Natural Resources in Canada explores the opportunities and constraints that aboriginal people encounter in their efforts to use water resources, fisheries, forestry resources, wildlife, land and non-renewable resources, and to gain management power over these resources. This examination begins with a historical perspective, and takes into account cultural, political, legal and geographical factors. From the contemporary research of the author, the reader is informed of the most current developments and provided with a well-reasoned outlook for the future." "This book is an essential resource for aboriginal people engaged in the use and management of natural resources, and for those who seek professional training in the field. Anyone wanting to know more about the social and environmental issues pertaining to more responsible and equitable environmental and ecological management will find a wealth of information in this volume."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This book offers students and practitioners a sophisticated and convincing framework for rethinking the usual approaches to resource management. It uses case studies to argue that professional resource managers do not take responsibility for the social and environmental consequences of their decisions on the often vulnerable indigenous communities they affect. It also discusses the invisibility of indigenous people' values and knowledge within traditional resource management. It offers a new approach to social impact assessment methods which are more participatory and empowering. The book employs a range of case studies from Australia, North America and Norway.

A book that is a "must read" for politicians, policy makers, practitioners and others with interests in Australia's environment.

This book provides an extended analysis of how resource extraction projects stimulate social, cultural and economic change in indigenous communities. Through a range of case studies, including open cast mining, artisanal mining, logging, deforestation, oil extraction and industrial fishing, the contributors explore the challenges highlighted in global debates on sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and climate change. The case studies are used to assess whether and how development processes might compete and conflict with the market objectives of multinational corporations and the organizational and moral principles of indigenous communities. Emphasizing the perspectives of directly-affected parties, the authors identify common patterns in the way in which extraction projects are conceptualized, implemented and perceived. The book provides a deeper understanding of the dynamics of the human environments where resource extraction takes place and its consequent impacts on local livelihoods. Its in-depth case studies underscore the need for increased social accountability in the planning and development of natural resource extraction projects.