It is widely accepted that Indigenous ecological knowledge (IEK) is potentially valuable for maintaining biodiversity within linked social-ecological systems, and cultural landscapes in particular. However, IEK is declining globally, along with biodiversity. Adaptive co-management frameworks incorporating both Indigenous and scientific knowledge systems have the capacity for greater success than frameworks embedded within a singular world view. A major challenge exists, however, in identifying pathways for the integration of these knowledge systems. The need to integrate both IEK and science into management is widely recognised; various approaches have been trialled but there are few successful examples. Cooperative research using joint learning is emerging as one potentially useful approach. Here we present an example of applying co-research in a cultural landscape in Australia, the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, where we aimed to develop linked cultural and biophysical indicators of ecosystem condition. Our approach was founded on five stakeholder-defined core principles for research. The study revealed seven determinants of successful implementation within these principles: strong Indigenous governance; problem-framing and conceptualisation; relationship building; data collection and management; considerations of scale; agreed dissemination of results; and evaluation. We identify cooperative problem-framing as one of the most important determinants, and argue that by starting the co-research process with this task, co-research can assist the equitable convergence of IEK and contemporary natural resource management, thereby potentially enhancing social-ecological system resilience and sustainability.

In recent years there has been wider recognition of the important role that Indigenous knowledge can play in developing and implementing natural resource management (NRM) strategies. The biophysical surroundings of many Indigenous peoples are of symbolic significance to them, hence their perception and values of natural resources may be vastly different to those of scientists or managers. We discuss a research approach that explicitly embraces the co-production of knowledge to facilitate NRM in Australia. We demonstrate that if particular methodologies are used and specific criteria met, cooperative research can represent one pathway for the integration of Indigenous and scientific knowledge. We suggest an important step for genuine knowledge and systems integration is in research direction-setting. Our approach practices multi-directional learning and mutual benefit, promoting cross transfer of skills by the cooperative generation and documentation of information. Indigenous knowledge and associated systems are strengthened and the value of Indigenous knowledge and systems is recognised alongside accepted scientific knowledge and methods. Essential to the methodology used is the creation of partnerships based on trust between co-researchers and the generation of genuine action research outcomes.

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