No abstract

Despite the growing recognition of the contribution that indigenous ecological knowledge (IEK) can make to contemporary 'western' science-based natural resource management (NRM), integration of the two knowledge systems has not reached its full potential in Australia. One explanation is that there is an implicit requirement for IEK to be validated by western scientific knowledge (SK), which has stalled its application and perpetuated the primacy of SK over IEK. Consequently, there is little experience of IEK validation, indigenous peoples' perspectives of the process, and no formal frameworks to achieve mutual and equitable validation of both IEK and SK. In this paper we assess the opportunities and limitations of validation processes using a case study of traditional fishing poisons for invasive fish management in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area of Australia. The study was conducted within a coresearch approach between the Aboriginal holders of the IEK, who are among the paper's authors, and science-based biologists. We jointly carried out scientific laboratory trials that demonstrated that fishing poisons are effective at immobilizing invasive tilapia. Retrospective interviews with indigenous coresearchers showed that they did not find the experience of validation disrespectful, but instead empowering and necessary for their IEK to be understood and appreciated by scientists and included in NRM. Based on our experiences and knowledge of socialization theory we present a framework for the potential future design of collaborative validation processes to facilitate the integration of IEK into mainstream NRM, and the acceptance of SK within indigenous communities in Australia

No abstract

Using data collected from more than 1,000 tourists on live-aboard dive boats operating in the Cairns/Cooktown management area of the Great Barrier Reef, this paper estimates the regional economic impact of that live-aboard industry. It also uses a subset of these data (247 respondents) to investigate some of the relative ‘values’ of key marine species seen on the trips that included the Coral Sea location of Osprey Reef and which targeted multiple species of wildlife. The authors find that (i) each year, the live-aboard dive boats are directly responsible for generating at least AU$16 million worth of income in the Cairns/Port Douglas region; (ii) visitors participating in different types of trips gain their highest levels of ‘satisfaction’ from interacting with different types of species; and (iii) visitors to Osprey Reef would be willing to pay more for a ‘guaranteed’ sighting of sharks than they would for a ‘guaranteed’ sighting of large fish, marine turtles or a ‘wide variety of species’.