Identifying and Overcoming Barriers to Collaborative Sustainable Water Governance in Remote Australian Indigenous Communities

Abstract

Collaboration between government agencies and communities for sustainable water governance in remote Indigenous communities is espoused as a means to contribute to more equitable, robust, and long-term decision-making and to ensure that water services contribute to broader considerations of physical, social, and economic prosperity. In Australia, the uptake of collaborative water governance in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island contexts has been slow and few examples exist from which to inform policy and practice. This study identifies barriers to uptake of collaborative sustainable water governance, drawing from qualitative interviews with water practitioners working in remote Indigenous Australia and analysis of key project documentation. Thematic analysis revealed discrete barriers across five key categories: (1) governance arrangements, (2) economic and financial, (3) capacity and skills, (4) data and information, and (5) cultural values and norms, with many barriers identified, unique to the remote Indigenous Australian context. The paper provides insights into how to address these barriers strategically to create transformative and sustainable change for Indigenous communities. The results contribute to the greater body of knowledge on sustainable and collaborative water governance, and they are of relevance for broader water management, policy, and research.

A transdisciplinary engagement with Australian Aboriginal water and the hydrology of a small bedrock island

“…Notwithstanding such historical and contemporary political, economic, and environmental pressures in water management and governance (Bakker and Cook 2011, McGregor 2014, Obeng-Odoom 2016, Aboriginal people as traditional ecological knowledge experts seek dialogue and relationshipbuilding activities with Western water experts to enhance productive collaboration for sustainable water management in Aboriginal communities facing contemporary environmental conditions (Jackson et al 2019). In this study, we favoured a nuanced approach to develop and use knowledge to inform groundwater management.…”

Water for food, water for birds: How to manage conflicting rural-natural interfaces? Deepening on the socio-ecological system of El Hondo Natural Park (Alicante, Spain)

“…On some occasions, the management of socio-ecological systems needs to deal with changing scenarios but locked attitudes, considering that wetlands are multi-faceted (Jackson et al, 2019). Contrasting attitudes can motivate that, despite the increasing recognition of the need to conserve wetlands, most of them could be considered minor or no valued systems, or even negative value as transitional water bodies .…”

Observations on Appropriate Technology Application in Indigenous Community Using System Dynamics Modelling

“…However, the overall aim is to ensure a process is created for long-term, durable, and positive change from the outcomes of the project [28]. One change is to incorporate technology engagement into the community for maintenance and the dispersion of the technology to other communities through those who have been skilled up [29][30][31]. There are many processes where community can be engaged (see Figure 1).…”