Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have enduring rights, responsibilities, interests and aspirations for marine and coastal environments. In this context, there is growing interest in leading, partnering and participating in marine and coastal research to provide benefits for Indigenous people, including through training and employment. To continue to deliver cultural responsibilities for sea Country and lore, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have formed organisations to manage land and sea programs.
This presentation shares insights to how the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) has established and cultivated marine and coastal research collaborations with Indigenous organisations in southern Australia over the last decade. We share insights to how the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub is partnering with Indigenous organisations to provide benefits to Indigenous organisations and people across a range of research, including projects focused on marine park management, recovery of threatened species and marine habitat restoration.
Simultaneously partnerships are informing western research/science through promoting understanding and use of Indigenous Ecological Knowledge, providing place-based perspectives and responsibilities and informing things like planning and implementation of fieldwork and interpretation of research findings through Indigenous people knowing their Country and sharing these insights. We will share lessons learned about co-design and co-delivery.