Implementing the Aboriginal Waterways Assessment tool: collaborations to engage and empower First Nations in waterway management

ABSTRACT

Aboriginal representative organisations collaborated with the Murray Darling Basin Authority to develop the Aboriginal Waterways Assessment (AWA) tool. We consider the AWA as part of an evolving toolkit of methodologies designed to elevate First Nations’ objectives in water planning, in the context of national water reform and implementation of the Murray Darling Basin Plan. We describe the adaptation of the AWA from an approach developed in Aotearoa/New Zealand, the Maori Cultural Health Index for Streams and Waterways. We review the delivery and outcomes of seven AWA projects undertaken in Victoria between 2017 and 2018, demonstrating that the AWA is an effective and culturally safe mechanism for First Nations to document water-related values and influence waterway management. The article identifies improvements in water management resulting from the use of data generated through AWA projects, as well as project outcomes at the individual and broader political scale, including the social benefits of First Nations’ data collection and the importance of data sovereignty. We highlight the value of waterway assessments undertaken by First Nations as a tool to address their widespread exclusion from water planning and management.

KEYWORDS:

• Cultural flows
• Murray Darling Basin
• water reform
• Aboriginal water management
• Indigenous data sovereignty

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the following people for providing advice, information and contributions to this article: Professor Sue Jackson (Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University), Robyn Mackay (North Central Catchment Management Authority), Caitlin Dunolly-Lee (Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation), Ben Muir (Wimmera Catchment Management Authority), Tyson Lovett-Murray (Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owner Aboriginal Corporation), Brendan Kennedy (Tati Tati Traditional Owners), Alejandro Voysest (Taungurung Lands and Waters Council).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.