Bridging Knowledges: Understanding and Applying Indigenous and Western Scientific Knowledge for Marine Wildlife Management

Abstract

Cross-cultural knowledge sharing in natural resource management is receiving growing academic attention. Further consideration is necessary regarding how indigenous and Western knowledges are understood and validated by resource managers. Using a marine co-management case study in northern Australia, we explored how indigenous and nonindigenous managers engage with indigenous and Western scientific knowledge. Interview participants discussed the utility of empirical information within each knowledge system, but engaged less with the beliefs and worldviews framing knowledge. Based on interview responses, we developed a typology that describes the main ways resource managers engage with indigenous and Western scientific knowledge in this management system. We suggest several steps to help achieve a more integrative approach to knowledge utilization in indigenous co-management contexts. Ensuring that resource managers understand and respect multiple ways of knowing will improve stakeholder collaboration engagement across cultures.

Keywords:

• Australia
• co-management
• cross-cultural
• indigenous knowledge
• indigenous management
• natural resource management
• traditional ecological knowledge
• worldview

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Australian Government's Marine and Tropical Research Facility and the cooperation of our research interview respondents, and the valuable comments provided by three anonymous referees upon submission of this article. Research was conducted under a James Cook University Ethics permit H3062.

Notes

^a While GBRMPA is a national government agency, its jurisdictional responsibilities cover only the Great Barrier Reef region of Australian waters off Queensland. Similarly, TSRA is a national government agency whose responsibility is the socioeconomic well-being and development of indigenous people specifically within the Torres Strait region.