tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/kimberley-4145/articlesKimberley – The Conversation2023-10-25T19:10:36Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2138642023-10-25T19:10:36Z2023-10-25T19:10:36ZBeyond Juukan Gorge: how First Nations people are taking charge of clean energy projects on their land<p><a href="https://nntc.com.au/news_latest/the-net-zero-2060-goal-will-need-to-rely-on-australias-indigenous-estate-says-new-findings/">Many</a> of the big wind and solar farms planned to help Australia achieve net zero emissions by 2050 will be built on the lands and waters of First Nations peoples. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-022-00994-6">More than half</a> of the projects that will extract critical minerals to drive the global clean energy transition overlap with Indigenous-held lands.</p>
<p>Australia’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilbara">Pilbara</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimberley_(Western_Australia)">Kimberley</a> regions have high rates of Indigenous land tenure, while hosting some of world’s best co-located solar and wind energy resources. Such abundance presents big opportunities for energy exports, <a href="https://theconversation.com/red-dirt-yellow-sun-green-steel-how-australia-could-benefit-from-a-global-shift-to-emissions-free-steel-179286">green steel</a> and <a href="https://www.bp.com/en_au/australia/home/who-we-are/reimagining-energy/decarbonizing-australias-energy-system/renewable-energy-hub-in-australia.html">zero carbon products</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/ng-interactive/2021/may/17/who-owns-australia">Almost 60% of Australia</a> is subject to some level of First Nations’ rights and interests, including exclusive possession rights (akin to freehold) over a quarter of the continent. So the stakes for all players are high.</p>
<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-973" class="tc-infographic" height="400px" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/973/534c98def812dd41ac56cc750916e2922539729b/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>In 2020, after news Rio Tinto had <a href="https://www.riotinto.com/en/news/trending-topics/inquiry-into-juukan-gorge#:%7E:text=In%20May%202020%2C%20we%20destroyed,on%20which%20our%20business%20operates.">legally destroyed</a> the sacred Juukan Gorge rock shelter in order to gain access to more than $100 million worth of iron ore, we wrote an <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-aboriginal-people-have-little-say-over-energy-projects-on-their-land-139119">article</a> questioning how much legal say First Nations people would have over massive new wind and solar farms planned for their Country. We asked whether the move to a zero-carbon economy “would be a just transition for First Nations?”</p>
<h2>The long but hopeful journey back from Juukan Gorge</h2>
<p>Much has happened in the past three years, and while more needs to be done, some signs are promising.</p>
<p>First, the furore and subsequent parliamentary <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/about/reporting/obligations/government-responses/destruction-of-juukan-gorge">inquiry</a> following the Juukan Gorge incident forced the resignation of <a href="https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/rio-tinto-ceo-top-executives-resign-amid-cave-blast-crisis/">Rio Tinto boss</a> Jean-Sebastien Jacques. Companies were put on notice that they can no longer run roughshod over First Nations communities. <a href="https://www.atns.net.au/climate-repair-project">Research in progress</a> indicates the clean energy industry <a href="https://www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au/news/kane-thornton-opening-address-to-the-australian-clean-energy-summit">has heard</a> this message. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-human-factor-why-australias-net-zero-transition-risks-failing-unless-it-is-fair-214064">The human factor: why Australia's net zero transition risks failing unless it is fair</a>
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<p>Second, in 2021 the <a href="https://www.firstnationscleanenergy.org.au">First Nations Clean Energy Network</a> – a group of prominent First Nations community organisers, lawyers, engineers and financial experts – was created and began to undertake significant advocacy work with governments and industry. </p>
<p>The network has released several <a href="https://www.firstnationscleanenergy.org.au/network_guides">useful guides</a> on best practice on First Peoples’ Country. Again, <a href="https://www.atns.net.au/climate-repair-project">research</a> indicates the clean energy industry is paying attention to the work of the network. </p>
<p>Third, there is a question whether the <a href="https://aiatsis.gov.au/about-native-title">Native Title Act</a> allows large-scale clean energy developments to go ahead without native title holders’ permission. We are increasingly <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629621003455">convinced</a> the only way such developments will <a href="https://caepr.cass.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/docs/2022/5/WP_143_Maynard.pdf">gain approval</a> through the Native Title Act is through an <a href="http://www.nntt.gov.au/ILUAs/Pages/default.aspx#:%7E:text=What%20is%20an%20ILUA%3F,least%20part%20of%20the%20area">Indigenous Land Use Agreement</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-original-and-still-the-best-why-its-time-to-renew-australias-renewable-energy-policy-213879">The original and still the best: why it's time to renew Australia's renewable energy policy</a>
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<p>Moreover, <a href="https://assets.nationbuilder.com/fncen/pages/326/attachments/original/1692660875/Queensland_policy_overview_-_First_Nations_and_Clean_Energy_Aug_2023.pdf?1692660875">Queensland</a> and <a href="https://www.wa.gov.au/government/publications/diversification-leases">Western Australia</a> have both implemented policies and South Australia is developing <a href="https://www.legislation.sa.gov.au/lz?path=/b/current/hydrogen%20and%20renewable%20energy%20bill%202023">legislation</a> that make it clear these states will require renewable energy developers to negotiate an agreement with First Nations land holders. Because these agreements are voluntary, native title holders can refuse to allow large wind and solar farms on their Country.</p>
<p>As always, these decisions come with caveats. Governments can compulsorily acquire land, and many of the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19452829.2021.1901670">power imbalances</a> we observed in our earlier article persist. These include the power corporations have – unlike most Indigenous communities – to employ independent legal and technical advice about proposed projects, and to easily access finance when a community would like to develop a project itself.</p>
<h2>Promising partnerships on the road to net zero</h2>
<p>Are First Nations peoples refusing to have wind and solar projects on their land? No, they are not. Many significant proposed projects announced in the last few years show huge promise in terms of First Nations ownership and control.</p>
<p>In Western Australia the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-17/yindjibarndi-to-use-exclusive-native-title-land-for-renewables/102609826">partnership</a> between Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation and renewable energy company ACEN plans to build three gigawatts of solar and wind infrastructure on Yindjibarndi exclusive possession native title. Mirning traditional owners hold equity stakes in one of the largest green energy projects in the world, the massive <a href="https://wgeh.com.au/mirning#:%7E:text=The%20WA%20Mirning%20People%20are,transcontinental%20lines%20in%20the%20North.">Western Green Energy Hub</a> located on their lands in the great Australian Bight.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-australia-urgently-needs-a-climate-plan-and-a-net-zero-national-cabinet-committee-to-implement-it-213866">Why Australia urgently needs a climate plan and a Net Zero National Cabinet Committee to implement it</a>
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<p>Further north, Balanggarra traditional owners, the MG Corporation and the Kimberley Land Council have together announced a landmark East Kimberley Clean Energy <a href="https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/aboriginal-backing-for-3b-kimberley-hydrogen-project-20230717-p5dovg">project</a> aimed at producing green hydrogen and ammonia for export. </p>
<p>Across the border in the Northern Territory, Larrakia Nation and the Jawoyn Association have created Desert Springs Octopus, a majority Indigenous-owned <a href="https://octopusinvestments.com.au/insights/desert-springs-octopus-announces-new-renewable-energy-agreement/">company</a> backed by Octopus Australia. </p>
<p>Still, much more needs to happen to provide Indigenous communities with proper consent and control. In its 2023 <a href="https://www.wa.gov.au/government/media-statements/Cook%20Labor%20Government/Milestone-new-legislation-helps-cut-red-tape-20230810#:%7E:text=The%20amendments%20which%20deliver%20a,Act%202023(the%20Act).">amendments</a> to allow for renewable energy projects on pastoral leases, the Western Australian government could have given native title holders more control but it chose not to. And much needed reforms to cultural heritage laws in WA were scrapped following <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-10/roger-cook-leadership-aboriginal-cultural-heritage-act/102706694?utm_campaign=newsweb-article-new-share-null&utm_content=link&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_source=abc_news_web">a backlash from farmers</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/made-in-america-how-bidens-climate-package-is-fuelling-the-global-drive-to-net-zero-214709">Made in America: how Biden's climate package is fuelling the global drive to net zero</a>
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<p>In New South Wales, some clean energy developers seem to be avoiding Aboriginal lands, perhaps because they think it will be easier to negotiate with individual landholders. The result is lost <a href="https://assets.nationbuilder.com/fncen/pages/232/attachments/original/1685504567/Norman_Briggs_Apolonio_Discussionpaper_012023.pdf?1685504567">opportunities for partnership</a>, much needed <a href="https://arena.org.au/first-nations-environmental-work/">know-how</a> and <a href="https://soundcloud.com/solarinsiders/the-power-of-putting-first-nations-first?utm_source=clipboard&utm_campaign=wtshare&utm_medium=widget&utm_content=https%253A%252F%252Fsoundcloud.com%252Fsolarinsiders%252Fthe-power-of-putting-first-nations-first">mutual benefit</a>. </p>
<p>In the case of critical mineral deposits on or near lands subject to First Nations’ title, <a href="https://nit.com.au/11-04-2023/5559/the-practical-effect-of-an-indigenous-voice-the-case-of-critical-minerals">not nearly enough</a> has been done to ensure these communities will benefit from their extraction.</p>
<h2>Why free, prior and informed consent is crucial</h2>
<p>To ensure the net zero transition is just, First Nations must be guaranteed “free, prior and informed consent” to any renewable energy or critical mineral project proposed for their lands and waters, as <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2018/11/UNDRIP_E_web.pdf">the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples</a> makes clear.</p>
<p>So long as governments can compulsorily acquire native title to expedite a renewable energy project and miners are allowed to mine critical minerals (or any mineral) without native title holders’ consent, the net zero transition will transgress this internationally recognised right. </p>
<p>The Commonwealth government has agreed in principle with the recommendations of the Juukan Gorge inquiry to review native title legislation to address inequalities in the position of First Nations peoples when they are negotiating <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/australian-response-to-destruction-of-juukan-gorge.pdf">access to their lands and waters</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-road-is-long-and-time-is-short-but-australias-pace-towards-net-zero-is-quickening-214570">The road is long and time is short, but Australia's pace towards net zero is quickening</a>
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<p>The meaningful participation of First Nations rights holders is critical to de-risking clean energy projects. Communities must decide the forms participation takes – full or part ownership, leasing and so on – after they have properly assessed their options. Rapid electrification through wind and solar developments cannot <a href="https://reneweconomy.com.au/ark-energy-halves-size-of-queensland-wind-farm-but-doubles-size-of-turbines/">come</a> at the expense of land clearing and loss of biodiversity. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.atns.net.au/climate-repair-project">Ongoing research</a> highlights that when negotiating land access for these projects, First Nations people are putting protection of the environment first when negotiating the footprint of these developments. That’s good news for all Australians.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213864/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ganur Maynard was formerly a member of the steering committee of the First Nations Clean Energy Network. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brad Riley, Janet Hunt, and Lily O'Neill do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Australia’s road to net zero must pass through Indigenous-held land, which is likely to host many clean energy projects. First Nations people want partnerships that help them protect their Country.Lily O'Neill, Senior Research Fellow, Melbourne Climate Futures, The University of MelbourneBrad Riley, Research Fellow, Australian National UniversityGanur Maynard, Indigenous Knowledge Holder, Indigenous KnowledgeJanet Hunt, Honorary Associate Professor, CAEPR, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2026062023-04-13T02:10:39Z2023-04-13T02:10:39ZPeople in the Kimberley have spent decades asking for basics like water and homes. Will the Voice make their calls more compelling?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518650/original/file-20230331-18-lp72e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=261%2C4%2C2650%2C1137&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The intent of the proposed First Nations Voice to Parliament is to elevate and amplify our input across the nation into laws, policies and programs that will impact on Indigenous Australians. </p>
<p>One crucial question is how exactly the Voice process will <a href="https://www.indigconlaw.org/home/membership-models-for-an-indigenous-voice-what-does-representation-mean-for-first-nations">collect the input of local and regional Voices</a> and transfer them all the way to federal parliament. </p>
<p>The question of the design of these representational systems is crucial. Opposition leader Peter Dutton, in his <a href="https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-peter-duttons-risky-call-to-campaign-for-no-in-voice-referendum-203345">announcement last week</a> that the Liberal Party is against the proposal, branded the current plan a “Canberra Voice”. </p>
<p>But while we disagree this is a reason to oppose the Voice entirely, this stance does highlight the question of how the Voice can be truly representational of the many people who deserve to be heard.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-voice-what-is-it-where-did-it-come-from-and-what-can-it-achieve-202138">The Voice: what is it, where did it come from, and what can it achieve?</a>
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<p>The Kimberley region in Australia’s northwest is a long, long way from Canberra. Indigenous people here want reassurance that our Voice will carry to the national capital, and that our uniqueness as a region will be respected. </p>
<h2>Regional and remote voices are often unheard</h2>
<p>The Voice <a href="https://apo.org.au/node/316024">co-design report</a> recommends:</p>
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<p>local and regional Voices would provide advice to all levels of government to influence policy and programs, and advise the non-government sector and business.</p>
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<p>But governments’ effectiveness in delivering solutions on the ground in remote Indigenous communities has been patchy at best.</p>
<p>Aboriginal communities in remote New South Wales were <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-covid-19-crisis-in-western-nsw-aboriginal-communities-is-a-nightmare-realised-166093">left without food and medical supplies</a> during the pandemic. And in the <a href="https://researchonline.nd.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=nulungu_reports">Kimberley</a>, Aboriginal communities and organisations were excluded from COVID-related planning and decision-making processes.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518710/original/file-20230331-18-1lbwgo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518710/original/file-20230331-18-1lbwgo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518710/original/file-20230331-18-1lbwgo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518710/original/file-20230331-18-1lbwgo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518710/original/file-20230331-18-1lbwgo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518710/original/file-20230331-18-1lbwgo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518710/original/file-20230331-18-1lbwgo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Rising floodwaters in Darlngunaya, a community near Fitzroy Crossing, WA.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>The impact of the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-03/fitzroy-crossing-record-flooding-central-kimberley-fitzroy-river/101823554">recent floods</a> in the central Kimberley was made <a href="https://theconversation.com/disastrous-floods-in-wa-why-were-we-not-prepared-197407">even more catastrophic</a> by a lack of coordinated planning across local, state and federal agencies.</p>
<p>Hundreds of people living along the Fitzroy River were left homeless by the disaster, and their trauma was compounded by pre-existing <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jan/10/kimberley-floods-may-have-left-hundreds-homeless-in-region-with-longstanding-housing-crisis">levels of overcrowding</a> in the remote town of Fitzroy Crossing. </p>
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<span class="caption">Joe Ross discusses the response to the Fitzroy floods with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Minister Murray Watt, federal minister for emergency management.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
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<h2>Politics in the Kimberley</h2>
<p>The cultural and political landscape of the Kimberley is rich and complex. More than <a href="http://www.nntt.gov.au/Maps/WA_Kimberley_NTDA_schedule.pdf">93% of the region</a> is now covered by 41 native title determinations. Most of these determinations reflect distinct land areas, language groups and histories - and each has its own legally constituted organisation.</p>
<p>The big question for this region – and other remote areas across Australia – is how a Voice to parliament can capture the diversity of aspirations held by different Indigenous groups in ways that respect Indigenous political organisation, and which are genuinely inclusive and representative.</p>
<p>This question is not a new one. Indigenous people in Australia have a long history of enduring governments’ attempts to incorporate Indigenous input into local and regional development priorities. </p>
<p>As such, the Kimberley now has a <a href="https://researchonline.nd.edu.au/arts_article/130/">decades-long history</a> of calls for a proper form of regional representation. <a href="https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/handle/1885/272721">Various models</a> of regional governance have been proposed, and some delivered, since the late 1970s. </p>
<p>But if the Voice referendum results in a yes vote, it will be the first time any such regional governance frameworks will be implemented on a permanent basis. </p>
<p>Stability in this regard would be welcomed by regional leaders. But the very permanence of these models makes it even more crucial that their design reflects local and regional ways of working, and <a href="https://caepr.cass.anu.edu.au/research/publications/contested-governance-culture-power-and-institutions-indigenous-australia">draws on</a> the <a href="https://www.oecd.org/regional/Indigenous-Communities-Australia-PH.pdf">existing</a> <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/04fa3771-33c4-448b-b82e-3dce26c4cd97/ctgc-rs10.pdf.aspx?inline=true">evidence</a> showing what works, and what doesn’t. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518711/original/file-20230331-24-w4mh75.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518711/original/file-20230331-24-w4mh75.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=854&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518711/original/file-20230331-24-w4mh75.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=854&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518711/original/file-20230331-24-w4mh75.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=854&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518711/original/file-20230331-24-w4mh75.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1074&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518711/original/file-20230331-24-w4mh75.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1074&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518711/original/file-20230331-24-w4mh75.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1074&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Dozens of consultation processes are undertaken every year across the region - with unclear impacts on the levels of government investment in actual services.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>In recent decades, the problem has not been that Indigenous people don’t have the opportunity to “advise” governments. Rather, it is that the mechanics of actually delivering solutions on the ground in remote Indigenous Australia have been far from straightforward. </p>
<p>There are no incentives for multitudinous agencies – across local, state and government jurisdictions – to identify program duplication or to invest thought or resources in minimising the burden their demands for consultation place upon remote communities. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, remote communities, certainly in the Kimberley, are falling through the gaps in terms of <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-24/the-northern-wa-town-where-the-taps-run-dry/9899638">service delivery</a>. Many people are suffering ongoing issues with basic needs such as housing, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-03/remote-community-water-report/100185414">water</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-021-00942-2">electricity</a>.</p>
<p>This is clearly a failure of delivery rather than consultation, given it should be obvious to everyone that communities want safe and functional homes to live in. </p>
<h2>How the proposed Voice could draw on regional representation</h2>
<p>Australia already has many First Nations organisations working as regional entities. Some of them are ongoing, such as the <a href="https://www.tsra.gov.au/">Torres Strait Regional Authority</a>, and the <a href="https://www.mpra.com.au">Murdi Paaki Regional Assembly</a> in northwestern NSW. </p>
<p>How the Voice will interact with the existing regional mechanisms is not yet clear. But, as delegates at the Uluru dialogues in 2017 made clear, it should follow a principle of subsidiarity, whereby a central Voice authority should perform only those tasks that cannot be done at a more local level. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/first-nations-people-have-made-a-plea-for-truth-telling-by-reckoning-with-its-past-australia-can-finally-help-improve-our-future-202137">First Nations people have made a plea for 'truth-telling'. By reckoning with its past, Australia can finally help improve our future</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>What is certain is if the Voice is to prove its worth, it will need to prioritise practical outcomes and reduce bureaucratic duplication across all levels of government that are delivering programs to Indigenous Australians. </p>
<p>A mechanism that allows for clear articulation of aspirations from the ground is only one side of the equation. The other is a coordinated response from all levels of government to those aspirations.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202606/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kathryn Thorburn currently receives funding from the Commonwealth Department of Education's Emerging Priorities Program.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Kinnane is a part-time Research Coordinator with the Kimberley Aboriginal Law and Culture Centre which receives funding from the National Indigenous Australians Agency. He is affiliated with the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) Foundation, is a Director of Magabala Books, Broome, is a member of the Indigenous Working Party of the Australian Dictionary of Biography (ANU) and is a scholar with the ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joe Ross does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>One crucial question about the Voice to Parliament is how it will ensure voices from regional and remote communities, such as those in the Kimberley, are truly heard in Canberra.Kathryn Thorburn, Translational Fellow Nulungu Research Institute, University of Notre Dame AustraliaJoe Ross, Bunuba Dawangarri AC Director, Indigenous KnowledgeStephen Kinnane, Co-Chair of Indigenous Studies, Nulungu Research Institute, University of Notre Dame AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1989872023-03-22T19:42:26Z2023-03-22T19:42:26Z5 Indigenous engineering feats you should know about<p>For many millennia, Indigenous Australians have engineered the landscape using sophisticated technological and philosophical knowledge systems in a deliberate response to changing social and environmental circumstances.</p>
<p>These knowledge systems integrate profound understanding of Country, bringing together an understanding of the topography and geology of the landscape, its natural cycles and ecological systems, its hydrological systems and its natural resources, including fauna and flora. This has enabled people to manage resources sustainably and reliably. </p>
<p>Engineering is about process, and the process of engineering was very different in Australia before the English colonised the land. However, when our Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander students take the step into engineering, or other STEM subjects, there is little material provided that relates to their experience or their peoples’ technical and management knowledge. This is a result of historic denial of the First Nations of Australia as enduring scientific and technical civilisations.</p>
<p>The versatility and minimalist nature of Aboriginal technology designs are inspiring. The flexibility and artistry in tool manufacture, which can differ in neighbouring communities, is a salient lesson for engineers now. Some key aspects of this approach can be seen through five examples of ingenious Indigenous engineering. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ten-classics-of-indigenous-design-99672">Ten classics of Indigenous design</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The Kimberley raft</h2>
<p>The King Sound region of the Kimberleys in Western Australia is renowned for its strong tides, rips and whirlpools. Navigation can be difficult, though there are areas of calm water in the bays. The Bardi community, from <a href="https://www.westernaustralia.com/au/attraction/one-arm-point/56b266eed5f1565045daa11f">One Arm Point</a>, call their raft the <em>kalwa</em>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516221/original/file-20230319-16-cr0ayg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516221/original/file-20230319-16-cr0ayg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516221/original/file-20230319-16-cr0ayg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=191&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516221/original/file-20230319-16-cr0ayg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=191&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516221/original/file-20230319-16-cr0ayg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=191&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516221/original/file-20230319-16-cr0ayg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=240&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516221/original/file-20230319-16-cr0ayg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=240&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516221/original/file-20230319-16-cr0ayg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=240&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Side view and plan of the kalwa raft, a traditional watercraft from the Bardi community of north-west Western Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Permission from David Payne, Curator at the Australian National
Maritime Museum.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The raft is made mostly of light mangrove wood, providing buoyancy. The two fan-shaped sections that make up the boat are wider and thicker at the outer ends to provide stability. These two sections, lapped over each other, are made on a base of mangrove trunks sharpened at the ends; hardwood is used to pin them together. A small basket, made with hardwood pegs on the back section, is used to secure belongings or any fish that are caught. </p>
<p>The design ensures the top of the raft stays above the water when loaded with the paddler, passengers and belongings. The size of the raft determines the load it can carry. Water that washes over the raft will flow out through the gaps between the wooden slats. </p>
<p>Ingeniously, the structure can be pulled apart. One half can be tied to a harpooned dugong, which will swim around and become exhausted, while the hunter floats on the other half.</p>
<p>Rafts were made in different styles all around the coast of Australia, from the different materials available in particular areas and for uses relevant to that landscape.</p>
<h2>Thuwarri Thaa Aboriginal ochre mine</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/parks-heritage/heritage/places/national/wilgie-mia">Thuwarri Thaa (aka Wilgie Mia) Aboriginal ochre mine</a> is located in central WA in the Weld Range, between Mount Magnet and Meekatharra. It has been in use for probably tens of thousands of years, including by non-Aboriginal miners from the 1940s to 1970s. </p>
<p>The ochre is still important in body and artefact painting for ceremony. It is also used as a skin coolant during summer and for warmth during winter; as a fly repellent; in curing hides and in making glue. </p>
<p>The mine is a deep, sloping shaft cut into the mountain. Wood was carried into the cavern and made into scaffolding to reach seams of ochre out of reach above the cavern floor. Tunnels have been dug along seams in the walls. Heat, flaked pebbles and fire-hardened, sharpened wood were used to undercut the seams of ochre. Fire may have been used to crack the surrounding rock, as well as to provide light deep in the cavern. At times, large sections of ochre could be wedged off.</p>
<p>The ochre was mined from deep underground and then processed onsite. Some was transported by traders northwest to Carnarvon (450 km), south to Kellerberrin (525 km) and east to Wiluna (300 km). To transport, the ochre was dampened and rolled into balls.</p>
<p>Thuwarri Thaa was reserved as a men’s only site and stories pass down knowledge of the site and the material. Its location, its mining and its uses are embedded in the creation story of the <em>marlu</em> or red kangaroo. The red ochre is his blood, the yellow ochre is his liver and green is his gall. The entire mining and distribution industry was regulated by these cultural constraints and influences and thus maintained sustainable practices.</p>
<p>When non-Aboriginal people mined there, the roof was blasted off a large cavern at a nearby site, little Wilgie Mia. Ochre from the site is still used in ceremony. People can visit with a permit if guided by Wajarri Yamaji Traditional Owner guides.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516817/original/file-20230321-3654-v5a9sw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A dirt road leading to an ochre mine." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516817/original/file-20230321-3654-v5a9sw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516817/original/file-20230321-3654-v5a9sw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516817/original/file-20230321-3654-v5a9sw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516817/original/file-20230321-3654-v5a9sw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516817/original/file-20230321-3654-v5a9sw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516817/original/file-20230321-3654-v5a9sw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516817/original/file-20230321-3654-v5a9sw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">View towards Little Wilgie hill in 2015.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Courtesy of Anneliese Carson).</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/buried-tools-and-pigments-tell-a-new-history-of-humans-in-australia-for-65-000-years-81021">Buried tools and pigments tell a new history of humans in Australia for 65,000 years</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Budj Bim eel traps</h2>
<p>The Budj Bim area (also known as Lake Condah), a dormant volcano in south western Victoria, was continuously occupied for thousands of years. The Gunditjmara community farmed eels and harvested galaxia fish in a series of dams and water channels constructed out of the basalt lava flows, an amazing surveying feat. </p>
<p>More than 30,000 years ago, Budj Bim (called Mount Eccles by Europeans) spewed forth the Tyrendarra lava flow, a significant creation event in this country recorded in local oral history. The lava flow to the sea created large wetlands by changing the drainage pattern. This volcanic activity lasted until after the last ice age. Carbon dating shows aquaculture began as early as 6,700 years ago, soon after the lava flow stopped.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513589/original/file-20230306-16-ehtx0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Fish traps in the landscape." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513589/original/file-20230306-16-ehtx0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513589/original/file-20230306-16-ehtx0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513589/original/file-20230306-16-ehtx0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513589/original/file-20230306-16-ehtx0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513589/original/file-20230306-16-ehtx0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513589/original/file-20230306-16-ehtx0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513589/original/file-20230306-16-ehtx0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Budj Bim world heritage site.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Office of the Premier of Victoria/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The people then continued to alter the water flow through the region with excavated channels. The channels are made in straight or curved paths, with sharp corners helping to reduce the speed of water. Dam walls were built to produce ponds.</p>
<p>These traps for eels and the fish traps in other locations were designed to allow animals to enter the trapping area, be retained in the cooling water and then captured when required for food. The eels remained in pools designed for collection for long periods, where they would breed. This provided a food supply all year round.</p>
<p>The rock was also used to construct dwellings or stone huts, along with 36 storage structures and 12 pits, which are associated with eel trapping. Most of the stone dwellings have a diameter of less than 1.6m. The rest are considered to be storage caches. The area has many scar trees with signs of burning; many of the Manna gums were used for baking and smoking and preserving the trapped eel. Smoked eel products were traded over a wide area.</p>
<p>The structures were exposed during heavy fires in the area and the extent of the all the engineering work is still not known. These traps are an Australian UNESCO World Heritage site, the only one listed exclusively for its Aboriginal cultural values. The Gunditjmara people now work with engineering students designing projects exploring engineering approaches embedded in the landscape.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-detective-work-behind-the-budj-bim-eel-traps-world-heritage-bid-71800">The detective work behind the Budj Bim eel traps World Heritage bid</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Yidaki</h2>
<p>When Ben Lange, an Aboriginal man from Cairns who plays the Yidaki, came to the University of New South Wales to study electrical engineering, he worked with the physics department to look at how the Aboriginal people created sounds with <a href="http://www.dreamtime-didjeriduw3server.com/technical/didjeridu.html">this instrument</a>. This work led to greater understanding of the use of the mouth and its components in speech production, providing inspiration for new approaches in speech therapy.</p>
<p>The Yidaki (European name the Didgeridoo) is a drone pipe played with circular breathing – the lungs are used as a form of air storage to maintain a continual flow through the pipe. The wood is selected from termite-hollowed trees. This bore is widened by hand, especially at the base of the pipe. Bees’ wax is used to smooth the mouthpiece. </p>
<p>The shape of the mouth across the pipe, the control of air through the mouth with the diaphragm, and the position of the tongue in the mouth, as well as the shape of the player’s voice box, all affect the sound from the instrument.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-the-remarkable-yidaki-and-no-its-not-a-didge-74169">Friday essay: the remarkable yidaki (and no, it's not a 'didge')</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Brewarrina fish traps</h2>
<p>The Brewarrina fish traps, called Biame Ngunnhu by the local Ngemba people, were created by Biaime in the Dreamtime – there is no oral record of other events that locate the period of construction. They are considered the oldest and longest-lasting dry wall construction on earth. </p>
<p>Dating of the traps would be hard, especially as many of the stones were recently moved to construct a stone weir across the river. Importantly, these fish traps provide an example of collaborative knowledge sharing and governance.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513588/original/file-20230306-28-3n7h97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513588/original/file-20230306-28-3n7h97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513588/original/file-20230306-28-3n7h97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513588/original/file-20230306-28-3n7h97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513588/original/file-20230306-28-3n7h97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513588/original/file-20230306-28-3n7h97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513588/original/file-20230306-28-3n7h97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513588/original/file-20230306-28-3n7h97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fish traps on the Darling River at Brewarrina.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dean Lewins/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When the fish were running in the Barwon River, a tributary of the Darling, the clans would gather from all around to talk about caring for Country. The fish traps are scattered across and down the river. When the water is high, the lower traps are inundated, but the upper traps are opened upstream and fish swim in with the water flow. They are closed and the fish remain in the traps until they are ready to be caught, usually by spear. When the water drops, the lower traps are then used.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/budj-bims-world-heritage-listing-is-an-australian-first-what-other-indigenous-cultural-sites-could-be-next-120097">Budj Bim's world heritage listing is an Australian first – what other Indigenous cultural sites could be next?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The Ngemba families each owned a trap, each feeding a specific language group when they came to the meetings. The time was spent understanding what was happening to Country around them – through sharing stories, and planning ceremonies, such as rain-making, as needed. This history of knowledge-sharing is now being continued by the Ngemba people with a project for online storytelling and data collection around service provision in their community.</p>
<p>The fish in the river include Australian grayling, river blackfish, short-finned eel, Australian smelt, climbing galaxias, common galaxias, congoli, flathead gudgeon, mountain galaxias, pouch lamprey, smallmouth hardyhead, trout galaxias and southern pigmy perch. However the main fish there now are introduced carp, and the high level of irrigation upstream means the river is often dry.</p>
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<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513591/original/file-20230306-28-jjlxae.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513591/original/file-20230306-28-jjlxae.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513591/original/file-20230306-28-jjlxae.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=843&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513591/original/file-20230306-28-jjlxae.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=843&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513591/original/file-20230306-28-jjlxae.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=843&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513591/original/file-20230306-28-jjlxae.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1060&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513591/original/file-20230306-28-jjlxae.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1060&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513591/original/file-20230306-28-jjlxae.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1060&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>There is great diversity of Aboriginal peoples across Australia. Aboriginal people have different languages and come from vastly different landscapes, each with their unique ecology. Yet technology is part of our everyday life: the houses we live in; the internet we learn with; the watercraft we use for fun or fishing. </p>
<p>Indigenous communities need students graduating with the skills to help maintain and build infrastructure or create software to support their enterprises and care for Country. In project management, the participatory democracy practised in Indigenous communities is a good example of flat management processes and a way to reinvigorate the Western approach to sustainability and democracy that is failing in our engineering projects – as much as in the political space.</p>
<p><em><a href="https://www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-5275-8759-5">Indigenous Engineering for an Enduring Culture</a>, edited by Cat Kutay, Elyssebeth Leigh, Juliana Kaya Prpic and Lyndon Ormond-Parker is published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198987/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cat Kutay does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>For many millennia, Indigenous Australians have engineered our landscape. From an ochre mine to fish traps, here are five remarkable examples of First Nations technical know-how.Cat Kutay, Lecturer, Faculty of Science and Technology, Charles Darwin University, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1974072023-01-16T02:30:00Z2023-01-16T02:30:00ZDisastrous floods in WA – why were we not prepared?<p>The devastating floods sweeping through the Kimberley region of Western Australia have caused unimaginable destruction, leaving remote Indigenous communities stranded in its aftermath. </p>
<p>Heartbreaking <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jan/05/theyve-been-texting-us-for-food-remote-communities-left-abandoned-in-kimberley-flood-response">reports</a> detail community members desperately seeking assistance from loved ones in Perth. In one case, over 40 people were forced to seek refuge under one roof — unable to access emergency shelters filled beyond capacity. </p>
<p>Some Kimberley locals have taken matters into their own hands by using local boats for search and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jan/09/kimberley-communities-eligible-for-financial-relief-after-unprecedented-flooding">rescue</a> missions. The government has also since begun organising delivering supplies to these communities in need. However, Derby Shire Council President Geoff Haerewa told the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jan/09/kimberley-communities-eligible-for-financial-relief-after-unprecedented-flooding">Guardian</a> he felt authorities could have done “a lot more” to prepare for the flooding. </p>
<p>Climate disasters are no longer unprecedented, with both <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-13/flood-climate-change-atmospheric-rivers-study/100616546">scientists</a> and <a href="https://iview.abc.net.au/show/songlines-solutions-to-climate/video/NS2020H001S00">First Nations</a> people warning of future disaster weather events. Australia needs to do better with disaster prevention, so vulnerable communities don’t have to go through this again. </p>
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<h2>Atmospheric rivers</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.noaa.gov/stories/what-are-atmospheric-rivers">Atmospheric rivers</a> are long, narrow lanes of moist air transported in the atmosphere. According to the <a href="https://climateextremes.org.au/atmospheric-rivers-in-australia/">ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes</a>, these weather patterns can be beneficial for breaking droughts. However they can contribute to heavy flooding, as we saw in last year’s <a href="https://riskfrontiers.com/insights/eastern-australian-floods-february-april-2022/">floods</a> in South East Queensland and NSW.</p>
<p>Scientists have identified that higher sea surface temperatures, increased concentrations of <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-13/flood-climate-change-atmospheric-rivers-study/100616546">atmospheric rivers</a>, and other <a href="https://www.climatesignals.org/climate-signals/sea-surface-temperature-increase#more">climate-related</a> events can lead to more severe floods, storms, droughts, and heatwaves.</p>
<p>Atmospheric rivers have devastated the Kimberley region with its highest level of rain since records began in 1904. Some areas received as much as <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/weather-update-kimberly-floods-emergency-situation-declared-in-wa-as-outback-transforms-into-inland-sea/8c1f348d-440d-4fef-abe4-86faac95228e">831mm</a> of rain in a single week. Intense storms and cyclones in Western Australia have also caused heavy rainfall over the past several months.</p>
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<h2>Disaster management plans need to consider Indigenous peoples</h2>
<p>Indigenous communities are among the <a href="https://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/climatechange/docs/IUCN.pdf">most vulnerable</a> to the impacts of climate change. Yet, current Australian disaster risk management approaches fail to consider the needs of Indigenous communities, such as housing shortages and reduced access to medical services. This leaves them vulnerable to disaster events like flooding. Most towns and communities in WA have no climate adaptation plans in place.</p>
<p>Some Indigenous communities in Australia are reliant on bush food and hunting for sustenance, especially for those living in outlying areas. These activities are made impossible when flood events occur, heightening pre-existing food insecurity issues faced within disaster-affected homelands. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/like-rivers-in-the-sky-the-weather-system-bringing-floods-to-queensland-will-become-more-likely-under-climate-change-176711">Like rivers in the sky: the weather system bringing floods to Queensland will become more likely under climate change</a>
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<p>Floods can also bring many health issues for local communities. Dangers include contaminated drinking water and being cut off from medical care and supplies due to infrastructure damage, as we are seeing now in the Kimberley region. Large amounts of standing water can also create an ideal environment for <a href="https://www.healthywa.wa.gov.au/Articles/A_E/Diseases-transmitted-by-mosquitoes-in-Western-Australia">mosquitoes</a> carrying viruses.</p>
<p>The aftermath of natural disasters can be especially devastating with physical damage to peoples’ homes and loss of community infrastructure - often accompanied by extreme financial hardship. For First Nations people, there is a deep spiritual impact as well. Some peoples are put under strain through <a href="https://theconversation.com/effects-of-climate-change-such-as-flooding-makes-existing-disadvantages-for-indigenous-communities-so-much-worse-192090">loss of access</a> to culturally important areas, or evacuation orders separating communities from their respective Countries. </p>
<p>More must be done to ensure the safety of communities whose remote location makes them vulnerable, including First Nations people. Indigenous communities need access to culturally sensitive and appropriate resources, better roads and infrastructure, water management systems, early warning systems and emergency preparedness programs. These communities also need long-term recovery plans made available after disaster events like this. Such as training and skills development, support for business recovery, and access to financial resources and culturally safe mental health support.</p>
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<h2>What we can learn from Indigenous flood knowledge</h2>
<p>Indigenous knowledge from the Kimberley region could provide insight into climate change impacts. Stories and practices passed down through generations of First Nations peoples show how some cultures have addressed changing climates by finding ways to survive extreme weather events and looking after the land.</p>
<p>One example is the story “<a href="https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/19783/1/19783_Goudie_2007.pdf">The Flood Ngawarra-kurlu</a>” where an old man warned of rain coming, which would lead to flooding, and recommended people don’t sleep in creek beds. The people didn’t listen, resulting in them losing their belongings to the flood. This highlights the valuable lesson to governments of not building in flood plains. </p>
<p>Another is the East Kimberley Mulan peoples’ story “<a href="https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/19783/1/19783_Goudie_2007.pdf">The Two Dingoes</a>” which describes visible signs of incoming floods. The colour of the water coming through Sturt Creek and Paruku indicates how long communities will need to relocate to avoid flooding (milky colour water means a few months, red means a few days).</p>
<p>It’s time we include <a href="https://www.undrr.org/indigenous-peoples-and-disaster-risk-reduction-participation-all">Indigenous knowledge</a> when creating disaster risk management strategies and climate change adaptation plans. This is also in line with the <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/national-climate-resilience-and-adaptation-strategy.pdf">reform commitments</a> made by all Australian governments in the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.</p>
<p>In doing this, we can create more effective tools and methods to protect vulnerable people. This could ensure more comprehensive protection, and also have the potential to foster a greater appreciation of Indigenous cultures and experiences. It is through such <a href="https://www.undrr.org/publication/words-action-guidelines-using-traditional-and-indigenous-knowledges-disaster-risk">collaboration</a> we can create a better future for all communities in the face of climate change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197407/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Toni Hay is Director for Indigenous Climate Change providing climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction services.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Courtney-Jay Williams works for Indigenous Climate Change providing climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction services.</span></em></p>The Kimberley region of Western Australia is currently being devastated by flooding. Remote communities need more support with prevention and recovery plans.Toni Hay, Expert in Indigenous climate adaptation, Indigenous KnowledgeCourtney-Jay Williams, Principal Advisor at Indigenous Climate Change, Indigenous KnowledgeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1929052022-10-23T08:33:21Z2022-10-23T08:33:21ZIn 1986 Wits University did a survey about its relevance to South Africa: another is needed<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490837/original/file-20221020-15-llxbpo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Political activities on the University of the Witwatersrand campus in 1959.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wits University</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the number of black students increased at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in South Africa in the 1980s, township struggles spread onto the campus and management came under increasing grassroots pressure to implement change within the university. </p>
<p>In response, social scientists in the Faculty of Humanities, with the financial support of the university’s research office, undertook an extensive survey of perceptions of Wits. It included organisations in black communities as well as of international academics, students and staff at Wits. They even had a meeting with the then-banned African National Congress (ANC) in Lusaka.</p>
<p>The outcome of this Wits-initiated research project was published at the height of apartheid in 1986 <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/2376/Eddie_Webster_column_DOC_POW_copy.pdf?1666255424">Perspectives of Wits: Tomorrow Begins at Wits Today: The Role of the University in a Changing South Africa</a>. It revealed a disconnect between black South African’s perceptions of Wits <a href="https://www.abebooks.com/9780854947096/Wits-early-years-history-University-0854947094/plp">and the image</a> the administration had been attempting to convey of the university as a progressive opponent of apartheid.</p>
<p>The research revealed that a large proportion of the community members surveyed thought Wits served mainly white, corporate interests. </p>
<p>The report recommended further transformation of the university.</p>
<h2>Knowledge for whom, for what, by whom?</h2>
<p>Nearly 40 years later, university leadership, staff and students are increasingly representative of South Africa’s demography. Wits has made progress towards what the late anti-apartheid cleric <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/reverend-beyers-naude">Reverend Beyers Naudé</a> described during the interviews as: “securing a democratic, educational future for all in South Africa”. </p>
<p>However, we must ask whether the university’s responses to the multiple crises South Africans face today are not reproducing a similar disconnect. A growing number of students are struggling to pay their fees, and impoverished masses are eking out an existence in the country.</p>
<p>Do we need another survey to establish whose interests and needs the university is serving? </p>
<p>This survey needs to be framed by three crucial questions: Knowledge for whom? Knowledge for what? And knowledge by whom?</p>
<h2>Mind the mines</h2>
<p>These questions are of relevance because of the university’s long-standing relationship with the mining industry. Its origins go back to the <a href="https://www.abebooks.com/9780854947096/Wits-early-years-history-University-0854947094/plp">South African School of Mines</a>, established in Kimberley in 1896. </p>
<p>At the time of the Perspectives of Wits survey, the Chamber of Mines – and Anglo American in particular – was the university’s largest private donor. </p>
<p>Of course, there have been occasions when the Chamber, now Minerals Council, felt it was not receiving a satisfactory return on its investment in the university. An example was the attempt by the asbestos industry <a href="https://socialhistoryportal.org/news/articles/109725">to suppress the findings in the 1950s</a> by the Wits Pneumoconiosis Unit of a link between asbestos and cancer – the hidden disease of mesothelioma. </p>
<p>On balance, however, it can rightly be claimed that Wits has served mining capital well over the years.</p>
<p>Today, extractivism – the process of extracting natural resources from the earth to sell on the world market – particularly of coal, is under attack because of its relationship to climate change and deepening inequality. As in the past, there are various responses to these crises among Wits’ diverse constituencies. </p>
<p>The establishment of the <a href="https://www.wits.ac.za/scis/">Southern Centre for Inequality Studies</a> and the recent
<a href="https://www.wits.ac.za/about-wits/office-of-the-vice-chancellor/imraan-valodia/">appointment</a> by Wits of a Pro-Vice Chancellor on Climate, Sustainability and Inequality is an exciting response. It places Wits at the forefront of two central national challenges. These are climate change and the persistence of South Africa’s position as the most unequal country in the world in terms of income and wealth.</p>
<p>The high levels of inequality have been sustained, and in some cases have deepened, in the post-apartheid era. </p>
<p>Will researchers at Wits help promote a shift in the dominant view of coal? From being seen as a source of energy, jobs and foreign exchange, will coal be seen as a driver of inequality and environmental damage? </p>
<p>Will it help promote a democratic “just transition” from coal, which includes the lived experience of people in coal-affected communities? </p>
<p>In the present cacophony of voices addressing the question of a just transition, we hope that these marginalised voices will be heard.</p>
<h2>Commodifying knowledge</h2>
<p>Much has changed over the past four decades as Wits and universities globally have been restructured according to a market logic. Knowledge is largely valued in terms of its capacity to be commodified.</p>
<p>As the state has defunded universities, funds have been sought through raising student fees, the provision of short and online vocational courses, trusts and foundations, and endowments from wealthy alumni.</p>
<p>One of Wits’ biggest mistakes, which it has since rectified, was to try to cut costs by outsourcing its service staff to avoid paying benefits. </p>
<p>Furthermore, over time, the balance of power has shifted from academics to the administration. A form of academic managerialism triumphed and Senate was in danger of being sidelined. The Senate is accountable to the Council for regulating all teaching, learning, research and academic functions and all other functions delegated or assigned to it by the Council.</p>
<p>The Australian academic Jill Blackmore <a href="https://globaldialogue.isa-sociology.org/articles/entrepreneurial-universities-and-epistemic-injustice-an-interview-with-jill-blackmore">suggests</a> that this market logic</p>
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<p>results in epistemic injustice … it ignores the social and material conditions of knowledge production – the social relations of collegiality and collaboration, the emotional labour of teaching and researching.</p>
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<p>She warns that this is “dangerous for democracies”.</p>
<p>As Wits proudly celebrates a century of independent critical thought, maybe it needs to revisit the perceptions of its external stakeholders. This is particularly pertinent in the face of increasing inequality, casualisation of labour and ecological devastation.</p>
<p>Indeed, is it not time for all South African universities to revisit their multiple publics and explore with them what a public university in southern Africa in the 21st century could – and should – become?</p>
<p><em>This is an edited version of <a href="https://www.wits.ac.za/curiosity/">an article</a> that first appeared in the University of the Witwatersrand’s special Curiosity edition to mark the institution’s 100th anniversary.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192905/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Edward Webster receives funding from University of Witwatersrand. He is affiliated with Southern Centre of Inequality Studies . He was a member of the Perspectives of Wits research team in the 1980s.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jacklyn Cock was a member of the Perspectives of Wits research team in the 1980s.</span></em></p>The 1986 research revealed that a large proportion of the community members surveyed thought that Wits served mainly white, corporate interests.Edward Webster, Distinguished Reserach Professor, Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, University of the WitwatersrandJacklyn Cock, Professor Emerita in Sociology and Honorary Research Professor in SWOP, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1902302022-09-15T20:04:51Z2022-09-15T20:04:51ZWe found the oldest ever vertebrate fossil heart. It tells a 380 million-year-old story of how our bodies evolved<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484765/original/file-20220915-8366-7noupv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=94%2C53%2C2906%2C2235&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"> </span> </figcaption></figure><p>In the limestone ranges of Western Australia’s Kimberley region, near the town of Fitzroy Crossing, you’ll find one of the world’s best-preserved ancient reef complexes.</p>
<p>Here lie the remnants of myriad prehistoric marine animals, including placoderms, a prehistoric class of fish that represents some of our earliest jawed ancestors. </p>
<p>Placoderms were the rulers of the ancient seas, rivers and lakes. They were the most abundant and diverse fishes of the Devonian Period (419–359 million years ago) – but died out at the end in a mass extinction event. </p>
<p>Studying placoderms is important as they provide insight into the origins of the jawed vertebrate body plan (vertebrates are animals with backbones). For instance, placoderms have revealed when the first jaws, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature11555">teeth</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/extraordinary-missing-link-fossil-fish-found-in-china-18461">paired skull bones</a> and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/brv.12118">paired limbs</a> evolved. They’ve also taught us about the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature06966">origins of</a> internal fertilisation and live birth in vertebrate evolution. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/our-ideas-about-vertebrate-evolution-challenged-by-a-new-tree-of-life-68416">Our ideas about vertebrate evolution challenged by a new tree of life</a>
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<p>Now, in a paper <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abf3289">published</a> in Science, we detail our findings of the oldest three-dimensionally preserved heart from a vertebrate – in this case a jawed vertebrate. This placoderm heart is about 380 million years old, and 250 million years older than the previous oldest <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-first-fossilised-heart-ever-found-in-a-prehistoric-animal-57204">vertebrate heart</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484530/original/file-20220914-13-lysj0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484530/original/file-20220914-13-lysj0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484530/original/file-20220914-13-lysj0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484530/original/file-20220914-13-lysj0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484530/original/file-20220914-13-lysj0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484530/original/file-20220914-13-lysj0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484530/original/file-20220914-13-lysj0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484530/original/file-20220914-13-lysj0o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The 3D preserved heart of a placoderm fish from Gogo. The rock entombs the bone shown in grey, shown by neutron beam imaging, and heart in red.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kate Trinajstic</span></span>
</figcaption>
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<h2>How did we do it?</h2>
<p>Fish fossils from near Fitzroy Crossing were first reported from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gogo_Station">Gogo Station</a> in the 1940s. But it wasn’t until the 1960s that <a href="https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/jgs/article/179/1/jgs2021-105/608194/The-Gogo-Formation-Lagerstatte-a-view-of-Australia">beautiful</a> 3D preservations were revealed, using a technique that removes rock from bones with weak acetic acid. </p>
<p>However, this technique proved to be a double-edged sword. While the fine details of the bony skeleton were uncovered, soft tissues in the fossils dissolved away. It wasn’t until 2000 that the first pieces of fossilised muscle were identified in placoderms. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484764/original/file-20220915-15-vpvsdn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484764/original/file-20220915-15-vpvsdn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484764/original/file-20220915-15-vpvsdn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484764/original/file-20220915-15-vpvsdn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484764/original/file-20220915-15-vpvsdn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484764/original/file-20220915-15-vpvsdn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484764/original/file-20220915-15-vpvsdn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484764/original/file-20220915-15-vpvsdn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Gogo fish fossils used in this study were discovered within rocks found in the Kimberley.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Curtin Univeristy</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>With the advent of an X-ray method called “synchrotron microtomography” – first used on the Gogo fossils in 2010 – more muscles were revealed from the Gogo placoderms, including <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1237275">neck and abdominal muscles</a>.</p>
<p>Our work used this same technology to show, for the first time, the presence of a liver, stomach and intestines in a Devonian fish. Some of the specimens even showed remnants of their last meal: a crustacean.</p>
<p>We found the soft organs fossilised in an order of placoderms called <a href="http://palaeos.com/vertebrates/placodermi/arthrodira.html">arthrodires</a>. These were the most common and diverse of all known placoderms, characterised by a unique joint between their head and trunk armour. </p>
<h2>The heart of the placoderm</h2>
<p>The most exciting find for us was the heart. We found our first placoderm heart using synchrotron imagining. </p>
<p>Then while experimenting with a technology called <a href="https://www.ansto.gov.au/our-facilities/australian-centre-for-neutron-scattering/neutron-scattering-instruments/dingo">neutron imaging</a>, we discovered a second heart within a different specimen.</p>
<p>Life must have been nerve-racking in the Devonian seas, because placoderms literally had their hearts in their mouths! </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483389/original/file-20220908-9735-hxik8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Soft organs reconstructed in a placoderm fish,bar scale is 1cm." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483389/original/file-20220908-9735-hxik8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483389/original/file-20220908-9735-hxik8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483389/original/file-20220908-9735-hxik8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483389/original/file-20220908-9735-hxik8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483389/original/file-20220908-9735-hxik8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483389/original/file-20220908-9735-hxik8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483389/original/file-20220908-9735-hxik8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Our new research has revealed the soft organ anatomy of a Devonian arthrodire fish.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Brian Choo, Kate Trinajstic</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At this point in vertebrate evolution, the neck was so short that the heart was located at the back of the throat and under the gills.</p>
<p>Fishes that are even more primitive than arthrodires, such as the <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/sea-lamprey.html">jawless lamprey</a>, have their heart close to their liver. And the chambers of the heart (called the atrium and ventricle) sit side by side. </p>
<p>On the other hand, arthrodire placoderms had the heart in a more forward (anterior) position, at the back of the throat. And the atrium sat on top of the ventricle – similar to sharks and bony fishes today. </p>
<p>Today, 99% of all living vertebrates have jaws. Arthrodires provide the first anatomical evidence to support the hypothesis that, in jawed vertebrates, the repositioning of the heart to a more forward position was linked to the evolution of jaws and a neck.</p>
<p>But that’s not all. This movement of the heart would also have made room for lungs to develop.</p>
<h2>So did placoderms have lungs?</h2>
<p>One of the most challenging evolutionary questions today is whether lungs were present in the earliest jawed vertebrates. Although fish have gills, the presence of lungs in some fish can help with buoyancy, which is needed to sink and rise in the water.</p>
<p>Today, lungs are only present in primitive bony fishes such as lungfish and <a href="https://theconversation.com/now-listen-air-breathing-fish-gave-humans-the-ability-to-hear-21324">African reedfishes</a>. </p>
<p>More advanced bony fish (such as the <a href="https://basicbiology.net/animal/fish/teleost">teleosts</a>) stay afloat using a swim bladder, whereas sharks have neither lungs nor a swim bladder, and instead use a large fatty liver to help with buoyancy.</p>
<p>But what about ancient placoderms? Previous studies (which were <a href="https://bioone.org/journals/Journal-of-Vertebrate-Paleontology/volume-27/issue-3/0272-4634(2007)27%5B709:NEFTCL%5D2.0.CO;2/NEW-EVIDENCE-FOR-THE-CONTROVERSIAL-LUNGS-OF-THE-LATE-DEVONIAN/10.1671/0272-4634(2007)27%5B709:NEFTCL%5D2.0.CO;2.full">somewhat controversial</a>) suggested lungs were present in a primitive placoderm called <em>Bothriolepis</em>. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484514/original/file-20220914-12-spyrev.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Model of a primitive placoderm_ Bothriolepis_ on a bed of sand." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484514/original/file-20220914-12-spyrev.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484514/original/file-20220914-12-spyrev.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=613&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484514/original/file-20220914-12-spyrev.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=613&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484514/original/file-20220914-12-spyrev.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=613&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484514/original/file-20220914-12-spyrev.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=770&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484514/original/file-20220914-12-spyrev.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=770&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484514/original/file-20220914-12-spyrev.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=770&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A model of <em>Bothriolepis</em>, which was once thought to have possessed paired lungs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">John Long</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our analysis of the arthrodires from Gogo reveals the structures thought to be lungs in <em>Bothriolepis</em> are in fact a liver with two lobes, so lungs are now thought to have been missing from placoderms. </p>
<p>Our discovery therefore shows a single origin for lungs in bony fishes (osteichthyans). The movement of the heart to a forward position from jawless fishes (Cyclostomata) would have allowed room for lungs to develop in later lineages.</p>
<p>The absence of lungs in placoderms suggests these fish relied on their liver for buoyancy, like modern sharks do.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484193/original/file-20220913-12-n3grmd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484193/original/file-20220913-12-n3grmd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484193/original/file-20220913-12-n3grmd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484193/original/file-20220913-12-n3grmd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484193/original/file-20220913-12-n3grmd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484193/original/file-20220913-12-n3grmd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=691&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484193/original/file-20220913-12-n3grmd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=691&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484193/original/file-20220913-12-n3grmd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=691&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Our new findings on ancient placoderms show the movement of the heart forwards from jawless fishes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kate Trinajstic, Brian Choo, John Long</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A crucial site</h2>
<p>The preservation of organs is a race against time. In some cases, an animal’s decomposition will aid soft tissue preservation, but too much decomposition and the soft tissues decay away. For excellent preservation the balance needs to be just right.</p>
<p>In the fossilised heart we found the atrium and ventricles are shown clearly, while the conus arteriosus – a section of the heart that directs blood from the ventricle to the arteries – is not as well preserved.</p>
<p>Being able to make these discoveries before they’re lost forever is crucial if we are to fully understand the early evolution of vertebrates, including the origins of the human body plan. </p>
<p>So beyond our immediate findings, our work has reinforced the significance of the Gogo site in the Kimberley as one of the world’s most important sites for carrying out this work. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/extraordinary-missing-link-fossil-fish-found-in-china-18461">Extraordinary 'missing link' fossil fish found in China </a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190230/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Trinajstic receives funding from
ARC Discovery Project
I am a research associate at the WA Museum</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Long receives funding from the Australian Research Council</span></em></p>The findings come from placoderm fish fossils found in Western Australia’s Kimberley region. This extinct order of fish represents some of our earliest jawed ancestors.Kate Trinajstic, John Curtin Distinguished Professor, Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin UniversityJohn Long, Strategic Professor in Palaeontology, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1649522021-08-13T22:21:30Z2021-08-13T22:21:30ZLight and shade: how the natural ‘glazes’ on the walls of Kimberley rock shelters help reveal the world the artists lived in<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415981/original/file-20210813-21-28293z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=15%2C155%2C5160%2C3003&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Kimberley region is host to <a href="https://theconversation.com/this-17-500-year-old-kangaroo-in-the-kimberley-is-australias-oldest-aboriginal-rock-painting-154181">Australia’s oldest known rock paintings</a>. But people were carving engravings into some of these rocks before they were creating paintings. </p>
<p>Rock art sites on Balanggarra Country in the northeast Kimberley region are home to numerous such engravings. The oldest paintings are at least 17,300 years old, and the engravings are thought to be even older — but they have so far proved much harder to date accurately.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414463/original/file-20210804-20-17dho34.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414463/original/file-20210804-20-17dho34.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414463/original/file-20210804-20-17dho34.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414463/original/file-20210804-20-17dho34.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414463/original/file-20210804-20-17dho34.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414463/original/file-20210804-20-17dho34.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414463/original/file-20210804-20-17dho34.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cupules, or circular man-made hollows, ground into a dark mineral coating at a rock art site on the Drysdale River, Balanggarra country.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo by Damien Finch</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But in research <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/lookup/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abf3632">published today in Science Advances</a>, we report on a crucial clue that could help date the engravings, and also reveal what the environment was like for the artists who created them. </p>
<p>Some of the rocks themselves are covered with natural, glaze-like mineral coatings that can help reveal key evidence. </p>
<h2>What are these glazes?</h2>
<p>These dark, shiny deposits on the surface of the rock are less than a centimetre thick. Yet they have detailed internal structures, featuring alternating light and dark layers of different minerals.</p>
<p>Our aim was to develop methods to reliably date the formation of these coatings and provide age brackets for any associated engravings. However, during this process, we also discovered it is possible to match layers found in samples collected at rock shelters up to 90 kilometres apart. </p>
<p>Radiocarbon dating suggests these layers were deposited around the same time, showing their formation is not specific to particular rock shelters, but controlled by environmental changes on a regional scale. </p>
<p>Dating these deposits can therefore provide reliable age brackets for any associated engravings, while also helping us better understanding the climate and environments in which the artists lived.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414914/original/file-20210805-27-fl3od0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414914/original/file-20210805-27-fl3od0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414914/original/file-20210805-27-fl3od0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414914/original/file-20210805-27-fl3od0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414914/original/file-20210805-27-fl3od0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414914/original/file-20210805-27-fl3od0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414914/original/file-20210805-27-fl3od0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414914/original/file-20210805-27-fl3od0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Marsupial tracks scratched into a glaze like coating at a rock art shelter in the north east Kimberley.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo by Cecilia Myers/Dunkeld Pastoral Company; illustration by Pauline Heaney/Rock Art Australia</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Microbes and minerals</h2>
<p>Our research supports <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/gea.1021">earlier findings</a> that layers within the glaze structure represent alternating environmental conditions in Kimberley rock shelters, that repeated over thousands of years. </p>
<p>Our model suggests that during drier conditions, bush fires produce ash, which builds up on shelter surfaces. This ash contains a range of minerals, including carbonates and sulphates. We suggest that under the right conditions, these minerals provided nutrients that allowed microbes to live on these shelter surfaces. In the process of digesting these nutrients, the microbes excrete a compound called oxalic acid, which combines with calcium in the ash deposits to form calcium oxalate. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414950/original/file-20210806-19-18wbcl7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414950/original/file-20210806-19-18wbcl7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414950/original/file-20210806-19-18wbcl7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414950/original/file-20210806-19-18wbcl7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414950/original/file-20210806-19-18wbcl7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414950/original/file-20210806-19-18wbcl7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414950/original/file-20210806-19-18wbcl7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414950/original/file-20210806-19-18wbcl7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A: dark coloured, smooth mineral coating at a Kimberley rock shelter; B: alternating layering, as seen in the field; C: alternating layering as seen in a cross-sectioned coating under a microscope.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photos by Cecilia Myers; microscope image by Helen Green</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As this process repeats over millennia, the minerals become cemented together in alternating layers, with each layer creating a record of the conditions in the rock shelter at that time.</p>
<p>Samples of the glazes were collected for analysis in close collaboration and consultation with local Traditional Owners from the Balanggarra native title region, who are partners on our research project. Using a laser, we vaporised tiny samples from the coatings to study the chemical composition of each layer. The dark layers were mostly made of calcium oxalate, while lighter layers contained mainly sulphates. We propose darker layers represent a time when microbes were more active and lighter layers represent drier periods. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-climate-change-is-erasing-the-worlds-oldest-rock-art-159929">How climate change is erasing the world’s oldest rock art</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Linking the layers</h2>
<p>These dark calcium oxalate layers also contain carbon that was absorbed from the atmosphere and digested by the microbes that created these deposits. This meant we could use a technique called <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-radiocarbon-dating-and-how-does-it-work-9690">radiocarbon dating</a> to determine the age of these individual layers. </p>
<p>Using a tiny drill, we removed samples from distinct dark layers in nine glazes collected from different rock shelters across the northeast Kimberley.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414912/original/file-20210805-15-jsprpt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414912/original/file-20210805-15-jsprpt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414912/original/file-20210805-15-jsprpt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=260&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414912/original/file-20210805-15-jsprpt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=260&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414912/original/file-20210805-15-jsprpt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=260&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414912/original/file-20210805-15-jsprpt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=327&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414912/original/file-20210805-15-jsprpt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=327&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414912/original/file-20210805-15-jsprpt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=327&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A: micro-drilling samples from individual layers for radiocarbon dating; B: Laser ablation maps showing the distribution of the element calcium within the different layers; C: radiocarbon dating of individual layers identified four key growth periods.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo by Andy Gleadow; illustration by Pauline Heaney</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Despite coming from different locations, these layers all seem to have been deposited at the same time, during four key intervals spanning the past 43,000 years.</p>
<p>This suggests the formation of each layer was determined mainly by shifts in environmental conditions throughout the Kimberley, rather than by the distinct conditions in each particular rock shelter.</p>
<p>The records held by these glazes over such a large time period - including the most recent ice age - means they could help us better understand the environmental changes that directly affected human habitation and adaptation in Australia.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414952/original/file-20210806-17-bkibgr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414952/original/file-20210806-17-bkibgr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414952/original/file-20210806-17-bkibgr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414952/original/file-20210806-17-bkibgr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414952/original/file-20210806-17-bkibgr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414952/original/file-20210806-17-bkibgr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=577&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414952/original/file-20210806-17-bkibgr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=577&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414952/original/file-20210806-17-bkibgr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=577&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hypothetical example of how layered mineral coatings can be used to date engraved rock art in Kimberley rock shelters.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pauline Heaney</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Stories in stone</h2>
<p>Research we <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-020-01041-0">published earlier this year</a> shows how the subjects painted in early Kimberley rock art changed from mostly animals and plants around 17,000 years ago, to mostly decorated human figures about 12,000 years ago. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/this-17-500-year-old-kangaroo-in-the-kimberley-is-australias-oldest-aboriginal-rock-painting-154181">This 17,500-year-old kangaroo in the Kimberley is Australia's oldest Aboriginal rock painting</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1040618216305018?via%3Dihub">Other</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2017.11.030">researchers</a> have discovered that during this 5,000-year period there were rapid rises in sea level, in particular around 14,500 years ago, as well as increased rainfall. </p>
<p>We interpret the change in rock art styles as a response to the social and cultural adaptations triggered by the changing climate and rising sea levels. Paintings of human figures with new technologies such as spear-throwers might show us how people adapted their hunting style to the changing environment and the availability of different types of food.</p>
<p>By dating the natural mineral coatings on the rock surfaces that acted as a canvas for this art, we can hopefully better understand the world in which these artists lived. Not only will this give us more certainty about the position of particular paintings within the overall <a href="https://rockartaustralia.org.au/rock-art/rock-art-sequence/">Kimberley stylistic rock art sequence</a>, but can also tell us about the environments experienced by First Nations people in the Kimberley. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>We thank the Balanggarra Aboriginal Corporation, the Centre for Accelerator Science at the Australian National Science and Technology Organisation, Rock Art Australia and Dunkeld Pastoral Co for their collaboration on this research.</em>_</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164952/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>receives funding from the Australian Research Council, Rock Art Australia, The Ian Potter Foundation and an Australian Postgraduate Award and the Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering .</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Damien Finch receives funding from the Australian Research Council, Rock Art Australia, an Australian Postgraduate Award and the Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering .</span></em></p>Indigenous artists have been engraving rock shelters for millennia - long before the Kimberley’s celebrated rock art paintings. Now the rocks’ natural coatings are yielding clues to the engravings’ creation.Helen Green, Research Fellow, The University of MelbourneDamien Finch, Research fellow, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1625192021-07-22T20:04:34Z2021-07-22T20:04:34Z‘What country have you walked?’ Why all Australians should walk an Indigenous heritage trail<p><em>Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains images and names of deceased people.</em></p>
<p>The Goolarabooloo community in Broome has been running the <a href="http://www.goolarabooloo.org.au/lurujarri.html">Lurujarri Heritage Trail</a> for over 30 years. In July each year, tourists are welcomed by the Roe family, and embark on an eight-day trek. </p>
<p>Swags and tents are piled on the truck, so the walkers only have to carry a day pack. They soon pass the famous Cable Beach where less adventurous tourists are basking in the sun, and continue their walk along the beach admiring the contrast of aquamarine ocean and red pindan cliffs. </p>
<p>On trail, the colonial power dynamic between settler and Indigenous communities is turned on its head. The Goolarabooloo express their sovereignty (never ceded) by welcoming visitors onto their Country. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411831/original/file-20210719-15-143sld0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411831/original/file-20210719-15-143sld0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411831/original/file-20210719-15-143sld0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411831/original/file-20210719-15-143sld0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411831/original/file-20210719-15-143sld0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411831/original/file-20210719-15-143sld0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411831/original/file-20210719-15-143sld0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411831/original/file-20210719-15-143sld0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Paddy Roe at Minariny.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This kind of tourism is a rare, life-changing experience. What is special about the Lurujarri Trail is the participation of the Roe family. “Over eight days, we become friends,” tour leader Daniel Roe tells the group. </p>
<h2>Trailblazing</h2>
<p>It was Daniel’s late great-grandfather, <a href="http://www.goolarabooloo.org.au/paddys_story.html">Paddy Roe</a>, who had the idea for the trail in 1987. I had written a couple of books with him, and we were working on a third at the time, which I have only just delivered on: <a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-children-s-country-stephen-roe-paddy-muecke/book/9781786616487.html">The Children’s Country</a>.</p>
<p>He wanted the text to document and protect Country from developers and miners. But it turned out the trail was a better idea. When Woodside Energy and the Western Australian government wanted to build a huge gas hub in the middle of the trail, at Walmadany, James Price Point, over ten years ago, it was the Goolarabooloo that stood in the way, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/without-james-price-point-what-now-for-browse-basin-gas-13496">eventually won the battle</a>. </p>
<p>Hundreds of people had walked the trail over the years and some came back to help in the campaign. They had developed a kind of gut feeling for Country the Goolarabooloo call <em>liyan</em>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/without-james-price-point-what-now-for-browse-basin-gas-13496">Without James Price Point, what now for Browse Basin gas?</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<h2>Extractive industries</h2>
<p>White Europeans only arrived in West Kimberley at the end of the 19th century, so elders like <a href="https://meanjin.com.au/blog/stories-from-the-west-kimberley/">Paddy Roe</a>, who lived from about 1912 to 2001, saw their arrival unfold. </p>
<p>In recent years, stark divisions over mining money have emerged in the Aboriginal community and Native Title determinations have exacerbated the divisions. The Goolarabooloo did not get any Native Title rights, as their neighbours did. Some speculate their opposition to the gas <a href="https://nit.com.au/goolarabooloo-fail-in-native-title-appeal/">had a lot to do with it</a>. </p>
<p>In a sense, the walking trail is land rights by other means. They are maintaining their knowledge and passing it on.</p>
<p>Dreaming stories (called <em>bugarrigarra</em>, the law) connect communities and follow old trade routes, down through the Western Desert via Uluru into southern parts, where the local pearl-shell used to be be traded for ochre, native tobacco or new song cycles. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411815/original/file-20210719-21-4ej05y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="rocky red beach" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411815/original/file-20210719-21-4ej05y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411815/original/file-20210719-21-4ej05y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411815/original/file-20210719-21-4ej05y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411815/original/file-20210719-21-4ej05y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411815/original/file-20210719-21-4ej05y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411815/original/file-20210719-21-4ej05y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411815/original/file-20210719-21-4ej05y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Gantheaume Point. Indian Ocean view of the rocky red cliffs along the Lurujarri Heritage Trail, with Cable Beach in the distance.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://image.shutterstock.com/image-photo/western-australia-broome-gantheaume-point-600w-1278385276.jpg">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/songlines-tracking-the-seven-sisters-is-a-must-visit-exhibition-for-all-australians-89293">Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sisters is a must-visit exhibition for all Australians</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>There are dozens of Aboriginal walking tracks across Australia: well-known are the Larapinta in Central Australia, the Bundian Way between Targangal (Kosciuszko) and Bilgalera on the coast near Eden, and Mungo Aboriginal Discovery Tours. </p>
<p>But it is hard to find another with the Lurujarri Heritage Trail’s family involvement, ocean swimming, bush tucker, and the most extensive set of <a href="https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/wildlife/2017/11/western-australia-is-home-to-australias-jurassic-park/">dinosaur footprints</a> in Australia.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"779702650195501058"}"></div></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-how-our-new-archaeological-research-investigates-dark-emus-idea-of-aboriginal-agriculture-and-villages-146754">Friday essay: how our new archaeological research investigates Dark Emu's idea of Aboriginal 'agriculture' and villages</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>More Indigenous-led walking tracks could trace storied landmarks. </p>
<p>In Kaurna Country around Adelaide, there is the story of <a href="https://kaurnaculture.wordpress.com/tjilbruke-dreaming-tracks/#:%7E:text=Tjilbruke%20is%20pivotal%20to%20the,governed%20the%20land%20and%20people.&text=Tjilbruke's%20nephew%2C%20Kulutuwi%20was%20killed,by%20killing%20a%20female%20emu.">Tjilbruke</a>. This ancestor was a law man whose nephew Kulultuwi was hunting emu that were forbidden to him.</p>
<p>Tjilbruke was prepared to overlook the transgression, but Kulultuwi’s half-brothers speared him. Tjilbruke, in mourning, carried the body of his nephew down the coast, stopping to weep at various points where there are now freshwater springs. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-this-grandmother-tree-connects-me-to-country-i-cried-when-i-saw-her-burned-129782">Friday essay: this grandmother tree connects me to Country. I cried when I saw her burned</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Walking schools</h2>
<p>There is increasing awareness of how Indigenous knowledges are relevant to <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-worlds-best-fire-management-system-is-in-northern-australia-and-its-led-by-indigenous-land-managers-133071">caring for Country</a>. </p>
<p>“Things must go both ways,” Paddy Roe used to say to me. </p>
<p>He had already experienced practices that saw knowledge transfer going one way. People would ask him about his Country in order to exploit it, for water, for pasture, for pearl-shells and now for gas and oil. </p>
<p>Walking tracks can teach what each territory is capable of sustaining. The people further down the track know their Country is that little bit different and what it is capable of. These pathways connect up, and knowledge transforms along the way. </p>
<p>People often ask, “What school did you go to?” Perhaps one day, in Australia, they will ask, “what Country have you walked?”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/162519/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Muecke receives funding from The Australian Research Council. He co-authored The Children’s Country: Creation of a Goolarabooloo Future in North-West Australia with Paddy Roe, who is mentioned in this essay.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Roe is the general manager of the Goolarabooloo/Millibinyarri Indigenous Corporation and leads the Lurujarri Heritage Trail.</span></em></p>Walking in the footsteps of First Nations peoples provides an alternative to overseas travel and an opportunity to reflect.Stephen Muecke, Professor of Writing, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1188212019-06-14T06:07:02Z2019-06-14T06:07:02ZBuilt like buildings, boab trees are life-savers with a chequered past<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279490/original/file-20190614-158941-p6jvlh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C4%2C2995%2C1491&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A boab tree in the Kimberley. Boab trees can live for thousands of years and their trunks hollow out as they get older.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Sign up to the Beating Around the Bush newsletter <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/newsletters">here</a>, and suggest a plant we should cover at batb@theconversation.edu.au.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>When you are in the northern part of Western Australia, one of nature’s joys is seeing a large boab tree close up, perhaps for the first time. </p>
<p>The boab (<em>Adansonia gregorii</em>) is a native to this part of Australia, but is related to the broader group of species called boababs that live in Madagascar and Africa – but more on that connection later.</p>
<p>Boabs are also called bottle trees, the tree of life, boababs and Australian boababs. Some of the indigenous Australian names include gadawon and larrgadi. </p>
<p>From their iconic swollen trunks, to living up to 2,000 years and the many uses for their “superfood” fruits, here’s what makes boab trees so fascinating.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279487/original/file-20190614-158958-1t9t56u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279487/original/file-20190614-158958-1t9t56u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279487/original/file-20190614-158958-1t9t56u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=802&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279487/original/file-20190614-158958-1t9t56u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=802&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279487/original/file-20190614-158958-1t9t56u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=802&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279487/original/file-20190614-158958-1t9t56u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1008&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279487/original/file-20190614-158958-1t9t56u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1008&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279487/original/file-20190614-158958-1t9t56u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1008&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Conversation</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<h2>The ‘upside-down tree’: trunks that save lives and lock up prisoners</h2>
<p>While the boab in Australia is not quite as <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=q2v3kb9tFsYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=1962+Forest+Trees+of+Australia&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiq2ai08efiAhVFVH0KHV2BD5YQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=1962%20Forest%20Trees%20of%20Australia&f=false">well-documented</a> as the African species, specimens have been recorded at over 1,000 years of age. Some living trees have been estimated to be nearer to 2,000 years old.</p>
<p>And while it’s difficult to age the trees, several specimens of the African species have been dated at 2,000 or more years old. </p>
<p>Australian boabs can grow up to 15 metres tall at maturity and have swollen, attention-grabbing trunks called a caudex, which may be up to five metres in diameter. </p>
<p>The African boab species, <em>A. digitata</em>, can be much taller, at 25 metres high and with a diameter of up to 15 metres. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/iconic-boab-trees-trace-journeys-of-ancient-aboriginal-people-39565">Iconic boab trees trace journeys of ancient Aboriginal people</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In such dry continents, the caudex is a life-saver, often containing water, which was tapped by Indigenous folk. It has been estimated that some of these huge old trees can hold more than 100,000 litres of water in their trunks.</p>
<p>In Africa, these massive trunks have been used as shelters, homes, farm sheds and, more recently, <a href="https://awol.junkee.com/this-south-african-bar-is-in-a-6000-year-old-tree/2811">even shops and bars</a>. </p>
<p>Sadly in Australia, legend has it the huge trunks <a href="https://www.australiasnorthwest.com/business/attractions/boab-prison-tree">were used</a> to make lock-ups for Indigenous people and other prisoners.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279465/original/file-20190614-32335-1ogru35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279465/original/file-20190614-32335-1ogru35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279465/original/file-20190614-32335-1ogru35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279465/original/file-20190614-32335-1ogru35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279465/original/file-20190614-32335-1ogru35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279465/original/file-20190614-32335-1ogru35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279465/original/file-20190614-32335-1ogru35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279465/original/file-20190614-32335-1ogru35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The infamous Boab Prison Tree, just south of Derby in Western Australia, was said to have once held Indigenous prisoners.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s not just the trunk that can stop you in your tracks. The boab has a unique branching structure, one that looks more like a root system than a canopy. </p>
<p>Some locals in Africa will tell you the tree was dropped from heaven to earth and landed upside down. So the African species of boab is sometimes called the upside-down tree.</p>
<h2>Boab fruits are ‘superfoods’ and its shell has many uses</h2>
<p><em>A. gregorii</em>, the Australian boab species, has large, attractive white flowers up to 75 millimetres in length. Its round fruits are edible and sought after by birds, mammals and humans. The fruit gives rise to some of the common names for the tree, such as monkey bread tree and dead rat tree. The latter comes from the appearance of older fruits in the canopy looking a bit like … well, dead rats? </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/baobab-trees-have-more-than-300-uses-but-theyre-dying-in-africa-98214">Baobab trees have more than 300 uses but they're dying in Africa</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<p>In fact, there’s great interest in fruits from the African species, <em>A. digitata</em>, which are considered a “superfood” because of their high levels of antioxidants, calcium, potassium, magnesium, fibre and vitamin C. It’s assumed many of these traits will be shared by the Australian boab, but there is little research as yet to prove it.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279471/original/file-20190614-32321-r7k882.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279471/original/file-20190614-32321-r7k882.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279471/original/file-20190614-32321-r7k882.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279471/original/file-20190614-32321-r7k882.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279471/original/file-20190614-32321-r7k882.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279471/original/file-20190614-32321-r7k882.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279471/original/file-20190614-32321-r7k882.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279471/original/file-20190614-32321-r7k882.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fruit of the African boab tree fruit are initially covered in velvety fur.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ton Rulkens/Wikimedia</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The soft part of the fruit is surrounded by a hard, coconut-like shell that’s initially covered in a velvety fur. The hard shell has been used for cups and bowls, but has also been intricately carved and decorated by Aboriginal artists in Africa and Australia. If the seeds are left inside the fruit as it dries, they can be used for toys like rattles.</p>
<p>On both continents, Aboriginal people have eaten the white powder that surrounds the seeds. The leaves are rich in iron and the pulp from the fruits tastes like cream of tartar. </p>
<p>The Indigenous people of both continents were also well aware of the medicinal uses of the fruits. The bark and leaves of the trees also treat various ailments, but particularly those associated with digestive disorders. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/science-the-loser-in-victorias-alpine-grazing-trial-3">Science the loser in Victoria's alpine grazing trial</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But at present there is very little modern research on the medicinal and dietary aspects of either the baobab or boab.</p>
<h2>How the boab tree got to Australia</h2>
<p>One of the mysteries surrounding the boab is how it got to Australia – the Australian species has clear affinities with related species in continental Africa and Madagascar.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279469/original/file-20190614-32317-1pt138j.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279469/original/file-20190614-32317-1pt138j.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279469/original/file-20190614-32317-1pt138j.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279469/original/file-20190614-32317-1pt138j.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279469/original/file-20190614-32317-1pt138j.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279469/original/file-20190614-32317-1pt138j.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279469/original/file-20190614-32317-1pt138j.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279469/original/file-20190614-32317-1pt138j.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A baobab tree, <em>Adansonia digitata</em>, in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania. Its journey from Africa to Australia remains a mystery.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Yoki/Wikimedia</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are three intriguing <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-07/boabs-come-africa-baobabs-evolution/10060946">theories</a>. </p>
<p>The first is that all of the boababs originate from the super-continent Gondwana – consisting of Africa, South America, Antarctica, Australia, India and Madagascar – before it fragmented almost 80 million years ago. But <em>A. Gregorii</em> and <em>A. digitata</em> are so similar genetically that, given the millions of years that have elapsed, this theory is now in question. </p>
<p>The second theory comes from recent DNA analysis of the species. It suggests they separated more recently, perhaps only 70,000 years ago, which raises the question, were humans involved in their journey? But did they come to Australia from Africa, or from Australia to Africa? The latter is a less likely scenario given the direction of ocean currents.</p>
<p>And the third theory is that fruits arrived on the Australian shore after an epic ocean voyage from Africa. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dark-tourism-aboriginal-imprisonment-and-the-prison-tree-that-wasnt-75203">Dark tourism, Aboriginal imprisonment and the ‘prison tree’ that wasn’t</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Boabs are usually found in the remote outback of Australia, but in 2008, a large 750-year-old boab <a href="https://www.bgpa.wa.gov.au/images/horticulture/docs/pn_adansonia_gregorii.pdf">was transported</a> from Warmun in the Kimberley to Perth and transplanted in Kings Park. </p>
<p>Transplanting such a large tree is both daunting and fraught, with a high chance of failure, but the deciduousness and growth habit of the boab gave some cause for optimism about a successful outcome. For the reward of having a large old boab growing in Perth, it would be worth it. </p>
<p>After a period of stress, the tree appears to be coming good, reflecting the toughness of the species.</p>
<p>A large, mature boab is a splendid tree of arid Australia that inspires awe in all who experience them close up. They really are a beauty and a bottler of a tree!</p>
<p><br></p>
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<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238283/original/file-20180927-48650-1veiqyi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238283/original/file-20180927-48650-1veiqyi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=199&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238283/original/file-20180927-48650-1veiqyi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=199&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238283/original/file-20180927-48650-1veiqyi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=199&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238283/original/file-20180927-48650-1veiqyi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238283/original/file-20180927-48650-1veiqyi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238283/original/file-20180927-48650-1veiqyi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
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<p><em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/BeatingAroundTheBush">Sign up to Beating Around the Bush, a series that profiles native plants: part gardening column, part dispatches from country, entirely Australian.</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118821/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gregory Moore does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The leaves, when boiled, can be eaten like spinach. The seeds can be roasted for a coffee substitute, and the pulp can be fermented to make beer.Gregory Moore, Doctor of Botany, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1080392018-12-03T19:00:37Z2018-12-03T19:00:37ZFracking policies are wildly inconsistent across Australia, from gung-ho development to total bans<p>Last week, the Western Australian Government <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/27/wa-government-lifts-statewide-fracking-ban">lifted its state-wide moratorium</a> on hydraulic fracturing (fracking). Unconventional gas industries were given the green light to develop on existing petroleum leases, especially in WA’s vast Kimberley region.</p>
<p>Following the Northern Territory government’s <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-17/fracking-to-resume-in-the-northern-territory-moratorium-lifted/9666022">April decision</a> to lift its temporary fracking ban, this decision paves the way for future growth of the industry across much of northern Australia. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-gas-between-a-fracked-rock-and-a-socially-hard-place-74932">Australian gas: between a fracked rock and a socially hard place</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Fracking policies vary widely across Australia’s states and territories, and so do community attitudes. Our <a href="https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1Y4Di_,52IrqZHQ">review of the literature</a> on unconventional gas development in Australia reveals an inconsistent approach in how governments have responded to the industry. While coal seam gas extraction has proceeded almost unimpeded in Queensland, the industry was halted in its tracks in Victoria, with a permanent ban on fracking legislated in March this year.</p>
<p>In the NT, despite an <a href="https://frackinginquiry.nt.gov.au/">inquiry</a> that acknowledged clear and widespread public opposition to fracking, the territory’s moratorium was lifted. In Tasmania, a <a href="http://www.mrt.tas.gov.au/portal/tasmanian-government-policy-statement-on-hydraulic-fracturing-fracking-2018">moratorium is in place until 2025</a>.</p>
<p>Unconventional gas development in New South Wales – despite <a href="https://theconversation.com/with-a-few-smart-moves-we-can-relieve-the-pressure-on-gas-88003">pressing energy needs</a> – has been protracted owing to growing community opposition towards fracking, with exclusion zones created near residential areas and industries such as wine-making and horse breeding.</p>
<p>The WA government’s decision to leave in place localised bans in the state’s most populated areas, while allowing fracking in existing petroleum tenements elsewhere, echoes the position taken by the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-05/liberals-to-legislate-se-fracking-moratorium/10203578">South Australian government</a> in September. The latter’s policy imposes a ten-year fracking ban in SA’s agriculturally rich southeast, while allowing the practice to continue in the northeast. </p>
<h2>Balancing policy?</h2>
<p>Labelled as a “clean” alternative to coal by industry, unconventional gas is presented as a key “transition” fuel, capable of delivering reliable, lower-emission electricity – a stepping stone along the path to zero-carbon energy. Our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837717305185">research</a> suggests that this clean image is pivotal to public support for the industry.</p>
<p>The unconventional gas industry has been hailed as an <a href="https://www.appea.com.au/oil-gas-explained/benefits/economic-benefits/">economic lifeline</a> for regional Australia. Justification for its growth into new regions is tied closely to the purported domestic “<a href="https://theconversation.com/gas-crisis-energy-crisis-the-real-problem-is-lack-of-long-term-planning-74705">gas crisis</a>”. Others predict that fracking for unconventional gas could have <a href="http://www.tai.org.au/content/economies-shale">negative economic consequences</a>. </p>
<p>Many affected communities continue to question the capacity of the industry to operate with low risk to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214790X1830234X?dgcid=author#bbib0700">health</a> and the <a href="https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1Y4Di_,52IrqZHQ">environment</a>. In the Kimberley and across Australia, opposition to fracking simmers.</p>
<p>WA and SA exemplify efforts to strike a balance between the unconventional gas industry and concerned community members. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the effectiveness of attempts to secure fracking bans could relate to the political and economic muscle of affected communities. Our ongoing research seeks to analyse this development pattern.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fracking-can-cause-social-stress-in-nearby-areas-new-research-95216">Fracking can cause social stress in nearby areas: new research</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What are the real emissions?</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.appea.com.au/2016/07/appea-response-to-fairfax-article/">industry</a> has argued that “fugitive emissions” of methane from Australian unconventional gas wells are relatively low. However, more <a href="https://energy.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/2136223/MEI-Review-of-Methane-Emissions-26-October-2016.pdf">recent studies</a> warn that we may be underestimating the true climate risks of unconventional gas. </p>
<p>Indeed, Australia’s spike in greenhouse gas emissions is attributed to the expansion of unconventional gas production and exports. They underpinned a 13.7% increase in national <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/climate-change/climate-science-data/greenhouse-gas-measurement/publications/quarterly-update-australias-national-greenhouse-gas-inventory-june-2018">fugitive greenhouse gas emissions</a>, contributing to Australia recording its 15th consecutive quarter of greenhouse gas emission increases this year. These figures call into question Australia’s trajectory to meeting its obligations under the Paris Agreement. </p>
<p>The impacts of rising greenhouse emissions are becoming increasingly visible and costly, in the form of more frequent violent storms, intense rainfall, drought and bushfires. Last week, the Victorian Labor Government was re-elected on the back of
strong <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/get-real-liberals-call-for-new-message-on-climate-social-policy-after-victorian-defeat-20181126-p50ibs.html">climate policy</a>. With 15,000 children walking out of school on Friday, the youth <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-30/australian-students-climate-change-protest-scott-morrison/10571168">“climate strike” rallies</a> attest to the strength of community feelings on climate action and the role of fracking in this context.</p>
<h2>Future of fracking?</h2>
<p>For state and territory leaders, the job of balancing gas industry interests with those of increasingly vocal communities is becoming more of a juggling act than ever before. With climate concerns intensifying, renewable energy supported by <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-30/new-solar-project-announced-for-sa-riverland/8400952">battery power</a> appears a promising option for meeting regional development and energy needs. This has potential to gain widespread public support and create “green-collar” jobs while helping to reduce Australia’s emissions. </p>
<p>In contrast, a reliance on unconventional gas as an interim energy solution may “frack” more than just deep rock formations - but potentially communities, politics … and not least the climate.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108039/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hanabeth Luke received a $1500 scholarship from PESA in 2012. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>A/Prof. Martin Brueckner and Nia Emmanouil do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Western Australian government’s decision to green-light fracking in selected areas aims to walk a line between industry interests and community opposition. But across Australia the picture varies widely.Hanabeth Luke, Lecturer, School of Environment, Science and Engineering, Southern Cross UniversityA/Prof. Martin Brueckner, Senior Lecturer in Sustainability, Murdoch UniversityNia Emmanouil, Research associate, Southern Cross UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1067012018-11-20T18:47:50Z2018-11-20T18:47:50ZGetting clean drinking water into remote Indigenous communities means overcoming city thinking<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244984/original/file-20181112-116820-3i6z3f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Wallace Rockhole, NT. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nina Hall</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many people in Australia do not have access to safe drinking water. It’s particularly difficult in Indigenous communities because they are small, remote and challenged by additional issues to secure essential power and water services. To make sure everyone has access to safe drinking water, we’ll have to get smarter about the way we treat it. </p>
<p>Drinking water contamination can come from <a href="https://gci.uq.edu.au/filething/get/13903/UQ_WASH%20scan%20in%20Indig%20Communities-FINAL-LR-2.pdf">naturally occurring chemicals</a>, such arsenic, cadmium, nitrates, uranium and barium. It can also come from microbes from sewage and animal wastes. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/better-boil-ya-billy-when-australian-water-goes-bad-99451">Better boil ya billy: when Australian water goes bad</a>
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<p>There are also chemicals in farming areas from pesticides, and from mining areas, and also in defence areas that have leached fire-fighting foam into the groundwater (<a href="https://www.powerwater.com.au/networks_and_infrastructure/water_services/pfas">“PFAS” chemicals</a>). </p>
<p>In our research and conversations with residents and water operators in remote Indigenous communities, we have been told that their water is not safe to drink, and that they have no reasonable or practical alternatives and no help.</p>
<h2>Hearing from the locals</h2>
<p>One Indigenous custodian from Katherine, NT, told us that the levels of PFAS from fire-extinguisher foam were high in their soil and water. Worried locals stopped picking berries or fishing from the river. Despite their protests for action, they said they felt ignored. </p>
<p>Their fears were based on the <a href="http://newsroom.nt.gov.au/mediaRelease/23019">2017 testing of water bores</a> around Katherine’s RAAF base with raised PFAS levels. Defence provided bottled water to 50 homes.</p>
<p>Over in the Kimberley, WA, an traditional owner said, </p>
<blockquote>
<p>our water is contaminated with nitrates … They say the level is … too high for babies under three months and pregnant women … now the whole community (150 people) cart water from this one tap for drinking and cooking. … We feel fear and we don’t know how much damage is being done to us.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Data reflects the scope and seriousness of the problem. For example, a <a href="https://audit.wa.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/report2015_08-AbServices.pdf">WA Auditor-General’s report</a> in 2015 found that many communities had unsafe levels of the chemical contaminants nitrates and uranium in the two-year reporting period. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/do-i-have-to-drink-eight-glasses-of-water-per-day-we-asked-five-experts-93025">Do I have to drink eight glasses of water per day? We asked five experts</a>
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<p>In Borroloola, NT, situated neat a zinc mine, the community were told by the mining company that the ground (bore) water on the McArthur River was contaminated with lead and manganese. Community representatives told us, </p>
<blockquote>
<p>[We were told] we should not drink it, and then they said it was safe and that the high lead had come from our pipes and not the mine … a monitoring group said that our fish are toxic with lead from the mine, so we stopped fishing and started worrying … We can’t live with this contamination anymore. We need the water to be clean. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The McArthur River Mining Pty Ltd’s own <a href="https://ntepa.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/554659/mrm_overburden_additional_info.pdf">Environmental Impact Statement</a> reflects that values “exceed” the trigger value for further investigation in sulfate, zinc and lead. Recent <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-10/indigenous-protest-lead-contamination-water-borroloola/10103122">statements in the media</a> from the company indicate the levels are safe. </p>
<h2>Safe water for all</h2>
<p>Treating drinking water can be different and difficult in remote locations compared to cities. </p>
<p>There are different types of <a href="https://theconversation.com/some-remote-australian-communities-have-drinking-water-for-only-nine-hours-a-day-86933">drinking water treatments</a> depending on the type of water (freshwater vs saltwater), the cleanliness of the water (lots of sediment vs dissolved chemicals), and the cost of the treatment (remote communities often only use basic chlorine treatment as they are too small to justify the investment for reverse osmosis). Then there are extreme weather events, such as cyclones and flooding, and the “people factor”, including the skills of the water plant operators.</p>
<p>Only now are government agencies and water utilities starting to realise that there are no “one size fits all” or simple technological fixes for treating water in remote areas. Instead, they are beginning to seek <a href="https://www.wsaa.asn.au/news/closing-gap-wsaa-and-awa-policy-stream-ozwater18">water treatment technology specifically designed for these regions</a>. Sometimes the simplest technologies are going to be longest-serving as they can be fixed, will not be damaged in cyclones, and can be operated by one person. </p>
<p>For example, Queensland Health ran a successful <a href="https://www.health.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0030/706647/Queensland-Health-Closing-the-gap-performance-report-2017.pdf">pilot project in the outer Torres Strait Islands</a> to reduce microbial contamination of water. They focused on the “people factor” by building the skills of local staff. They addressed the “governance facto” by ensuring that all relevant government agencies collaborated. And they addressed the “technology factor” by upgrading the technology for water disinfection. </p>
<p>Chemicals in water can also be removed with simple technologies that are locally-appropriate. For instance, <a href="https://www.yacwa.org.au/major-events/wa-youth-awards-2018/2018-finalists/">Indigenous teenager and Science Teachers’ Association WA’s Young Scientist of the Year</a> Uriah Daisybell, from the Christian Aboriginal Parent-directed School in Coolgardie, WA invented a water treatment system by burning shells and combining with magnets to create a charcoal filter. Testing of the filtered water found that heavy metals were reduced to safe levels.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-does-some-tap-water-taste-weird-94661">Why does some tap water taste weird?</a>
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<p>Australia is a vast country, with naturally-occurring chemicals in water and high risk of man-made contamination. Innovation and attention is required to achieve the <a href="http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/64/292">United Nations’ Resolution to provide safe, clean, accessible and affordable drinking water</a> and sanitation for all – especially in our remote communities. </p>
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<p><em>We are bringing together a <a href="https://gci.uq.edu.au/events/safe-water-summit">Safe Water Summit</a> this month in Brisbane, with representatives from Indigenous and farming communities.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106701/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nina Lansbury Hall receives research funding for work on remote community water and sanitation issues from Queensland Health, The University of Queensland Global Change Flagship funding, and from the Water Services Association of Australia, and has collaborated with WaterAid Australia. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wendy Hoy receives research funding from The University of Queensland's Global Change Institutes's Flagship Projects Program and Faculty of Medicine's Collaborative Grant Workshop; a National Health and Medical Research Council Centre for Research Excellence in Chronic Kidney Disease; and a grant from Sanofi-Genzyme. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan Mott does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Drinking water in Australia can be contaminated by natural and manmade processes, especially in communities. Innovation is needed to ensure water is ‘fit for purpose, place and people’.Nina Lansbury, Lecturer, Environmental Health Unit, School of Public Health, The University of QueenslandSusan Mott, Senior Research Officer, The University of QueenslandWendy Hoy, Professor of Medicine; Director, Centre for Chronic Disease, and Director, NHMRC CKD.CRE, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/983902018-06-20T20:06:49Z2018-06-20T20:06:49ZNew river council will give traditional owners in the Kimberley a unified voice<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223510/original/file-20180618-85863-8vx9gl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Fitzroy River in flood in 2017. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Luke Bevan</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Traditional owners in Western Australia’s Kimberley region have formed a new organisation to help manage the Fitzroy River. The Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council could set a precedent in WA for collaborative planning between government, industry and the native title holders of an <a href="https://www.klc.org.au/kimberley-traditional-owners-establish-martuwarra-fitzroy-river-council">entire river catchment</a>.</p>
<p>The aspirations of Kimberley traditional owners to safeguard the future of the Fitzroy are consistent with those of many other Aboriginal groups, who have long been dissatisfied with mainstream approaches to managing Australia’s major river catchments. Statements such as the <a href="http://www.savanna.org.au/nailsma/publications/downloads/MLDRIN-NBAN-ECHUCA-DECLARATION-2009.pdf">Echuca Declaration</a> and the <a href="https://www.nailsma.org.au/sites/default/files/publications/Mary-River-Statement%20text%20only.pdf">Mary River Statement</a> make it clear that rivers are essential to life and traditional owners have a responsibility to protect them. </p>
<p>Large rivers flow through many different Indigenous lands. To comprehensively represent traditional owners’ rights and interests, alliances constituted at the catchment or basin scale have been formed. For example, the <a href="http://www.mldrin.org.au/">Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations</a> and the <a href="http://nban.org.au/">Northern Basin Aboriginal Nations</a> both aim to uphold traditional owners’ rights and interests in the management of the Murray-Darling Basin. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/deal-on-murray-darling-basin-plan-could-make-history-for-indigenous-water-rights-96264">Deal on Murray Darling Basin Plan could make history for Indigenous water rights</a>
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<p>The new <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59fecece017db2ab70aa1874/t/5b2871958a922daa2cd3870a/1529377177849/StatementMartuwarra+Fitzroy+River+Council+Statement+from+Combined+Meeting+of+Traditional+Owner+Groups+for+the+Fitzroy+River+Catchment%5B1%5D.pdf">Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council</a> wants to ensure that lessons are learned from experiences in the Murray-Darling Basin, where the environment has been severely degraded and Aboriginal nations were previously excluded from land and water management.</p>
<p>A 12-member delegation from the new council met with WA departmental heads in Perth this week, to advocate for support for the new management structure and the peoples who share custodianship of the river, known as Mardoowarra or Martuwarra in the Nyikina language. The council also called for a moratorium on all future water allocations until a catchment-wide management plan is in place. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223961/original/file-20180620-126566-1hadcvp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223961/original/file-20180620-126566-1hadcvp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223961/original/file-20180620-126566-1hadcvp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223961/original/file-20180620-126566-1hadcvp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223961/original/file-20180620-126566-1hadcvp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223961/original/file-20180620-126566-1hadcvp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223961/original/file-20180620-126566-1hadcvp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223961/original/file-20180620-126566-1hadcvp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council founding members.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kimberley Land Council</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>The Fitzroy River region exemplifies the kind of social and cultural complexity that significantly challenges standard approaches to catchment management. It is home to at least 30 Aboriginal communities living on lands recognised under seven native title determinations. The river crosses seven ethno-linguistic areas with a complex array of longstanding cultural affiliations. Narratives, beliefs and practices reflect and reinforce <a href="https://www.water.wa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/4842/46326.pdf">deeply held cultural connections to lands and waters</a>.</p>
<p>The river and its 20 tributaries drain 100,000 square kilometres of savannah that support almost 50 pastoral stations and a rich diversity of plant and animal life. It is home to at least <a href="http://museum.wa.gov.au/research/records-supplements/records/fish-fauna-fitzroy-river-kimberley-region-western-australia-inc">37 species of fish</a>, including the critically endangered large-tooth sawfish, as well as many species valued by recreational and <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10745-012-9518-z">customary fishers</a>. Tourism is significant to the economy, particularly during the warm, dry months that coincide with southern Australia’s winter. </p>
<p>For traditional owners, these beautiful landscapes and valuable fishing grounds also bear the imprint of ancestral beings who brought the world into being and continue to enliven it with their actions. All of these outstanding heritage values won the West Kimberley and the Fitzroy River <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/national/west-kimberley">national heritage listing</a> in 2011.</p>
<h2>Water for all</h2>
<p>The Fitzroy River is facing more water extraction and intensifying land use on its floodplains – concerns that were highlighted by traditional owners in the 2016 <a href="https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/environskimberley/pages/303/attachments/original/1512653115/fitzroy-river-declaration.pdf?1512653115">Fitzroy River Declaration</a>. It is imperative to plan and manage the competing demands on the river. But managing an entire river system in an integrated way is challenging. </p>
<p>The WA government has stated its commitment to the long-term health of the Martuwarra Fitzroy River catchment via integrated land and water planning. It has affirmed the “<a href="https://www.walabor.org.au/platform">unique role of Indigenous people in making policy decisions about the future</a>”. </p>
<p>But Indigenous governance systems do not align with the boundaries of existing natural resource management organisations, or with the stakeholder model of political representation. Advisory committees and catchment management authorities often seek just one or two representatives of the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022169411008882">many Indigenous groups</a> that are typically affected by management decisions. </p>
<p>The Daly River region of the Northern Territory illustrates this model’s shortcomings. The river is a “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00049180500511947?journalCode=cage20">significant ceremonial track</a>” – meaning that sacred site protection is a crucial consideration – and its catchment is home to 11 different language groups with rights and interests in the river. Traditional owners formed the <a href="http://www.savanna.org.au/nailsma/publications/kantri_laif_issue_4_2008.html?tid=604268">Daly River Aboriginal Reference Group</a> in 2005 to give all custodians a voice in land use and water allocation planning. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-law-finally-gives-voice-to-the-yarra-rivers-traditional-owners-83307">New law finally gives voice to the Yarra River's traditional owners</a>
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<p>If endorsed as a planning partner by the WA government, and accordingly resourced and supported, the new Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council could perform <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13241583.2017.1348887?journalCode=twar20">three important tasks</a>. </p>
<p>First, it could support the government’s catchment-wide planning process by bringing together representatives of every group that can speak for, and has knowledge of, sections of the river and its hinterland. </p>
<p>Second, it could facilitate the inclusion of Aboriginal governance principles, ecological knowledge and socioeconomic objectives in land and water policy. </p>
<p>And third, it could contribute to adaptive management by developing long-term relationships with all stakeholders in the catchment.</p>
<p>Like similar models in other parts of the country, the Martuwarra Council prompts us to think about the vital role of water in mediating not only ecological and hydrological connections, but social, cultural and political relationships too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98390/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sue Jackson receives funding from the Commonwealth Government's National Environmental Science Program (North Australia Environmental Resources Hub) and the Australian Research Council's Future Fellowship Program.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span><a href="mailto:s.laborde@griffith.edu.au">s.laborde@griffith.edu.au</a> receives funding from the Commonwealth Government's National Environmental Science Program (North Australia Environmental Resources Hub).</span></em></p>The new Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council aims to overcome a management problem faced by many traditional owners: the fact that major rivers flow through lands home to many different groups and languages.Sue Jackson, Professor, ARC Future Fellow, Griffith UniversitySarah Laborde, Postdoctoral Researcher, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/567482016-03-24T05:48:58Z2016-03-24T05:48:58ZWoodside’s Browse project setback shows the gas industry needs to get its act together<p>Energy giant Woodside’s decision to <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-23/woodside-abandons-browse-lng-project-kimberley-coast/7269556">shelve its Browse natural gas project off Australia’s northwest coast</a> is no doubt a disappointment for many people in Western Australia, but is by no means a disaster for the state’s economy. </p>
<p>Nor is it an indication that the future of the Northwest Shelf’s gas reserves is in jeopardy. Long-term world demand for natural gas is robust, given its anticipated role in the low-carbon transition where it is expected to displace coal in power generation. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.iiasa.ac.at/web-apps/ene/geadb/dsd?Action=htmlpage&page=about#">Data from the Global Energy Assessment</a> predicts that natural gas demand will increase globally in all scenarios until at least 2050 (see below). </p>
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<span class="caption">Projected world gas use (in exajoules per year) under various scenarios.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Global Energy Assessment</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>However, the shelving of the project should not be a complete surprise. It highlights two important issues that merit concerted action by the industry: one related to price and the other to cost.</p>
<h2>Pricing transparency</h2>
<p>At present, most of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) produced in WA is destined for Japan and other parts of Northeast Asia, where the dominant pricing mechanism is based on oil prices. The <a href="https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/energy-utilities-mining/pdf/lng_glossary_final.pdf">Japan Crude Cocktail</a>, a composite of import prices, provides a benchmark price around which the LNG price is allowed to fluctuate between set boundaries and according to a set formula. </p>
<p>Long-term contracts with built-in protection for buyer and seller against oil price volatility have increased the bankability of projects like Browse. This is because access to cheap project financing is available only to projects with less volatile cash flows and more long-term certainty.</p>
<p>Gas and oil prices are indexed together for two main reasons. First, oil and gas can substitute for one another in certain industrial processes so can sometimes be purchased interchangeably; and second, the greater liquidity and transparency in the oil market mean that price-setting is more reliable and more reflective of supply and demand conditions. </p>
<p>However, <a href="https://www.oxfordenergy.org/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/NG-81.pdf">work by the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies</a> shows that LNG prices set in this way are not reflective of supply and demand conditions for natural gas and suggests that gas prices might be better formed at regional LNG hubs, rather than with reference to oil markets.</p>
<p>There is evidence that Japanese gas buyers have begun to move away from long-term oil-based contracts and towards spot market purchases. In 2014, spot trades represented <a href="http://www.business.uwa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/2851531/Peter-Hartley.pdf">nearly 25% of all LNG imports to Japan</a>, compared with less than 10% five years earlier.</p>
<h2>Counting the cost</h2>
<p>This brings us to the question of cost, and in particular the relatively high cost of doing business in Western Australia. According to a recent <a href="http://business.curtin.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2015/10/bcec-the-costs-of-doing-business-in-wa-report.pdf">Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre report</a>, wage growth in WA outstripped the national average during the mining boom. During this period, real annual labour costs per worker in WA mining (including oil and gas) rose by 11.1% to A$161,000, up from A$145,400 in 2007-08.</p>
<p>Added to labour costs are the complexities of developing projects in remote regions, where factors like high transport and energy costs contribute to a lack of competitiveness with other projects around the world. Average diesel prices in the Kimberley, for example, are some 17 cents a litre higher than in Perth. </p>
<p>Scarce infrastructure and competition for highly specialised workers not only lead to higher costs but also higher project risk, increasing the likelihood of cost overruns. Couple this with Woodside’s earlier decision to use the untested technology of offshore floating LNG platforms (FLNG) at Browse, and it is easy to see why the company took the view that the risk-adjusted returns no longer justify the A$40 billion investment at this stage.</p>
<h2>Use it or lose it?</h2>
<p>There is clearly an opportunity for the industry’s players to work together to bring down costs. But a <a href="http://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/energy-and-resources/articles/collaborating-for-success-making-the-most-of-UKCS.html#">recent report</a> by consulting firm Deloitte showed that this is not really happening so far. In the UK, the newly formed <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/oil-and-gas-authority">Oil & Gas Authority</a> is taking a tough line with the industry, insisting that companies work more closely together to address common issues – and threatening stiff penalties if they don’t. </p>
<p>One way of driving innovation might be through a tightening of the retention lease arrangements in WA. Retention leases provide security of title for petroleum resources that are not currently commercially viable but which have genuine development potential. The <a href="http://www.domgas.com.au/">Domgas alliance</a>, for instance, has been vocal in suggesting that “develop it or lose it” provisions should be strengthened, allowing companies better equipped to operate in this new environment to thrive.</p>
<p>Perhaps when the leases for Browse were last renewed in 2015 an insistence that Woodside proceed with the development or lose them might have focused the project leaders’ minds on how to do that in a way that mitigated both cost and risk.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/56748/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tom Houghton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Woodside’s decision to shelve its $40 billion Browse project off Western Australia’s north is not a disaster, but it does highlight some areas where the gas industry needs to get much smarter.Tom Houghton, Senior Lecturer, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/531242016-01-25T03:30:14Z2016-01-25T03:30:14ZColonial legacy of mining pioneers poses a dilemma for South Africans<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108741/original/image-20160120-26125-1059l9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A student beats the statue of Cecil John Rhodes with a belt as it is removed from the University of Cape Town. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Mike Hutchings</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Portuguese <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/topic/africa-portugal">set foot in South Africa</a> in the 15th century, and the Dutch settled at the “Cape of Storms” in <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/cape-town/dutch-settlement">1652</a>. But the noses of the first interlopers into southern Africa were not sharp enough to fore-smell Kimberley’s hidden diamonds or the Witwatersrand’s entombed gold. </p>
<p>Diamonds were only discovered in 1867 at Kimberley, and, 19 years later, gold on the Witwatersrand.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=18036909617&searchurl=tn%3Dthe%2520randlords%2520the%2520men%2520who%2520made%2520south%2520africa%26an%3Dwheatcroft%2520geoffrey">The group</a> - of mainly Englishmen and Jews – that descended on Kimberley, following the discovery of diamonds was largely the same bunch of money-mongers who flocked to the Witwatersrand when news of gold broke.</p>
<p>By the time the Witwatersrand became the new Mecca of wealth seekers, Kimberley had already produced a diamond cartel led by <a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Cecil_John_Rhodes.aspx">Cecil John Rhodes</a> – including such outstanding figures as <a href="http://www.beittrust.org.uk/History.htm">Alfred Beit</a>, Charles Rudd, <a href="http://www.southafrica.net/za/en/articles/entry/article-southafrica.net-barney-barnato">Barney Barnato</a>, Julius Wernher, J. B. Robinson, Jules Porgès, H. L. Eckstein, Lionel Phillips, and others.</p>
<p>In Kimberley, Rhodes persuaded most of these men – some of whom were initially his arch-enemies, such as Barnato – to form a cartel to control the price of diamonds in London, then the centre of the global diamond trade. De Beers became the cartelised company, named after brothers Johannes and Diederik De Beer, who had sold the land on which the diamonds were discovered.</p>
<p>On the Witwatersrand, these men formed many gold companies financed by money they had made at Kimberley and through investments from London, Paris, Berlin, and the US. Although Rhodes was by no means the richest his company, the Goldfields Company, was among the giants.</p>
<p>What made Rhodes stand out was his profound understanding of the uselessness of money for its own sake. For him, money was an instrument in a big imperial “game”. Difficult as it was, he did manage to convince some of the money-mongers who surrounded him to support his mega imperial schemes.</p>
<p>It got to the point where these men became so wealthy that their clout was felt in British politics. Rather disapprovingly, the English media coined and gave them the name “Randlords” – to make it plain that the “Rand” was the origin of the wealth of these insidious “Lords”.</p>
<h2>Bringing civilisation</h2>
<p>Of particular interest to South Africans is the legacy the <a href="http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=18036909617&searchurl=tn%3Dthe%2520randlords%2520the%2520men%2520who%2520made%2520south%2520africa%26an%3Dwheatcroft%2520geoffrey">Randlords</a> left the country.</p>
<p>First, it is important to acknowledge nature for endowing Kimberley and the Witwatersrand with vast natural wealth, and then proceed to appreciate, maturely, the fact that the Randlords brought know-how, money and the technology by which to exhume dormant wealth from beneath the country’s soil.</p>
<p>The civilisation that waves at South Africans from the dizzying heights of Johannesburg’s skyscrapers came to the country’s shores with the Randlords. The highways on which the tyres of comfortable German cars glide would not be there without the Randlords.</p>
<p>Some of the country’s top universities at which today’s students wage <a href="https://theconversation.com/africa/topics/university-fees">protests</a> are there thanks to the Randlords. This includes the University of the Witwatersrand, Rhodes University and the University of Cape Town. Even those not linked directly to the Randlords were build by the state using funds from the mining industry.</p>
<p>The idea of the railways that continue to enable South Africa to export its natural resources was first fermented in the heads of the Randlords. So too the national grid of highways. Beit Bridge, the main crossing point between South Africa and Zimbabwe, is a reminder that Alfred Beit offered a hand to Cecil John Rhodes, as he forged ahead to create what he called “the road to the north” – today’s N1.</p>
<p>In the world of political correctness, an arena populated by self-congratulators, it is dangerous to say something positive about those whom a group has already condemned. Group-think is the norm.</p>
<h2>The big dilemma</h2>
<p>Make no mistake; the Randlords were not angels. And they did not muddy their hands. South African author <a href="http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=2075788550&searchurl=tn%3Dthe%2520south%2520africans%26an%3Ds%2520g%2520millin">Sarah Gertrude Millin</a> was right to note that: </p>
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<p>The <a href="http://constitutionallyspeaking.co.za/on-kaffirs-queers-moffies-and-other-hurtful-terms/">Kaffirs</a> do nearly all the unskilled labour in South Africa. … On the farms they, and not the farmers, do the planting and reaping and herding. … They dig the trenches and lay the roads.</p>
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<p>In their imagination, the Randlords did not envision the black man ever making use of the civilisation they were erecting, let alone ever ruling South Africa. That is why they never gave black people the education they imparted to their children. To them, black people were permanent “savages”.</p>
<p>The cruel idea of detaining black workers in dehumanising compounds was introduced by the Randlords. Rhodes even sponsored a law that authorised mine owners to strip black workers naked, and force them to swallow laxatives before they could go home, hoping to flush stolen diamonds out of the native’s stomach.</p>
<p>Thus, the Randlords left behind them a big dilemma: contemporary South Africa is not sure whether to thank them for bringing civilisation, or to curse them for complicating future race relations. Unfortunately they can’t receive a memorandum of grievances, were the country’s citizens to chant to their graves.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/53124/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Prince Mashele does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Randlords left a big dilemma in their wake: contemporary South Africa is not sure whether to thank them for bringing civilisation, or to curse them for complicating future race relations.Prince Mashele, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation, University of PretoriaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/529052016-01-19T19:33:04Z2016-01-19T19:33:04ZWe discovered 20 new fish in northern Australia – now we need to protect them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108484/original/image-20160119-31814-ecx00x.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The remote rivers of northern Australia could be home to untold numbers of new and threatened fish. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Matthew Le Feuvre</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>We recently discovered <a href="https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/discovered-a-treasure-trove-of-new-fish">20 new species</a> of fish in the Kimberley region of north-west Australia (one of them has been named after writer <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-04/new-fish-species-named-after-author-tim-winton/7066422">Tim Winton</a>). </p>
<p>But that’s only the start of the story. At a time when the federal government is redoubling efforts to <a href="http://industry.gov.au/ONA/WhitePaper/index.html">develop northern Australia</a>, our discovery is a timely reminder of how little we know about our country. </p>
<p>A 2014 CSIRO <a href="https://publications.csiro.au/rpr/pub?pid=csiro:EP147168">report</a> found 1.4 million hectares of land in northern Australia could be irrigated. Underlying this expansion would be approximately 90 large dams and numerous smaller water-regulating structures such as weirs. </p>
<p>While this <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-need-a-smarter-debate-on-developing-northern-australia-16846">could boost the northern Australian economy</a>, impacts on aquatic ecosystems from altered flow regimes, habitat modification and reduced water quality are likely to be significant. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108485/original/image-20160119-31795-5u0sdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108485/original/image-20160119-31795-5u0sdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108485/original/image-20160119-31795-5u0sdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108485/original/image-20160119-31795-5u0sdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108485/original/image-20160119-31795-5u0sdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108485/original/image-20160119-31795-5u0sdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108485/original/image-20160119-31795-5u0sdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108485/original/image-20160119-31795-5u0sdc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The long-nosed sooty grunter is found in a single river in the Kimberley.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Matthew Le Feuvre & James Shelley</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Threatened waterways</h2>
<p>Fish are the most researched group of species living in Australia’s freshwater ecosystems. As such, we can use them as indicators of how much we know about these environments. </p>
<p>To date, <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/geb.12397/abstract">research effort</a> has been focused on south-east Australia. What stands out is a lack of research across much of the country, particularly in the north. </p>
<p>Despite this, northern Australia’s freshwater fish fauna is very diverse and includes many fish found across tiny areas. Unfortunately the lack of research means that for many of northern Australia’s fishes, all we know is that they exist. </p>
<p>Under the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, 16% of Australia’s freshwater fish are <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicthreatenedlist.pl?wanted=fauna">listed as threatened</a>. But most of the species analysed are from the rivers of south-east Australia, which are most affected by people.</p>
<p>In a <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/geb.12397/abstract">recent study</a> we identified another 55 potentially vulnerable species that meet the criteria for conservation listing. </p>
<p>When we mapped the already listed and potentially vulnerable fish species, we found hotspots for fish conservation in the Kimberley, the Wet Tropics and Arnhem Land. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108477/original/image-20160118-31831-sm842w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108477/original/image-20160118-31831-sm842w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108477/original/image-20160118-31831-sm842w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108477/original/image-20160118-31831-sm842w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108477/original/image-20160118-31831-sm842w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108477/original/image-20160118-31831-sm842w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=610&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108477/original/image-20160118-31831-sm842w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=610&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108477/original/image-20160118-31831-sm842w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=610&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Map a) shows the number of currently listed threatened fish. Map b) shows the number of species that we identified as potentially vulnerable. Map c) shows river condition (1=best quality; 8=worst). Map shows d) freshwater fish research effort across Australia (red=most effort).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Matthew Le Feuvre, Tim Dempster, James Shelley and Steve Swearer</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While often overlooked, Australia’s freshwater fish are almost as unique as our kangaroos and koalas: 74% of these fish are found nowhere else in the world. </p>
<p>If enigmatic northern Australian species, such as the saratoga (<em>Scleropages leichardti</em>), the long-nosed sooty grunter (<em>Hephaestus epirrhinos</em>) or the Prince Regent gudgeon (<em>Hypseleotris regalis</em>) are lost, we contribute to an <a href="http://fl.biology.usgs.gov/pdf/Burkhead_2012_Extinction_rates_in_North_American_fishes.pdf">ongoing global freshwater fish extinction crisis</a>. Australia’s freshwater fish deserve adequate protection.</p>
<h2>Exploring the north</h2>
<p>The Kimberley in northern Western Australia is rugged, remote, pristine and holds a number of species found nowhere else. We decided to investigate the region’s freshwater fishes.</p>
<p>Before our project began, we knew that the region was <a href="http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2011/f/z02816p064f.pdf">home to 50 species of freshwater fish</a>, or almost a quarter of Australia’s freshwater fish species. Eighteen of these are found only in the Kimberley region.</p>
<p>Over the past three years, we spent nine months surveying over 70 sites on 17 of the Kimberley’s rivers. We found that many of the endemic species are potentially particularly vulnerable if their environment were to change. For example, the long-nosed sooty grunter is large, found in a single river, rare and exclusively carnivorous, making it vulnerable to extinction.</p>
<p>Excitingly, we also uncovered 20 new species of freshwater fish. This increases the known freshwater fish species in Australia by roughly 10% and, with 70 species in total, it makes the Kimberley the most diverse region for freshwater fish. </p>
<p>Many of the new species are large, clearly distinct fish, which could be identified as new species when we observed them from the riverbank. We found most of these new species in rivers we could only access by helicopter. </p>
<p>Put simply, due to the difficultly and expense of sampling the remote Kimberley wilderness, we just haven’t looked hard enough in the region’s rivers. Entire river systems in the Kimberley remain unsampled and we should not be surprised to uncover more species unknown to science.</p>
<h2>What else is out there?</h2>
<p>Our findings raise questions about the environmental sustainability of developing northern Australia. If we can find 20 new species of freshwater fish in nine months of fieldwork in the Kimberley, how many more species are present across the rest of northern Australia? </p>
<p>Fish are big and easy to find compared to most of the smaller aquatic life. They represent the conspicuous tip of the iceberg of what lives in our rivers. What happens if we investigate more cryptic or poorly known taxa such as amphibians or invertebrates?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108486/original/image-20160119-31828-17bn2pg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108486/original/image-20160119-31828-17bn2pg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108486/original/image-20160119-31828-17bn2pg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108486/original/image-20160119-31828-17bn2pg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108486/original/image-20160119-31828-17bn2pg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108486/original/image-20160119-31828-17bn2pg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108486/original/image-20160119-31828-17bn2pg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108486/original/image-20160119-31828-17bn2pg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Prince Regent gudgeon.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Matthew Le Feuvre & James Shelley</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>How can we manage and protect species we don’t know exist? Before we develop the north, we need to know what’s out there.</p>
<p>The majority of northern rivers remain in relatively good condition, so there is ample opportunity to ensure that species are not lost as a result of development. Fortunately, most major developments are a decade or more away, so there is time to gather this information. </p>
<h2>Learning from the south</h2>
<p>Many rivers in southern Australia have <a href="http://103.11.78.131/sites/default/files/archived/native-fish/The-Status-Threats-and-Management-of-freshwater.pdf">been degraded</a> by habitat modification, altered flow patterns, invasive species, barriers to fish movement, reduced water quality and overexploitation. </p>
<p>Many fish species are threatened. Of 46 species found in the Murray-Darling Basin, 19 are listed as <a href="http://www.mdba.gov.au/sites/default/files/pubs/MDBA-Fish-species-book.pdf">threatened at the state or national level</a>.</p>
<p>What have we learned? </p>
<p><a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/1313099?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">River flow</a>, infrastructure and <a href="https://theconversation.com/high-tech-fertilisers-and-innovation-have-to-come-to-the-great-barrier-reefs-rescue-47857">land use</a> all need to be actively managed to maintain healthy rivers and allow key ecological processes, such as migrations and the inundation of floodplains, to continue. We need to be vigilant to prevent alien species invading. </p>
<p>A major source of conflict in the Murray-Darling Basin Plan was the allocation of water to the environment. Considering the <a href="https://theconversation.com/dam-it-all-river-futures-in-northern-australia-17131">environment as a stakeholder</a> at the beginning of this process could have avoided future conflicts. </p>
<p>These practices will need to be adapted to the highly seasonal rainfall of northern Australia, which will be challenging. Intact rivers with particularly high numbers of species found nowhere else may be good candidates for freshwater protected areas, which are <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-there-no-true-freshwater-protected-areas-in-australia-32966">rare in Australia</a>.</p>
<p>We need to ensure that our unique freshwater fishes are properly conserved. <a href="http://www.nespnorthern.edu.au/topics/rivers-and-wetlands/">With research and good planning</a>, we can ensure we do not repeat the sins of the past in northern Australia.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/52905/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Le Feuvre receives funding from the Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment and the Hermon Slade Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Shelley receives funding from the Herman Slade Foundation, Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment, Australian Biological Resource Study, Winifred Violet Scott Charitable Trust, Australasian Systematic Botany Society + Society of Australian Systematic Biologists. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Swearer receives funding from the Hermon Slade Foundation and the Winifred Violet Scott Charitable Trust. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Dempster receives funding from the Hermon Slade Foundation and the Winifred Violet Scott Charitable Trust. </span></em></p>A score of new fish species discovered recently in northern Australia remind us how little we know about our country.Matthew Le Feuvre, PhD candidate, School of BioSciences, The University of MelbourneJames Shelley, PhD candidate, School of Biosciences, The University of MelbourneStephen Swearer, Professor of Marine biology, The University of MelbourneTim Dempster, Associate professor in Marine Biology, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/395652015-04-05T22:50:32Z2015-04-05T22:50:32ZIconic boab trees trace journeys of ancient Aboriginal people<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76762/original/image-20150401-21743-28mmfs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Legend tells that huge hollow boabs were used as prisons in north west Australia. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/learnscope/14368224271">Robyn Jay/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Baobabs, the iconic bottle trees of Africa and Madagascar, have a single relative, the boab, living in the Kimberley region of northwest Australia. No one knows when and how the boab came across from Africa to Australia, or why its natural range is limited to this region. </p>
<p>In a study published recently in <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0119758">PLOS ONE</a>, we solve one part of this mystery by showing that ancient Aboriginal peoples were responsible for spreading the boab in the Kimberley.</p>
<h2>The boab mystery</h2>
<p>An <a href="http://www.springer.com/gp/book/9781402064302">early hypothesis</a> was that baobabs existed in parts of the supercontinent of Gondwana, which split up and became Africa, Madagascar and Australia more than 50 million years ago. This was not very convincing because, for one thing, peninsular India was part of that massive continental break-up, but does not have any of its own baobab species. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76768/original/image-20150401-21743-1sn7ys2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76768/original/image-20150401-21743-1sn7ys2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76768/original/image-20150401-21743-1sn7ys2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76768/original/image-20150401-21743-1sn7ys2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76768/original/image-20150401-21743-1sn7ys2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76768/original/image-20150401-21743-1sn7ys2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76768/original/image-20150401-21743-1sn7ys2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76768/original/image-20150401-21743-1sn7ys2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Boabs flower during the wet season.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Haripriya Rangan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Second, as bio-geographer <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=e1c6OjifgyYC&pg=PA212&lpg=PA212&dq=Patrick+Armstrong+baobab&source=bl&ots=f15TXa8i2I&sig=R_He6Sqdp43ynCDjxPV0_rY0gHA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ETYbVZTNDYj2oASs-4CQDQ&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Patrick%20Armstrong%20baobab&f=false">Patrick Armstrong</a> has pointed out, Australia hasn’t always been where it is now. It was closer to the South Pole for a long time after the split, and drifted north to its present position some 30 million years ago. The extreme climate variations during this long period would have pretty much killed off the baobab. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76698/original/image-20150401-1240-13iwzrq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76698/original/image-20150401-1240-13iwzrq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76698/original/image-20150401-1240-13iwzrq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=904&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76698/original/image-20150401-1240-13iwzrq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=904&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76698/original/image-20150401-1240-13iwzrq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=904&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76698/original/image-20150401-1240-13iwzrq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1135&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76698/original/image-20150401-1240-13iwzrq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1135&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76698/original/image-20150401-1240-13iwzrq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1135&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Boab tree at a rock art site near Wyndham, WA.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">C Kull</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Gondwana hypothesis was effectively tossed out by botanist <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/2585367">David Baum</a>, when he did a genetic analysis of baobab species from Africa, Madagascar, and Australia. He found that the three major branches separated just over 6 million years ago, long after Gondwana had split up.</p>
<p>With this theory ruled out, the current one is that the boab’s ancestor floated across the Indian Ocean and landed in northwest Australia, before adapting to its new home and evolving into a new baobab species. </p>
<p>Another hypothesis recently put forward by scientist <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21884255">Jack Pettigrew</a> is that human ancestors in Africa valued the baobab fruit as food and spread the seeds wherever they went. When they migrated out of Africa some 70,000 years ago, they carried the fruit pods with them and introduced the boab’s ancestor when they arrived in northwest Australia. The available evidence from the genetic analysis of baobabs, however, does not support this scenario.</p>
<h2>Clues in genes and words</h2>
<p>Our study examined the genetics of Kimberley boabs to see whether there was any variation across their natural range. There are distinct <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22417115">biological</a> barriers in the Kimberley that have influenced the evolution of mammals such as rock wallabies. We expected similar patterns of variation in the boabs assuming that they had spread by floods and animals.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76765/original/image-20150401-21716-q8eozx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76765/original/image-20150401-21716-q8eozx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76765/original/image-20150401-21716-q8eozx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76765/original/image-20150401-21716-q8eozx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76765/original/image-20150401-21716-q8eozx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76765/original/image-20150401-21716-q8eozx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76765/original/image-20150401-21716-q8eozx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76765/original/image-20150401-21716-q8eozx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Boab fruit were carried by Aboriginal people as they moved around.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bananeman/4823491944">Edgar Vonk/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The results showed the opposite: there was a lot of gene flow and thus very little variation between boabs in different parts of the Kimberley, despite the existence of barriers. This meant that boab seeds were being carried by some agent that was capable of moving across these barriers. Humans were the most likely ones, but there was no way of proving it just with the genetic data.</p>
<p>One way of tracking human agency is to look for linguistic clues. When people carry things from one place to another, they also bring their words for these things. If the things are new for the people who receive them, they will usually borrow the words for these and modify them in their own languages. Or if they are already familiar with these things, they may just add the new word into their vocabulary. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76701/original/image-20150401-1253-dv82uj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76701/original/image-20150401-1253-dv82uj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76701/original/image-20150401-1253-dv82uj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76701/original/image-20150401-1253-dv82uj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76701/original/image-20150401-1253-dv82uj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76701/original/image-20150401-1253-dv82uj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76701/original/image-20150401-1253-dv82uj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76701/original/image-20150401-1253-dv82uj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Gene flow and movement of boab words.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image from Rangan et al. 2015</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Studies <a href="http://www.barkhuis.nl/product_info.php?products_id=65">in Africa</a> showed that there was a lot of diversity and borrowing of terms for baobabs between languages. So we decided to combine the genetic and linguistic data for boabs in the Kimberley and map them together to see what they would reveal.</p>
<p>When we mapped the patterns of boab gene flow and the movement of boab words between Aboriginal languages of the Kimberley, we were amazed by how closely they corresponded with each other. The overlap between the two was strong enough to prove that humans were the main agents responsible for dispersing the boab in northwest Australia. Evidence of boab seed and pod remains from other studies of <a href="http://australianarchaeology.com/journal/40000-year-record-of-food-plants/">Aboriginal archaeological sites</a> in the region confirmed it further.</p>
<p>But, then, another question came up: if humans were the main agents, why were boabs limited mainly to the Kimberley?</p>
<h2>Escaping rising waters</h2>
<p>Two clues showed up from the genetic analysis: first, that the source for the present boab population was in extreme northwest Kimberley; and second, that there had been a genetic bottleneck or reduction in population between 6 and 17,000 years ago from which the present boabs had then expanded. </p>
<p>When we matched these clues with studies of climate change since the end of the last Ice Age some 20,000 years ago, a clearer picture of human movement and the spread of boabs emerged.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76700/original/image-20150401-1263-1w8k6hs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76700/original/image-20150401-1263-1w8k6hs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76700/original/image-20150401-1263-1w8k6hs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=634&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76700/original/image-20150401-1263-1w8k6hs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=634&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76700/original/image-20150401-1263-1w8k6hs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=634&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76700/original/image-20150401-1263-1w8k6hs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=796&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76700/original/image-20150401-1263-1w8k6hs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=796&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76700/original/image-20150401-1263-1w8k6hs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=796&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How boabs came inland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image from Rangan et al. 2015</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>During the Ice Age, the Australian continental shelf extended much further out to the northwest, just under a few hundred kilometres from Timor. Boabs would have been distributed mainly on the exposed shelf, and Aboriginal groups living in these areas would have used them. When the Ice Age ended and sea levels rose, the boabs on these areas would have drowned by the flooding. </p>
<p>With sea waters pushing them further inland, the Aboriginal groups living in these areas would have carried boab fruit pods with them as they moved into areas of central and eastern Kimberley. They would have settled here and introduced the boab tree and words to other Aboriginal groups.</p>
<p>So, if you ever visit the Kimberley region of northwest Australia, take some time to look at the boabs in the landscape and see what new clues they provide. You might help us solve the rest of the mystery of how they got here from Africa.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76764/original/image-20150401-21746-1a2kzlb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76764/original/image-20150401-21746-1a2kzlb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76764/original/image-20150401-21746-1a2kzlb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76764/original/image-20150401-21746-1a2kzlb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76764/original/image-20150401-21746-1a2kzlb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76764/original/image-20150401-21746-1a2kzlb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76764/original/image-20150401-21746-1a2kzlb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76764/original/image-20150401-21746-1a2kzlb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Boabs are the iconic trees of northwest Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/barkochre/440532301">yaruman5/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/39565/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Haripriya Rangan receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>Genetics and linguistics show Aboriginal people spread iconic boab trees around north west Australia.Haripriya Rangan, Associate Professor of Geography and Environmental Science, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/370922015-02-03T19:03:59Z2015-02-03T19:03:59ZBuilding fences could stop cane toads in their tracks<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70866/original/image-20150202-13057-ube9q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Cane toads are still spreading across northern Australia. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">UNSW</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Cane toads, introduced in 1935 to control cane beetles, have now spread across a huge swathe of Australia, from the Kimberley in northern Western Australia to northern New South Wales. </p>
<p>They’re <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/3f534390-51d6-45b5-8411-9a3913814027/files/cane-toad-fs.pdf">still spreading</a>, at a rate of between 40 and 60 km westward each year, and without management could eventually cover almost all of northern Australia. </p>
<p>Over the past few years, I and colleagues have been <a href="https://theconversation.com/close-100-man-made-lakes-to-stop-cane-toad-spread-study-11353">modelling</a> and testing the best way to control toads, particularly by fencing off man-made dams in inland Australia. In a paper published this week in the <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.12390/abstract">Journal of Applied Ecology</a>, we show that fencing off dams can stop the spread of toads. </p>
<h2>Killing predators</h2>
<p>Cane toads have had dramatic effects on native predator populations across much of the continent, because native predators have no resistance to the toxins possessed by the toads. Consequently populations of goannas, freshwater crocodiles, some snakes and quolls have <a href="http://secure.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/publications/cane-toad/pubs/cane-toad-impact.pdf">crashed</a> following the toad invasion.</p>
<p>The importance of goannas as bushtucker has declined across much of northern Australia because of the decline in goanna numbers following the arrival of toads. </p>
<p>Perhaps surprisingly, toads also interfere with cleaning up cow pats. Dung beetles were introduced to Australia in the 1960s to help breakdown cattle dung, and reduce parasite loads in cattle because their dung burying activities disrupt the breeding-cycles of flies and parasitic worms. Dung beetle numbers and their effectiveness at breaking down cattle dung have <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aec.12028/abstract">declined</a> in some regions where toads have invaded.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70905/original/image-20150203-9187-ykf8oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70905/original/image-20150203-9187-ykf8oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70905/original/image-20150203-9187-ykf8oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70905/original/image-20150203-9187-ykf8oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70905/original/image-20150203-9187-ykf8oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70905/original/image-20150203-9187-ykf8oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70905/original/image-20150203-9187-ykf8oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70905/original/image-20150203-9187-ykf8oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cane toads collect in vast numbers around inland waterways.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">UNSW</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Toad heaven</h2>
<p>Most of that area that cane toads will invade in Australia is arid or semi-arid bushland used for livestock grazing. In these areas, natural sources of water are normally sparse except after rain. </p>
<p>However, farmers have created thousands of dams at intervals of about 10 km to provide water for their livestock. Livestock normally do not drink from the dams. The dams are reservoirs for water that is pumped from underground-bores. They then provide water to livestock via troughs. These man-made sources of water each attract on average 600 toads and have vastly increased the area of Australia that the pests can invade. </p>
<p>Cane toads use the dams as refuges during the long dry periods that normally prevail in inland Australia. Toads disperse away from the dams after rain but must find another permanent water source to survive the next dry spell because they cannot survive without access to water for more than three days. </p>
<h2>Toad breaks</h2>
<p>We began our study in 2009 by fencing off dams in inland Australia. After two days the toads were eradicated from the area around the dams, and remained so for <a href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2011/02/17/rspb.2011.0032">at least two months</a>. </p>
<p>But the real test was if the fences stopped toads re-invading during the wet season. Our research published today shows that they do, suppressing toad numbers around dams for at least a year after they were fenced. </p>
<p>Our research shows that restricting toads access to water by fencing dams or using tanks made of plastic or steel as alternative type of reservoir to dams could work on a large scale to halt their march across the continent. If done strategically, fenced dams could act as “toad breaks” in much the same way as fire breaks work to slow bushfires. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70904/original/image-20150203-9198-1bi2vw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70904/original/image-20150203-9198-1bi2vw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/70904/original/image-20150203-9198-1bi2vw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70904/original/image-20150203-9198-1bi2vw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70904/original/image-20150203-9198-1bi2vw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70904/original/image-20150203-9198-1bi2vw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70904/original/image-20150203-9198-1bi2vw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/70904/original/image-20150203-9198-1bi2vw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fencing dams has cut toads off from their dry season refuges.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">UNSW</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Restricting toads’ access to water could also be used in areas where toads have already invaded to reduce their numbers and their impacts. </p>
<p>Prior to our research, no effective way has been found to control cane toad numbers. Restricting toads’ access to water could massively reduce their numbers and impacts across most of the area that cane toads will invade.</p>
<p>However, it would not be a simple task or cheap. There are thousands of dams and our approach is only suitable for dry regions where natural sources of water are few. Mapping of dams and predictions of cane toad spread show that there are areas in Australia where excluding toads from water could be conducted strategically to have most effect.</p>
<p>For example, there is only a narrow corridor of land along the coast, through which cane toads could invade the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Keeping toads out of dams along this corridor could keep toads out of Pilbara. </p>
<p>Ultimately successful control of cane toads will require government agencies to work together with pastoralists and community groups to develop strategies for toad control and relieve the impacts that cane toads are having.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/37092/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mike Letnic receives funding from Hermon Slade Foundation.</span></em></p>Cane toads, introduced in 1935 to control cane beetles, have now spread across a huge swathe of Australia, from the Kimberley in northern Western Australia to northern New South Wales. They’re still spreading…Mike Letnic, Associate Professor, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/279932014-07-30T20:04:14Z2014-07-30T20:04:14ZLessons from the Kimberley on developing Northern Australia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/55226/original/vc52fm6t-1406686206.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Indigenous land owners weren't consulted in the past about the creation of Western Australia's huge Ord River irrigation scheme – but a recent agreement offers a more positive example for developing other parts of northern Australia.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/blundershot/3367863558/in/photolist-68Bbv5-68wXeH-68BbXY-ddVpDo-hXJt4J-ddAEyn-hx8Spn-ddVoo3-bxU4bJ-ddAF4a-68wX4v-5m3SZf-68BdbA-9kRkfs-eyy89t-oey7CL-ddAEKx-ddVp33-BK9YA-BK9PS-5qumch-hJ5urB-93vsWn-9fziob-fNLefm-cTPKx-fNL91W-8zvUpU-BKa83-BKa9Z-fuZt1W-cnFWjQ-BK9Vn-cv1u5N-8zvQnW-sviMB-8zsKz6-8zsKKX-8zvUTf-BKa5E-9h4n9z-eyxQwT-eyxYTX-geddYr-2ArZnK-7rMESn-5qpZ1F-6agPcx-6S6miC-5qujfW">Pete Hill/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><blockquote>
<p>We are very happy to have got this far. We have had our disagreements but we have managed to work through them and now we are all getting on with the job. We have learnt a lot through the process.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Standing on the banks of Kununurra’s Lily Creek Lagoon, Miriwoong woman Helen Gerrard spoke those words at a community celebration in July 2006, dubbed “Satisfaction Day”, which marked the end of one Australia’s largest and most complex native title negotiations. </p>
<p>An agreement had finally been struck between the Western Australian government, the local Miriwoong Gajerrong Traditional Owners and private investors, giving everyone greater certainty about the way that 1450 square kilometres of land in the Kimberley could be developed – an area roughly 40 times bigger than Melbourne’s central business district.</p>
<p>Now the federal government is asking for community feedback on its draft plan on how to develop all of Northern Australia – an area covering much of Australia’s mainland, as shown below. You can read the <a href="https://northernaustralia.dpmc.gov.au/">Green Paper on Developing Northern Australia</a>, which is open for public comment until Friday 8 August.</p>
<p>So what could we learn from the negotiating of a development plan between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in the east Kimberley? </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/55235/original/spbk8fkd-1406688795.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/55235/original/spbk8fkd-1406688795.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/55235/original/spbk8fkd-1406688795.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/55235/original/spbk8fkd-1406688795.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/55235/original/spbk8fkd-1406688795.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/55235/original/spbk8fkd-1406688795.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/55235/original/spbk8fkd-1406688795.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/55235/original/spbk8fkd-1406688795.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Northern Australia is broadly defined as the parts of Australia north of the Tropic of Capricorn,
spanning northern Western Australia, the Northern Territory and northern Queensland. (This is the best resolution available for this map.)</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://northernaustralia.dpmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/papers/Green_Paper.pdf">Green Paper on Developing Northern Australia, p.3</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Recognising the first Kimberley custodians</h2>
<p>For generations, colonisation in the Kimberley expanded through graziers and then irrigators, who made unilateral decisions about how to transform the Ord. The dams on the Ord River that made Lake Kununurra and Lake Argyle were not built in consultation with Indigenous traditional owners. Not surprisingly, the local Indigenous people did not benefit and were not initially compensated for the losses that came with the flooding of their country. </p>
<p>The one-way decision making that changed waterways and landscapes in the Ord has started to shift, partly through the <a href="http://www.dpc.wa.gov.au/lantu/Agreements/OrdFinal/Pages/Default.aspx">Ord Final Indigenous Land Use Agreement</a>. Signed in 2005 and officially registered in the weeks after the 2006 Satisfaction Day celebration, the agreement lasts for 10 years. It’s still too early to fully assess its success or failure. But its potential lies in the extensive negotiation that took place before the agreement was made. </p>
<p>Negotiated over eighteen months, the agreement aims to work through disputes over land and waters that the Federal and High Courts of Australia could not settle over the decade beforehand.</p>
<p>It is <a href="http://sydney.edu.au/mekong/images/content/People/my%20article.pdf">worth approximately A$57 million</a> in community-development oriented initiatives, including shared management of new conservation areas, a stake in future development in the Ord, and the return of parcels of Indigenous community land.</p>
<h2>Big plans for Australia’s north</h2>
<p>Unlike too many past government policy papers on developing northern Australia, the current <a href="https://northernaustralia.dpmc.gov.au/">Green Paper</a> includes some recognition of Indigenous peoples’ priorities. It states that “the Government’s new approach to Indigenous policy is focussed on creating opportunities through education and economic development.”</p>
<p>That pledge is a good start – but it is not enough. If we want to be serious about securing economic development for everyone, then a more collaborative approach with Indigenous Traditional Owners right across northern Australia is needed.</p>
<p>So what if we took a different approach, which listened to, and learned more from, the people who have lived in northern Australia for thousands of years? Could we create a northern Australian plan that was more sustainable for all, with longer time horizons?</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/51809/original/s7wgnssz-1403429820.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/51809/original/s7wgnssz-1403429820.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51809/original/s7wgnssz-1403429820.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51809/original/s7wgnssz-1403429820.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51809/original/s7wgnssz-1403429820.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51809/original/s7wgnssz-1403429820.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51809/original/s7wgnssz-1403429820.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">View of the Ord River, some of the township of Kununurra and the irrigation area that surrounds it.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jessica McLean</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As <a href="http://press.anu.edu.au//apps/bookworm/view/country,+native+title+and+ecology/8681/ch04.html">Samantha Muller explains</a>, the “two-way approach” to resource management is based on greater discussion and collaboration between Indigenous people and non-Indigenous people. </p>
<p>In this case, I would argue that if the federal government wants this northern Australia plan to succeed where <a href="https://theconversation.com/northern-australia-should-have-a-say-in-its-own-future-16469">so many past plans have failed</a>, the best way to start is with greater talks right from the very start with Indigenous land owners – even before policy papers are written and distributed.</p>
<p>A two-way approach is based in a belief in the value of mutual learning. The federal government might learn how and for what ends Indigenous people engage with country, while Indigenous people would learn what hopes policy makers hold for the north. </p>
<p>With this recent round of planning for expanding development in the north, we still have an opportunity to do better negotiations, and on a larger scale, than what’s happened in the Ord.</p>
<p>Let’s not repeat previous mistakes in leaving negotiations with Indigenous peoples to the last minute. Instead, let’s ask the federal government to start on two-way talks to seek greater direction from those that know their patch of northern Australia best.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/51808/original/scsxsb6r-1403429684.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/51808/original/scsxsb6r-1403429684.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/51808/original/scsxsb6r-1403429684.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51808/original/scsxsb6r-1403429684.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51808/original/scsxsb6r-1403429684.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51808/original/scsxsb6r-1403429684.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51808/original/scsxsb6r-1403429684.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51808/original/scsxsb6r-1403429684.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Miriwoong woman Helen Gerrard speaking at Satisfaction Day, July 2006.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jessica McLean</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Helen Gerrard should have the last words here, taken from that sunny day in 2006, so full of possibility. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>We have surrendered our Native Title and that has been very hard for us; that is our major contribution to the Agreement. We now need to have the ongoing commitment from the State to ensure that all parties implement the letter and the spirit of the Agreement, and especially to make us a true partner in the development of the region.</p>
</blockquote><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/27993/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessica McLean did her PhD research with Miriwoong and Gajerrong people in the Kimberley, examining the Ord Final Agreement and its processes.</span></em></p>We are very happy to have got this far. We have had our disagreements but we have managed to work through them and now we are all getting on with the job. We have learnt a lot through the process. Standing…Jessica McLean, Lecturer in Geography, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/103192012-10-26T02:22:25Z2012-10-26T02:22:25ZMore than diamonds in the rough: resource struggles in the Kimberley<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/16864/original/pff6r4y2-1351120396.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Aboriginal (Kija, Malnjin, Mirawoonga and Worla) cultural law holds that Argyle mine’s pink diamonds are scales of the female Baramundi creative Dreaming Being.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Swamibu/Flickr</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>On Tuesday Lateline ran a story built around a report: “<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2012/s3617233.htm">Developing the West Kimberley’s Resources</a>” that the program breathlessly presented as a “secret plan” to industrialise the region, unlock its resources and fuel a new minerals boom. In fact, the report has been around since 2005 and has been widely read. </p>
<p>The real question in the Kimberley is: can miners and governments learn the lessons of past developments in Australia and develop an enlightened policy that benefits them, the local landholders and the national interest?</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/the-kimberley-pristine-precious-and-on-the-precipice-1266">The Kimberley is a place</a> where the very worst, and potentially, the very best of mining, agriculture and other industrial developments are occurring. Argyle Diamonds is arguably a model of the very best. One manager, Brendan Hammond, retrieved a disastrous situation in which a sacred site was mined for diamonds. Through Hammond, the company sought forgiveness from the local elders and brought the local Aboriginal community into a unique “Good Neighbour” partnership that has <a href="http://www.backroompress.com.au/book_making_good.html">led to ongoing prosperity</a> for both the company and the community.</p>
<p>However it is probably the case that, despite the efforts of dedicated individuals in its midst, the Argyle parent company, Rio Tinto, has never really understood the benefits that it has accrued because it took this path. Other companies, led by one-dimensional, can-do engineers, just do not get it. They are looking for the shortest path to the extraction of minerals or energy sources and if that means riding over the top of the local Aboriginal community, so be it. </p>
<p>Others simply want “political” understandings with Aborigines that are not in keeping with cultural law or best practice agreement making. <a href="http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/woodside-lng-works-may-be-illegal-20120528-1zey7.html">Woodside’s arguably doomed LNG Precinct</a> is the latest disaster in this respect. Companies cannot afford to ride the tiger of manifold community, governmental and national protest in delicate and important operations. Most of all they are foolish to discount Aboriginal cultural law.</p>
<p>So what should governments, miners and developers be doing? Its relatively simple.</p>
<p>1) Follow the <a href="http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/DRIPS_en.pdf">UN protocol of Free, Informed, Prior Consent</a> for the development of the traditional lands of Indigenous people, even where company lawyers might suggest that this is unnecessary or can be bulldozed over.</p>
<p>2) Provide Indigenous peoples with a partnership and revenue-sharing arrangement in the development of the mine or project, with any returns invested in the long term educational and infrastructure needs of the community.</p>
<p>3) Create contracts which benefit local Indigenous companies.</p>
<p>4) Provide a guaranteed level of employment for local Indigenous people in the operations of the project.</p>
<p>5) The ultimate benchmark, learning from the Pilbara, is that there should be no poverty in any Indigenous community within 500km of the mine or development site.</p>
<p>If these protocols are guaranteed, then whichever company develops the vast minerals of the region will make potentially hundreds of billions of dollars. It is not just that such an agreement is a special interest or land owner interest. </p>
<p>No, this goes far beyond the sort of agreement that makes <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-23/gina-rinerhart-worlds-richest-woman/4028686">Gina Rinehart the richest woman in the world</a>. By the nature of any such arrangement, the environment will invariably be protected, the best sites and ways of mining will be chosen and there will be no political obstacles to the companies’ operations. Companies will be working with the best local knowledge money can buy.</p>
<p>This is hardly rocket science. But it is hard to get into the consciousness of mining executives. Despite many decades of experience, company bosses and politicians alike make the mistake of thinking that they can get agreements to proceed by consulting with one or two token Indigenous leaders. The token figures then charge great sums to go about running mock Western style meetings in which the consultations take place.</p>
<p>The facts are that by properly negotiating with traditional people and being forced to listen to their concerns, by bringing them in as full partners in the project, employing them in the project and paying due regard to ceremony and custom, great prosperity ensues.</p>
<p>By the way, those pink diamonds mined at Argyle are the <a href="http://www.argylepinkdiamonds.com.au/en/argyle_heritage.asp">scales of the sacred Barramundi</a>. I can’t understand why they are not more actively marketed that way and why Miriwoong, Malngin, Kija and Worla women and their stories about the female creative Barrimundi dreaming being are not featured in Paris and Milan. Mining companies still have so much to learn.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/10319/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Botsman is the voluntary national secretary of the Indigenous Stock Exchange (ISX) <a href="http://www.isx.org.au">www.isx.org.au</a> which has a principle of following the UN convention on the rights of Indigenous peoples to the letter.</span></em></p>On Tuesday Lateline ran a story built around a report: “Developing the West Kimberley’s Resources” that the program breathlessly presented as a “secret plan” to industrialise the region, unlock its resources…Peter Botsman, Principal Fellow, School of Social and Political Sciences , The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.