‘Clean Him Up…Make Him Look Like He Was Before’: Australian Aboriginal Management of Wetlands with Implications for Conservation, Restoration and Multiple Evidence Base Negotiations

Abstract

Historical and contemporary Indigenous wetland management influences wetland ecological character and conservation in ways not well recognised by western science and mainstream natural resource management. For example, the Australian government funds Aboriginal-led management of traditional lands, but Aboriginal knowledge is rarely enabled to critique, enrich or provide alternatives to conventional wetland management theory and practice. Emerging processes like the Multiple Evidence Base approach aim to foster synergies across different knowledge systems to enrich understanding of, and solutions for, environmental challenges. A starting point for such negotiations is the mobilisation of each knowledge base to foster mutual comprehension of shared knowledge around a subject. To assist in mobilising Aboriginal knowledge around wetland ecosystem management, we offer a case study of related Aboriginal beliefs, knowledge and practice. Based on oral histories and ongoing expressions, wetland management practices undertaken by two Kimberley Aboriginal groups in northern Western Australia form this article’s focus. We describe how and why these groups manage or rehabilitate wetlands, reflecting on ecosystem generation and conservation, and convergences or divergences with western science. We also identify barriers to the mobilisation of Aboriginal knowledge systems within contemporary land management programs, and opportunities to better foster Multiple Evidence Base negotiations.