Dingo tales : an examination of the barriers to the integration of indigenous and western knowledge in natural resource management

Abstract

In this thesis I examine the barriers to the integration of Indigenous and Western Knowledge within the Western framework of ‘natural resource management’. Traditionally natural resource management is seen as the domain of Western science and the term conveys how Western Knowledge constructs relationships to land. Western Knowledge perceives a separation between ‘nature’ and ‘culture’, which constructs management as a matter of control over resources. Many anthropological studies have shown that Indigenous Knowledge is intimately connected to land; ‘natural’ cannot be disassociated from ‘cultural’ and management is constructed as a process of negotiation. Traditionally Western science has excluded Indigenous Knowledge and failed to recognise its validity and importance for natural resource management. However, current attempts by Western science to include Indigenous Knowledge can also be damaging in that Indigenous Knowledge is fragmented, essentialised or appropriated. To highlight the barriers inherent in Western perceptions of natural resource management I employ a case study of dingo management in the Fraser Island Great Sandy Region National Park. Through this case study I find that the barriers to the integration of Indigenous and Western Knowledge are at both epistemological and practical levels. In working towards ethical and equal negotiation between Indigenous and Western Knowledge I examine joint management as one possible approach. I argue that current joint management structures in Queensland are not entirely appropriate in terms of the problems identified in the analysis of the case study. I conclude that there must be change at both epistemological and structural levels and that solutions mus t be tailored to suit the local needs and interests of each party.