Mapping the Marine Environment Through a Cross-Cultural Collaboration

Harriet N Davies,Ben Radford,Jackie Gould,Renae K Hovey,Gary A Kendrick

doi:10.3389/fmars.2020.00716

Abstract

There is a growing emphasis on formally recognizing the connection to the marine environment of Indigenous peoples and the traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) these strong connections cultivate. The potential for TEK to significantly enrich the scientific comprehension of the marine environment, whilst also celebrating the rich bio-cultural knowledge in its own right, is indisputable. Here, we present a scientifically robust and culturally appropriate participatory mapping methodology for the marine environment which can effectively achieve genuine cross-cultural ecological knowledge transfer between scientists and Indigenous Peoples. Through a case study working with the Anindilyakwa people of the Groote Eylandt Archipelago, we mapped the TEK of benthic habitats off Australia’s poorly surveyed northern coast. Representatives from 14 Anindilyakwa clan groups participated in the marine mapping (n=53), resulting in 22 individual maps. Eleven broad-scale habitat classifications, predominately in the intertidal and nearshore marine environment, were described in both Anindilyakwa and English. The information gathered was then used to develop benthic habitat maps covering a combined area of ~1800km2 and was assessed for accuracy against in-situ observations. We found that despite the difficulties in working across two different world views, through the application of this carefully refined methodology, scientists can effectively document the rich TEK of the marine environment in a manner suitable for conservation and management planning while also supporting the prioritization of Indigenous values within the decision-making process.

Highlights

There is a growing emphasis globally on recognizing Indigenous people’s connection to the marine environment and the substantial traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) these strong connections cultivate (Ban et al, 2018; Sloane et al, 2018)
A total of 53 members of the Anindilyakwa community contributed to the participatory mapping exercise which generated 22 individual maps
TEK relating to Sea Country habitats covered a combined area of ∼1,800 km2 (25% of the Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) waters) with 11 classes described in the Anindilyakwa language (Figure 5)

Summary

Introduction

There is a growing emphasis globally on recognizing Indigenous people’s connection to the marine environment and the substantial traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) these strong connections cultivate (Ban et al, 2018; Sloane et al, 2018). Despite the advances in recognizing the importance of TEK, western science (WS) often undervalues Indigenous knowledge systems (Ens et al, 2015) and the scientific utility of qualitatively derived knowledge (Levine and Feinholz, 2015). Notwithstanding this lack of acknowledgment of the value of different knowledge systems, there is potential for TEK to significantly enrich the scientific comprehension of the marine environment, while celebrating the rich bio-cultural knowledge in its own right. The need arises to develop and refine cross-cultural ecological methods, which are both culturally appropriate and scientifically robust (Ens et al, 2015)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion