The East Kimberley Impact Assessment Project

Abstract

Rapid economic and social change in the East Kimberley, with the establishment of the Argyle Diamond Mine, substantial restructuring in the pastoral industry and rapid developments in tourism at Lake Argyle and the Bungle Bungle massif, is placing pressure upon the Aboriginal residents of the far north west of Australia. The East Kimberley Impact Assessment Project was conducted to assess the impact of resource development on resident Aboriginal communities, and to assist Aboriginal people to develop their priorities and strategies for dealing with externally imposed developments and their impacts. The project used interdisciplinary research as the basis for informed Aboriginal participation in the process of social and economic change. It assessed the potential effects of resource development on Aboriginal communities, and offered to assist the people as they formulated their goals and policy options. The design and management of the interdisciplinary research, and the linking of research to strategy development, presented many challenges from which other major projects may wish to learn.