Traditional production activities and resource sustainability

Abstract

Undertakes a survey of traditional and non‐traditional production activities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Cape York Peninsula, North Queensland, Australia. Ecologically sustainable development issues in relation to indigenous people have not been paid much attention following the release of the Bruntland Report in 1987 and the Rio de Janeiro “earth summit” in 1992, which put forward a programme of action for achieving ESD by the year 2000 and beyond. Concludes that traditional methods of production practised by the indigenous societies are inherently sustainable but recognizes that population growth and poor economic prospects could exert pressure on the region’s fragile ecosystem. Efforts must be made to involve local people in resource management and planning, and social justice issues such as land and sea rights, unemployment, and the provision of basic infrastructure need to be resolved.