Aboriginal land and sea management literature and policy review

There is an emerging awareness of the need to re-integrate Aboriginal customary practices, values and knowledge into environmental conservation and land management. This need for reintegration has become more urgent as broader environmental challenges grow in Australia. The call for inclusion acknowledges how Aboriginal people have taken care of their lands using sustainable customary practices which are deeply rooted in their cultural values.

At its core, Aboriginal land and sea management, referred to here as caring for Country, is Aboriginal people living and practising their culture. Caring for Country encompasses a rich tapestry of traditional values, Aboriginal science, knowledge and customary practices. It is a complex relational process between humans, the environment, the tangible and intangible worlds which span spatial and temporal planes set out through Aboriginal Law/Lore. From an Aboriginal understanding, the relationship between land, sea and sky is fundamental to Aboriginal worldviews, which are intertwined spiritual, cultural and ecological dimensions.

This summary document presents the key findings of the Operationalising Aboriginal land and sea management literature review. The project was funded by Natural Hazards Research Australia (the Centre) and delivered in partnership with the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), working alongside Aboriginal communities and Aboriginal land and sea management (ALSM) practitioners across New South Wales (NSW).