The Social Geographies of Indigenous Population and Housing in Australia's Regional Urban Centres

In recent years, social scientists have turned increasing scholarly focus to the ‘post-colonial city’, as it relates to the lived experiences and socio-cultural worlds of urban-dwelling Indigenous peoples. In Australia, this literature is concerned primarily with issues of identity, power and representation in big cities. More conventional geographic analyses regarding socio-spatial, economic and demographic aspects of urban Indigenous experience have been mostly absent from this discourse. In this paper, we begin to address this gap within the literature by identifying notable socio-spatial, economic, and demographic features of urban Indigenous experience in regional Australian cities. We draw on census and administrative data to empirically examine Indigenous residency, presence, and uneven housing market access in regional urban centres. The analysis builds a national comparative picture regarding population change, tenure type, crowding and housing affordability in these localities. At the same time, it ‘drills down’ to explore some of the drivers and implications of change against these indicators in one case study locality: Geraldton Western Australian. This case study analysis, based on recent fieldwork, grounds the broad identified trends in a localised narrative, illuminating some of general and specific socio-economic and socio-spatial dynamics that shape urban life for Indigenous peoples in regional Australia and the implications of these dynamics for broader questions of co-existence between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.     

A failed green future: Navajo Green Jobs and energy “transition” in the Navajo Nation

This article considers the Navajo Green Jobs effort of 2009, an attempt to “transition” energy production from coal to wind and solar for the largest tribe in the United States, the Navajo Nation. Through ethnographic “revisits,” in 2008 and 2013, I argue that Navajo Green Jobs contained two problematic hybrid neoliberal assumptions about governance and development: (1) it decentered governing authority from the tribe to “the community” while undermining the legitimacy of the tribal government, and (2) it promoted private entrepreneurship over public investment as the vehicle for energy transition. Ultimately, the Navajo Nation rejected Navajo Green Jobs and re-appropriated its temporal language in order to justify a reinvestment in coal in the form of a new energy company, NTEC. This article concludes that consideration of the spatial and social embedded nature of energy production is vital for understanding energy transitions today.     

Effective communication tools to engage Torres Strait Islanders in scientific research

Often, research activities in Torres Strait have not delivered full benefit to Torres Strait Islanders due to a lack of consultation, ineffectual communication of research information and lack of empathy for the needs of Islander communities. As for other stakeholder groups, integration of Islanders into the research process through practical involvement in research may overcome these problems. Three case studies from research projects conducted in Torres Strait are discussed to highlight a variety of communication and engagement activities carried out by non-Indigenous researchers. How these communication and extension activities facilitate collaboration between Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous researchers provides insight in the importance of these activities to the relative success of research projects.     

Evaluation of CO2 solubility-trapping and mineral-trapping in microbial-mediated CO2–brine–sandstone interaction

Evaluation of CO₂ solubility-trapping and mineral-trapping by microbial-mediated process was investigated by lab experiments in this study. The results verified that microbes could adapt and keep relatively high activity under extreme subsurface environment (pH < 5, temperature > 50 °C, salinity > 1.0 mol/L). When microbes mediated in the CO₂–brine–sandstone interaction, the CO₂ solubility-trapping was enhanced. The more biomass of microbe added, the more amount of CO₂ dissolved and trapped into the water. Consequently, the corrosion of feldspars and clay minerals such as chlorite was improved in relative short-term CO₂–brine–sandstone interaction, providing a favorable condition for CO₂ mineral-trapping. Through SEM images and EDS analyses, secondary minerals such as transition-state calcite and crystal siderite were observed, further indicating that the microbes played a positive role in CO₂ mineral trapping. As such, bioaugmentation of indigenous microbes would be a promising technology to enhance the CO₂ capture and storage in such deep saline aquifer like Erdos, China.     

Long-term monitoring using resident and caged mussels in Boston Harbor yield similar spatial and temporal trends in chemical contamination

Measurements of chemical contaminants in caged (transplanted) and resident mussel populations have become a routine tool for monitoring and assessing the status and trends of coastal water quality. However, few long-term data sets are available to assess the comparability and efficacy of these two monitoring approaches. Three long-term independent data sets exist for Boston Harbor: the National Mussel Watch program has analyzed resident blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) from the Boston Harbor/Massachusetts Bay region for over twenty years, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority has annually deployed caged (transplanted) mussels (M. edulis) to assess bioaccumulation potential of sewage effluent discharged under its NPDES permit for over fourteen years, and the GulfWatch program has analyzed resident blue mussel populations for over twelve years. Together, these data provide consistent and comparable information on temporal and spatial changes in chemical contamination in Boston Harbor as steps were taken to reduce contaminant loading. The data also demonstrate the complementary nature of resident and caged (transplanted) mussels for assessing contaminant trends even when the basic approaches and sampling frequency differ. These fifteen-year data sets demonstrate contaminant concentrations in mussels from Boston Harbor are similar and with few exceptions have significantly decreased since the early 1990s. The observed trends also demonstrate broad scale improvements to the quality of Boston Harbor and expand understanding of the response of coastal systems to interventions that reduce the load of chemicals to the ocean.     

Indigenous Payment for Environmental Service (PES) Opportunities in the Northern Territory: negotiating with customs

Recent government initiatives have acknowledged Indigenous ranger groups in the ‘top end’ (northern region) of the Northern Territory (NT), Australia, for their holistic role in environmental management and community development. The services provided by these groups are of national significance with respect to biodiversity protection, ongoing cultural maintenance, employment for remote communities, border protection, and biosecurity. However, the acknowledgement of these services has received only limited translation into meaningful financial and technical support for Indigenous ranger groups. The present paper highlights the value of environmental services provided by Indigenous ranger groups and contrasts this with the inadequate recognition of these services by government agencies. Although government budget initiatives and policy directions are moving towards greater recognition of Indigenous environmental service provision, border protection negotiations between key NT Indigenous sea ranger groups and Australian Customs Service illustrate some of the limiting factors to progression of this recognition. The present paper highlights the necessity of ensuring accountability of processes to Indigenous rangers themselves so that payment for environmental services does not become an imposition, but rather a mechanism for realising Indigenous community aspirations, as well as addressing issues of regional, state/territory, and national significance.     

Knowledge of plant resource use based on location, gender and generation

The differences in knowledge of biological resource use between societal and demographic groups are often poorly understood; yet they are an important element of sustainability. Differences in gender and generational knowledge of locally useful woody plant species in South African savannas are examined. The results showed that young people and middle-aged females were highly knowledgeable. Over half of the total 267 woody plant species in nine use categories (i.e., medicinal, fruits–seeds, fuelwood, beverage, cultural, furniture, craft, fencing and housing poles) had multiple uses. Therefore, differences in knowledge of resource selection and use between social or demographic groups (for example based on gender and age) may appropriately inform conservation prioritisation, planning and monitoring.     

Indigenous knowledge on soil classification of ethnic groups in Luang Prabang province of the Lao PDR

Introduction Traditional agriculture based on indigenous knowledge (IK) has been practiced in many areas for centuries. Such practices are often the basis of very sustainable technologies, which are potentially suitable for developmental programs. Polthanee (2001) reported that such farmer practices have been repeatedly found to be valid, rational and usually suited to the local environmental conditions. Moreover, with increased under- standing of agro-ecosystems, professionals in agricultura…     

Consequences of changed water management for Aboriginal Australians in the Murrumbidgee catchment,NSW

In the Murrumbidgee catchment of the Murray-Darling Basin, wetlands, rivers and other waterscapes are important features of Country for Aboriginal peoples. The Murrumbidgee River is the most heavily regulated river system in the Murray-Darling Basin. Discussion around the use of Murrumbidgee water is framed as a conflict between sustaining rural communities and using water to support ecological values, yet the voices of Aboriginal custodians are relatively unheard in this discussion. Using culturally important wetland plants as a starting point, this paper explores the understanding and perception of some Aboriginal people in relation to their Country and water. The grief of participants as they experience the degradation of their Country was palpable. The strong message that Country should be considered in its entirety—including ecological, social and cultural aspects—contrasts with current ownership and other institutional arrangements. Improving opportunities for communities and water managers to share knowledge and information, an openness to use Aboriginal wisdom, and careful ongoing management of environmental and cultural water have the potential to achieve positive cultural and ecological outcomes in the Murrumbidgee.     

The ethno-environmental fix and its limits: Indigenous land titling and the production of not-quite-neoliberal natures in Bolivia

During the 1980s and 1990s, an era of neoliberal reform, global development institutions like the World Bank began promoting and financing the collective titling of indigenous territories. Extending and linking existing discussions of neoliberal multiculturalism and neoliberal natures, this paper interrogates indigenous land rights as a type of “ethno-environmental fix”, designed to synergise protection of vulnerable populations and highly-valued natures from the destructive effects of markets, in an era of multiple countermovements. Using the example of the titling of TCOs (Original Communal Lands) in Bolivia, the paper explores how governmental aspirations for indigenous territories unravelled in practice, producing hybrid, double-edged and “not-quite-neoliberal” spaces – spaces which have, paradoxically, emerged as key sites for the construction of more radical indigenous projects.