Working together
with Indigenous communities
to adapt to climate change
Deanne Bird
Risk Frontiers, Macquarie University
Indigenous adaptation in northern Australia
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Collaborative project led by Charles Darwin University and Risk Frontiers,
Macquarie University, in partnership with James Cook University, Flinders
University, University of South Australia, Australian National University,
University of Canberra and SGS Economics and Planning.
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Objective: examine the underlying vulnerabilities, adaptive capacities and
population movements of Indigenous people in northern Australia in relation
to extreme weather events, climate variability and climate change.
Research focus:
• Demographic history and population volatility
• Land use planning as climate
change adaptation
Age/sex pyramid comparing northern Indigenous and northern non-Indigenous populations
• Children’s understanding of weather and seasons (Broome case study)
Indigenous views of change and risk:
methodology
• We used an ethnographic participatory research approach including:
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Workshops on timelines of life
Discussions on seasonal calendars
Transect walks
Focus groups/interviews on causes, solutions, responsibilities and actions
Film
But what are we already seeing and
what are the future predictions?
What are we already seeing in terms of
temperatures?
What are we already seeing in terms of
rainfall?
Cyclones
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Extreme weather events
At present:
– No discernible change in the total number of tropical cyclones
– No discernable change in the occurrence of the most intense tropical cyclones
Future predictions:
– Fewer tropical cyclones as the climate changes
– Proportion of cyclones with greater intensity will increase (albeit at varying
levels of confidence)
Floods
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An increase in wet season rainfall will add to the already experienced impacts of
regional, wet season flooding throughout northern Australia
Heatwaves
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An increase in the number of hot days and warm nights in Australia will result in
longer heatwaves, where temperatures reach or exceed 35oC over three or more
consecutive days
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Expected that for coastal areas in the Northern Territory, such as Darwin, the
current number of days over 35oC will increase from 11 to 69 per year by 2030 and
up to 308 per year by 2070
Slow onset changes
Sea level rise
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Sea level rose 6-8mm between January 1993 and September 2011 around the
coastal region of Wujal Wujal in Far North Queensland, while the Broome and
Maningrida regions experienced an 8-9mm increase, and the Gulf of Carpentaria
(east of Ngukurr) recorded up to a 12mm increase during the same period
It is expected that sea level rise will continue at global levels with an average
increase of at least 790 mm by 2100
Impacts exacerbated by king tides and storm surges
Drought
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Droughts have become less frequent, less intense, or shorter
It is possible that a decrease in dry season rainfall will impact on the amount of
available water for normal use
Changes in biodiversity
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Migration / extinction of flora and fauna
Indigenous views of change and risk
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The project aimed to garner a multifaceted understanding of
– how Indigenous people have coped with and adapted to past and ongoing
environmental changes
– the relationship that individuals and communities have with their ever-changing
environment, and the realities of their everyday existence, without a restrictive
preconceived ‘climate change’ overlay
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The importance of land and sea as cultural identity, in relation to, for example:
– Ceremony
– Sacred sites
– Bush tucker and bush medicine
– Living on country; looking after country
Changes to country
“The rain seasons haven’t been coming at the right time now so I’ve sort of been worried
about that.”
“We can see the changes in the weather patterns by noticing that plants flower at unusual
times and the scrub hens have not been laying as many eggs as they used to since it has been
drier.’’
“We understand now why there’s more jellyfish, because there’s less turtles coming out,
because the environment is not right for them.”
Changes to country
“The rain seasons haven’t been coming at the right time now so I’ve sort of been worried
about that.”
“We can see the changes in the weather patterns by noticing that plants flower at unusual
times and the scrub hens have not been laying as many eggs as they used to since it has been
drier.’’
“We understand now why there’s more jellyfish, because there’s less turtles coming out,
because the environment is not right for them.”
“Sunday, I went down to Gantheaume Point. There’s 500 metres that they [tourists driving on
Cable Beach] could use. There was 673 cars on the beach, and 220 of them had trailers.”
“When the mine opened in 2004/2005 [near Shipton’s Flat], we lost a lot of our native wild
animals, the swamp turkey, scrub hen fowls, goanna. This land here has been destroyed.”
“The crocodiles that’s here, when I was a kid growing up, we never had crocs up this far. It’s
only since, more visitors come into the area, and they bring their dogs and other pets.”
Underlying vulnerabilities
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Centralisation of services
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Government and religious policies, past and present, have often prevented people
from maintaining their culture and spirituality
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Destruction of the environment
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Lack of access to country
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Less adapted to high temperatures
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Social problems undermining social cohesion
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Remoteness – running out of supplies during extreme events
Adaptive capacities
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Remoteness enhances resilience and ability to adapt
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Relationships with country and understanding of the environment and all of its
components, including climate and its changes, are core to culture
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Living on country, caring for country enables a close connection to the land and to
extended family networks
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Mobility is already a major factor of living in remote communities
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Art and music remain powerful means of expression
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Cross-cultural contact between Aboriginal groups
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Younger generations are accessing new technologies
Working together to adapt to climate change
“If I lose my land or my salt water, I lose who I am. That songline, out in my ocean, you
cut him out, I lose my identity and I am nothing”.
“Our land is very precious to us. Yeah. Without our land, we wouldn’t have any identity.
Our land gives us our identity. We’re connected to our country, that’s a fact, and that’s
true. Whenever I talk about this, I get really happy; I like sharing my concern about my
land to others. We are all Australians, both black and white. We call ourselves
Australians. We should be respecting each other and helping each other.”
“We want to be prioritising the projects and the investment into programs that are
important and things that are working rather than just being passive recipients.”
“So what I’m doing is teach them the seasonal happenings like the indicators and how
they connect to the weather chart. Incorporate with the meteorology.”
Great appreciation is extended to the people of Broome, Maningrida, Ngukurr and Wujal
Wujal for their kindness, involvement and enthusiasm during this research project.
For more information please contact:
Deanne Bird, Risk Frontiers, Macquarie University - [email protected]
Bird, D., Govan, J., Murphy, H., Harwood, S., Haynes, K., Carson, D., Russell, S., King, D., Wensing, E.,
Tsakissiris, N., Larkin, S., 2013. Future change in ancient worlds: Indigenous adaptation in northern
Australia. NCCARF, Gold Coast.
Photos used in this presentation were taken by Jeanie Govan and Deanne Bird
Climate change references:
BoM, 2013. Australia’s warmest 12-month period on record, again. http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/change/#tabs=Climate-updates
Climate Council, 2013. Unpacking the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report. http://www.climatecouncil.org.au/wpcontent/uploads/2013/10/CC.report.1.2.pdf
Climate Council, 2013. Off the Charts. Record breaking September heat and climate change.http://www.climatecouncil.org.au/wpcontent/uploads/2013/10/cc.offthecharts1.pdf [Accessed 7 October 2013].
CSIRO, 2012. State of the Climate - 2012, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation.
http://www.csiro.au/en/Outcomes/Climate/Understanding/ State-of-the-Climate-2012/Future-Changes.aspx
Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, 2012. Northern Territory, Australian Government.
http://www.climatechange.gov.au/climate-change/impacts/national-impacts/nt-impacts.aspx
Department of the Environment, 2013. Northern Territory Climate Change Impacts. http://www.climatechange.gov.au/climatechange/climate-science/climate-change-impacts/northern-territory
Green, D., Jackson, S., Morrison, J., 2009. Risks from Climate Change to Indigenous Communities in the Tropical North of Australia.
Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Canberra, p. 185.
IPCC, 2012. Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation. A Special Report of Working
Groups I and II of the IPCC. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
IPCC, 2013. Summary for Policymakers. Twelfth Session of Working Group I.
http://www.climatechange2013.org/images/uploads/WGIAR5-SPM_Approved27Sep2013.pdf