River assets & values
River assets & values
Valuation of freshwater aquatic and coastal resources is essential for decision making about the allocation of these resources to different and sometimes competing uses. Value, however, is contingent on cultural, economic and geographical perspective.
In the first phase of work, researchers in this theme worked closely with landowners, land managers, industry and community groups, examining the full range of values associated with tropical rivers and coasts. They assessed the effects of water-use decisions on social, cultural, economic and ecological values and explored ways to better incorporate these values in decision making.
A key focus of this work aimed to address the fact that Indigenous values associated with rivers tend to be poorly understood by decision makers and that Indigenous people had rarely been effectively engaged in research on water resource management on their country.
The Indigenous Socio-economic Values and River Flows project addressed these issues in the Fitzroy Catchment in Western Australia and the Daly Catchment in the Northern Territory over three years. The summary report from this project provides an overview of:
- the types of aquatic resources harvested by Indigenous people;
- when and where they go to harvest them; and
- the direct economic value gained from not having to buy these resources in the shop.
During the synthesis and adoption year, researchers sought to provide opportunities to further involve Indigenous people in research, through an evaluation of its indigenous engagement, co-authored scientific publications and seasonal calendars.
Click on the links below to find more information about the earlier projects undertaken in this theme.
|2012||Indigenous seasonal understanding in monsoon Australia: examples from the Northern Territory and Western Australia|
|2011||Indigenous socio-economic values and river flows - A Summary of Research Results: 2008-2010|
|2009||The value of Australia's tropical ecosystem services|
|2008||The Economic Value of Rivers|
|2008||Indigenous Values and River Flows|
|2009||Seeing northern rivers through Indigenous eyes|
|2008||Valuing tropical rivers and their ecosystem services through responsive research.|
|2010||Indigenous Socio-economic values and river flows - Newsletter 2, October 2010|
|2009||Indigenous Socio-economic values and river flows - Newsletter 1, August 2009|