Indigenous Knowledge, Scientific Knowledge: A Marriage in the Condamine

Dr Ian White from the Water Planning Tools team has published an a paper as part of this year's OZWater conference looking at simple and replicable assessment methods for determining Indigenous water use and values trialled in this project as part of the Condamine pilot study.

The paper points out that while the National Water Initiative requires that Indigenous access and use of water resources be taken into account in water planning, the technical forms of knowledge used by water planners and agency staff charged with management of water resources is often segmented, technically oriented, and doesn’t make easy dialogue with the holistic knowing of Indigenous Australians.

To address some of these issues, the Indigenous engagement strategy taken in the Condamine pilot for the Water Planning Tools project proposes an effective, ecumenical marriage between Indigenous and scientific/technical knowledge. Several simple assessments of current and traditional Indigenous use of water resources were conducted: interviews with Traditional Custodian groups were supplemented with historical records and a mapping exercise of key sites (billabongs, springs etc.) combined with photo essays.

Mapping the significant surface water sites allows an overlay with more technical knowledge forms like groundwater modelling. This establishes connectivity between surface and groundwater and allows water planners to consider the extent to which ground-waters may have historically aided resilience and drought recovery of natural ecosystems. This methodology can be replicated in other water planning processes across Australia.

From here, the measurable effects of groundwater extraction on significant Aboriginal sites can enter planning dialogue.