National Indigenous Water Planning Forum

On the 19th and 20th February, the National Water Commission (NWC) hosted the Indigenous Water Planning Forum in Adelaide, bringing together Indigenous people, water planners and researchers from around the country. In this landmark event, participants worked together for two days of plenaries and workshops to identify and document good examples of Indigenous engagement in water planning processes.

The Forum was based on the recognition by the National Water Commission that the explicit inclusion of Indigenous interests in water planning remains rare, despite being a clear requirement of the National Water Initiative. The Forum sought to:

summarise the existing Australian water plans that have had Indigenous engagement
bring together the Indigenous people and jurisdictional water planners who have previously participated in water planning processes
document the best examples of Indigenous engagement in water planning processes
refine a statement of principles for Indigenous engagement in water planning processes.

Much work has been done in jurisdictions across Australia to improve the participation of Indigenous people in water planning. Some of the best instances of Indigenous engagement, innovations in identifying cultural assets, and methodologies to determine and provide for watering requirements in allocation plans were showcased in presentations over the two days. Highlighted examples included:

the assessment of Indigenous cultural values in the La Grange groundwater plan in Western Australia
the 'Use and Occupancy Mapping' methodology and definitions of 'cultural flows' undertaken by the Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations (MLDRIN)
the Indigenous water reserve in Queensland, established under the Queensland Wild Rivers Act
the Nari Nari Tribal Council's cultural management of environmental waters

Each of these examples were discussed in workshops as participants identified best practice and the limitations of the work done to date by Indigenous communities and researchers to identify cultural assets and determine watering requirements for statutory planning processes. The outcomes of the forum will directly inform the National Water Commission's 2009 Biennial Assessment, with a summary of recommendations for appropriate water management arrangements to achieve Indigenous and cultural values in water planning will be developed. These will incorporate:

a "good practice guide to Indigenous participation in water planning" document that will be developed for Indigenous people to use when they first get involved in a water planning process
a set of principles for engagement with Indigenous people for distribution to forum participants, especially jurisdictional representatives.