Children spear fishing in northern Australia.

Promoting Indigenous involvement in the National Water Initiative

We are working with the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance to engage Indigenous people in the water policy debate surrounding the National Water Initiative.

• 14 September 2007 | Updated 14 October 2011

• Indigenous people and the National Water Initiative
• The North Australian Indigenous Water Policy Group
• Enhancing both Indigenous and non-Indigenous community awareness

Indigenous people and the National Water Initiative

A 2007 scoping study of Indigenous interests in tropical river management conducted by CSIRO identified an extremely low awareness of the National Water Initiative (NWI) amongst Indigenous people of northern Australian.

This lack of awareness may impede NWI implementation, the efficiency of water allocations and the equitable distribution of benefits flowing from this nationally significant water policy reform.

The North Australian Indigenous Water Policy Group

Under the leadership of the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance (NAILSMA), the project aims to develop effective means of engaging Indigenous landowners through the formation of an Indigenous Water Policy Group. CSIRO and other partner organisations are supporting the Group in its aims to:

• develop a research program to address the issues arising from the NWI that have the greatest relevance to Indigenous groups
• produce communication materials for Indigenous communities
• endorse policy documents for government, industry, research and non-government sectors.

The Water Policy Group has been meeting to discuss:

• preliminary research into the implications of the NWI for Indigenous people
• property in water and water trading systems
• Indigenous systems of water management.

Enhancing both Indigenous and non-Indigenous community awareness

We are helping develop a communication strategy to:

• improve general public awareness of Indigenous customary uses of water
• improve Indigenous awareness of the National Water Initiative.

A series of case studies of Indigenous water management institutions are planned to be underway from mid-2007.

By building awareness amongst Indigenous and non-Indigenous stakeholders, this project is working towards:

• enhanced Indigenous participation in water planning
• an increased capacity amongst Indigenous organisations to develop policy and contribute to water policy debates.

In response to the scoping study, which identified a need for Indigenous participation in research, Dr Sue Jackson is assisting the Water Policy Group to develop a research program endorsed by representative Indigenous organisations.

The project is funded by Land and Water Australia’s Social and Institutional Research Program for 12 months.

Read more and download fact sheets about the NAILSMA Water policy group [external link].