Using Traditional Ecological Knowledge to Develop Closure Criteria in Tropical Australia

Authors: Smith, HD

DOI https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/852_6

Cite As:
Smith, HD 2008, 'Using Traditional Ecological Knowledge to Develop Closure Criteria in Tropical Australia', in AB Fourie, M Tibbett, I Weiersbye & P Dye (eds), Mine Closure 2008: Proceedings of the Third International Seminar on Mine Closure, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, pp. 47-56, https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/852_6

Download citation as:   ris   bibtex   endnote   text   Zotero


Abstract:
The Northern Land Council is one of a number of similar statutory bodies created by the Australian Federal Government upon implementation of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act in 1976. One of its more important functions is to act as a land manager on behalf of Australian Aborigines living in the northern part of Australia’s Northern Territory on Aboriginal freehold land. The ultimate and desirable outcome for rehabilitating exhausted mines is to leave the affected land in a state that has future value for use by subsequent generations. For companies to meet this goal, and ensure that stakeholder satisfaction is obtained, consultation with land owners prior to mine closure is essential. Although best practice now dictates that planning for closure should be undertaken at the commencement of the mining phase, this was often not done and represents a problem for older mines now facing closure. This paper describes practical means that have ensured effective consultation and achieved acceptable levels of stakeholder satisfaction. Achieving stakeholder satisfaction requires that traditional ecological knowledge is included in the mine closure process. Results demonstrate that both aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people perceive that there is a role for traditional ecological knowledge, not only for development of closure criteria, but throughout the environmental impact assessment process. A means by which this information can be obtained in a culturally sensitive manner, and used in conjunction with western science to achieve a mutually acceptable long-term outcome for mine rehabilitation, is presented. Outcomes are compared to those from systems in place in Canada and New Zealand, and barriers to success in Australia are discussed.

References:
Australian Government (1979) Environmental Requirements for the Nabarlek uranium project, Department of the
Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Canberra.
Australian Government (1999) Environmental Requirements of the Commonwealth of Australia for the Operation of
Ranger Uranium Mine, Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Canberra.
Chan, L., Froese, K., Hodge, A., Knapp, R., Mudder, T., Price, B., Raven, K., Robertson, A. and Smith, L. (2007)
Review of remediation alternatives for the Anvil Range mine complex – Final Report, Deloitte and Touche Inc.,
Toronto.
Cleghorn, C. (1999) Aboriginal peoples and mining in Canada: Six case studies, Mining Watch, Canada.
Tipa, G. and Teirney, L. (2006) Using the Cultural Health Index: how to assess the health of streams and waterways,
Ministry for the Environment, Wellington, New Zealand.
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (1999) Traditional Knowledge – building linkages between
environmental conventions and initiatives, Committee on Science and Technology, 3rd Session, Recife.
Wolfensohn, J.D. (2004) Indigenous Knowledge – Local Pathways to Global Development, World Bank, Africa
Division.
Yukon Government (2005) DRAFT Yukon Mine Site Reclamation and Closure Policy for New Mines, Whitehorse,
Canada.




© Copyright 2024, Australian Centre for Geomechanics (ACG), The University of Western Australia. All rights reserved.
View copyright/legal information
Please direct any queries or error reports to repository-acg@uwa.edu.au