A shared journey
We gratefully acknowledge Djaara (the Dja Dja Wurrung people), the Traditional Custodians of Djandak (Dja Dja Wurrung Country) in central Victoria, for over 14 years of partnership.
Four years ago, a Bush Heritage Aboriginal Partnerships Manager approached Rebecca Spindler, Executive Manager for Science and Conservation, and asked about how we can manage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge in a culturally safe way.
We are aware that we have knowledge – important cultural knowledge – that is not ours to use or communicate without permission.
This awareness sparked the need for somewhere to keep that knowledge secure, and only use it with permission and in ways that the knowledge holders want.
Through conversations with non-government organisations, as well as universities and government agencies, it was clear this was a common problem.
There wasn’t a national system that could recognise, respect and protect Indigenous and Cultural Intellectual Property while appropriately sharing it with different knowledge systems. This sparked ‘Conservation Futures’, with seed funding provided by The Ian Potter Foundation to Bush Heritage and The University of Melbourne.
Led by Oliver Costello, a Bundjalung man, and Joanne Griffin, an Olkola woman, the Conservation Futures team undertook two years of consultation with the sector and Traditional Custodian groups and developed case studies with local partners.
Funding for this project was received from the Commonwealth of Australia through the Saving Native Species 'Gamechanger' grant for threatened species.
This led to the concept of an ‘Integrated Knowledge System’, where knowledge of Country and landscapes can be securely stored.
A place that could contain the information on what healthy Country looks and sounds like. This would include data on species, populations, ecosystems and habitat conditions, as well as media of Elders talking about Country, cultural practices and culturally informed land management.
The next step was building it.
Image Information
The group of people behind the innovative Conservation Futures collaboration.
In 2023, John Pender came on board as co-Project Manager. John is an Olkola man and an IT expert. John built on the knowledge gathered by the team from case studies, intergenerational knowledge and his own learnings from walking on Country, and in six months, he had worked with the team to build the system, making it functional and downloadable from app stores.
The next step is finding the funding to bolster the security of knowledge management through something like a blockchain.
We will continue working with Traditional Custodians who want knowledge stored in the Integrated Knowledge System, and continue improving the user experience for storing, managing and sharing knowledge as led by the knowledge holders.
To keep Country healthy, the need to elevate and protect First Nations knowledge is vital, and evermore important in a changing climate.
Conservation Futures is a collaboration across sectors and organisations. Current co-investing partners include: The University of Melbourne; Bush Heritage Australia; Jagun Alliance; The University of Queensland; The Ian Potter Foundation; The Hermon Slade Foundation; CSIRO; Victorian Government Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action; Natural Resource Management (NRM) Regions Australia; The Nature Conservancy; and The Australian Conservation Foundation.
