An Indigenous-led approach to advance the health and wellbeing of Tebrakunna Country and people of the Coastal Plains nation, north-eastern Tasmania

Where colonisation and dispossession have removed or displaced Aboriginal people from their ancestral lands it has led to the interruption of Indigenous land management. It has also fragmented the flow of cultural and ecological knowledge, with cascading negative impacts on the health of Country and people. 

Many Aboriginal people are progressively reclaiming their culture, language, knowledge, sovereignty, practices, and relationship with nature. The Melaythenner Teeackana Warrana (Heart of Country) Aboriginal Corporation (MTWAC) aims to restore Aboriginal land management practices in north-eastern Tasmania. MTWAC has established the Tebrakunna Ranger Program as a first step towards realising this aspiration, and the potential declaration of an Indigenous Protected Area (IPA).

This cross-hub project, led and co-designed by MTWAC with the University of Tasmania and Macquarie University, is another step towards realising MTWAC’s aspirations to care for Country and People. It will support the development of Healthy Country Planning (HCP) for Tebrakunna and the Country of the Coastal Plains nation as MTWAC progresses toward expanding the connection of its members to ancestral land and sea Country.

MTWAC Indigenous researchers, western scientists, HCP facilitators, Tebrakunna Country Rangers and Aboriginal Community members will work together to identify the priority values of, and threats to, Tebrakunna land and sea Country. They will identify strategies to mitigate threats and improve the conditions of values, to help target efforts to improve and protect the health and wellbeing of Tebrakunna Country and its people.

Approach

Tebrakunna Country is a significant and special place for Tasmanian Aboriginal people and is the land to which most Tasmanian Aboriginal people trace their ancestry. Uses of the area include maintenance of significant cultural sites and practices by Tasmanian Aboriginal people, agriculture, mining, land-based wind farming, tourism and, more recently, Aboriginal land management. It is an important place for migratory species.

Global warming in the area has allowed the southward shift of the long-spined sea urchin, which poses a threat to culturally and economically significant marine resources such as shells used for ‘shell stringing’ practices and abalone. Another change on the horizon is the development of offshore wind energy in Bass Strait.

This cross-hub project will develop approaches to assess the wellbeing benefits of connection with Country and on-Country activities and how spiritual, emotional, physical, socio-economic and environmental changes affect wellbeing. These include:

• HCP processes to identify the targets, threats and viability of Tebrakunna Country and the wellbeing of the Coastal Plains nation (through Indigenous-led workshops with stakeholders to compile environmental, cultural and social data).
• A framework and tools for understanding the wellbeing benefits of on-Country programs and adapting to changing environments.
• A seasonal cultural calendar to understand climate changes to Country and support adaptation.
• A strategic approach to research and monitoring priorities for healthy Country and healthy people.
• Capacity-building to support MTWAC’s aspirations in developing skills and other opportunities, such as in environmental monitoring and assessment.

Cross-hub approach

The project brings together researchers from all four research hubs in the National Environmental Science Program (NESP): the Marine and Coastal Hub; Sustainable Communities and Waste Hub; Climate Systems Hub; and the Resilient Landscapes Hub. Research priorities across the NESP Hubs will be identified through a MTWAC-led Healthy Country Planning process.

The Marine and Coastal Hub will support MTWAC by coordinating research activities across all four NESP hubs and providing resources for the Healthy Country Planning designed to identify priority values and threats to Tebrakunna and the Coastal Plains Nation. It will also work closely with MTWAC to establish Indigenous-led monitoring procedures for giant kelp (myerlee) and ocean conditions, providing opportunities to extend ranger training and share sea country knowledge.

The Sustainable Communities and Waste Hub will contribute to the development of a community wellbeing framework and tools. It will assist in facilitating virtual and on-Country workshops with the MTWAC community to develop a wellbeing framework which can be used alongside culturally appropriate methods to assess wellbeing. It will then work with community to identify factors impacting wellbeing and pathways for ensuring community wellbeing into the future.

The Climate Systems Hub will work with MTWAC to develop a seasonal cultural calendar for Tebrakunna Country to help track climate-driven changes and develop adaptation strategies.

Guided by the Healthy Country Plan and Seasonal Cultural Calendar, the Resilient Landscapes Hub will work with MTWAC to establish monitoring Country guidelines to understand improvements in plant and animal diversity overtime.

Expected outcomes

This project will help to identify priority management, research and monitoring needs, providing MTWAC with a stronger knowledge base and capacity to:

• improve and monitor the health of Tebrakunna Country;
• identify pathways for supporting the wellbeing of Tebrakunna Country and the people of the Coastal Plains nation; and 
• take steps towards establishing an IPA over Tebrakunna land and sea Country aimed at protecting cultural and natural values.

Project location