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 Melythina Tiakana 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 project, led and co-designed by MTWAC with the University of Tasmania, 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 priority the 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 of Tebrakunna Country and 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 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 in adapting to changing environments.
• 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 involvement

The project spans all four research hubs in the National Environmental Science Program (NESP). In addition to the Marine and Coastal Hub, these are the Resilient Landscapes Hub, the Sustainable Communities and Waste Hub and the Climate Systems Hub.

The Marine and Coastal Hub will coordinate this project across all four NESP Hubs and through MTWAC-led HCP processes will:

• support the identification of priority values and threats to the sea Country of Tebrakunna, including coastal wetlands;
• identify opportunities to build capacity, such as training opportunities in sea Country management for Aboriginal Rangers;
• identify opportunities in sea Country condition assessments and monitoring, such as species of significance and the Ancient coastline and land bridge;
• contribute to an understanding of issues affecting cultural food sources and the development of renewable energy infrastructure; and
• contribute to the knowledge base required to support MTWAC’s aspirations of gaining an IPA.

The Resilient Landscapes Hub will assist in re-establishing a cultural burning program at Tebrakunna. This includes building on cultural knowledge and practice already returned to Country to understand improvements in plant and animal diversity.

The Sustainable Communities and Waste Hub will contribute to the development of a community wellbeing framework and tools. It will assist in facilitating on-Country workshops with MTWAC to develop, through a co-designed wellbeing framework, culturally appropriate methods and tools to assess wellbeing.

The Climate Systems Hub will work with MTWAC to develop a seasonal cultural calendar for Tebrakunna Country and will provide expertise in terrestrial climate projections, sea level rise, ocean warming and storm events.

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;
• understand connections between 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