"Reflections on research with indigenous peoples in desert Australia"

1. Reflections on research with
indigenous peoples in desert Australia
Dr Digby Race
Principal Research Leader
2012-14

2. 2
Climate change adaptation & energy futures
Key research questions:
1. What are the feasible options for adaptation to climate
change in remote Australia that enhance community
liveability & business viability?
2. What are the feasible options for adoption of renewable
energy & energy efficiency measures by households &
businesses in remote Australia (inc. transport systems)?

3. 370% area receives <500 mm rainfall/year

4. 4

5. Projected impacts for Central Australia
• Increase in days per year over 35°C from 90 (current) to 132-182
(by 2070) – leading to increased heat stress (heat-related deaths
could increase by as much as 10 times in QLD & the NT by 2100, Hughes &
McMichael 2011);
• Increase in sickness & hospital admissions (& associated lost
days at work/school & additional care required) (health care services
cost $5,000 per person & expected to nearly double by 2050, Hughes &
McMichael 2011);
• Extreme weather events can compound the delivery of health
services – increase demand yet limit provision (flooding & cyclones in
QLD during 2010-11 caused $18 million damage to health services);

6. Projected impacts for Central Australia
(continued ...)
• Impacts on the productivity of agricultural industries (contribution
to Aust’s GDP from agriculture to decline by 20% in 2100, with most decline
concentrated in Northern Aust, Garnaut 2008);
• Significant increase in the required energy for cooling, but a
small reduction in the energy required for heating;
• Costs for maintaining roads & other infrastructure expected to
rise.
6Crossing the Todd River in Alice Springs (Photos: D. Race & J. Addison)

7. Exposure in Central Australia
7Source: J. Addison 2013; graph design: R. Brown

8. 8
… many languages, many nations

9. ‘Closing the Gap’
Gap between Indigenous & non-indigenous Australians
(Aust. per capita GDP = US$62K; US = US$54K; UK = US$46K):
• Child welfare (double child mortality),
• Education (attendance 25% lower),
• Employment (<50% in regular employment),
• Health & wellbeing (life expectancy 10 years lower),
• Community,
• Constitutional recognition.
Economy of remote communities & outstations:
• Distant from markets & service centres,
• Scattered & mobile population,
• Low economies of scale,
• Expensive transport.
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10. Living cross-cultural in two worlds
• Culture & ‘country’ inextricably linked (healthy country, healthy
culture),
• Family is primary authority,
• Community before self,
• Resources shared among community (c/f private ownership),
• Different priorities for employment, housing & transport,
• Desert peoples have had the most rapid transformation (>1950s),
• Enduring impact of colonisation (recent contact with contrasting
culture),
• Living between different cultures, dual laws
& mixed expectations,
• Dual narrative of resilience & vulnerability.
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11. 11

12. Systems approach
Climate
change
impacts
Climate change
adaptation
Energy
futures
Futures
by
design
Increasing heat (more
intensive ‘heatwaves’)
affecting community health &
workforce productivity
Increasing extreme
weather events
(flooding, storms)
Increasing operating
costs (for cooling) &
reducing productivity
(agriculture)
Damaging
infrastructure &
limiting transportation
Changes –
incremental &
transformative
Changing work practices
(outdoor activities informed
by current weather)
Adopt energy &
water efficiencies
(desert living)
Increasing use of
affordable renewable
energy – domestic &
business
Invest in more robust
infrastructure –
domestic, business &
transport

13. Cross-cultural action research
10 steps for an effective research approach:
• Take time to look, listen & learn,
• Engage ‘two-world’ people in research,
• Adopt their ‘livelihood’ framework,
• Frame research around their priorities,
• Research ‘conversation’ that informs & empowers (in their language),
• Follow their cultural rules for interaction,
• Their experiences & ideas need to be valued,
• Allow them to trial, adapt & innovate with ‘solutions’,
• Only the ‘solutions’ they value will be sustained,
• Adopt a ‘two-world’ research approach.
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