Environmental economic accounting for interconnected ecosystem assets and ecosystem services in the Mitchell River catchment, Queensland: Technical report – Methodology
View/ Open
File version
Version of Record (VoR)
Author(s)
Smart, James
Hasan, Syezlin
Dyke, Josh
Sinnamon, Viv
Jackson, Sue
Barber, Marcus
McMahon, Joe
Brown, Chris
Curwen, Graeme
Saint Ange, Chantal
Burns, Leah
Fleming, Chris
Connolly, Rod
Burford, Michelle
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2022
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
For tens of thousands of years prior to European invasion and settlement, the ancestors of today’s Traditional Owners of the Mitchell catchment socialised the landscapes of the region as they managed land and water, fulfilled custodial responsibilities under customary law and maintained an economic system that sustained their way of life. This active management by Traditional Owners continues in many localities today, albeit under constrained conditions. As one example, Traditional Owners’ expertise in savanna fire management has abated carbon emissions and generated an average of $3.5 million annually across the Mitchell ...
View more >For tens of thousands of years prior to European invasion and settlement, the ancestors of today’s Traditional Owners of the Mitchell catchment socialised the landscapes of the region as they managed land and water, fulfilled custodial responsibilities under customary law and maintained an economic system that sustained their way of life. This active management by Traditional Owners continues in many localities today, albeit under constrained conditions. As one example, Traditional Owners’ expertise in savanna fire management has abated carbon emissions and generated an average of $3.5 million annually across the Mitchell catchment over the past eight years through supply of global climate regulating services. Whilst acknowledging conceptual misalignments, it is important to recognise that Ecosystem Accounts provide a potential opportunity for documenting and reporting the contribution of Indigenous Traditional Owners in managing Country in ways that enhance supply of many ecosystem services that benefit human society. Ecosystem Accounts also have the potential to track changes in ecosystem condition and the multiple pressures that affect condition. This could be particularly relevant for Indigenous communities because of their strong relationship with and dependence upon Country and the emergence of contemporary Indigenous natural resource management in Australia over the last three decades in which traditional knowledge and mainstream science are combined.
View less >
View more >For tens of thousands of years prior to European invasion and settlement, the ancestors of today’s Traditional Owners of the Mitchell catchment socialised the landscapes of the region as they managed land and water, fulfilled custodial responsibilities under customary law and maintained an economic system that sustained their way of life. This active management by Traditional Owners continues in many localities today, albeit under constrained conditions. As one example, Traditional Owners’ expertise in savanna fire management has abated carbon emissions and generated an average of $3.5 million annually across the Mitchell catchment over the past eight years through supply of global climate regulating services. Whilst acknowledging conceptual misalignments, it is important to recognise that Ecosystem Accounts provide a potential opportunity for documenting and reporting the contribution of Indigenous Traditional Owners in managing Country in ways that enhance supply of many ecosystem services that benefit human society. Ecosystem Accounts also have the potential to track changes in ecosystem condition and the multiple pressures that affect condition. This could be particularly relevant for Indigenous communities because of their strong relationship with and dependence upon Country and the emergence of contemporary Indigenous natural resource management in Australia over the last three decades in which traditional knowledge and mainstream science are combined.
View less >
Copyright Statement
© Griffith University, 2022. Environmental economic accounting for interconnected ecosystem assets and ecosystem services in the Mitchell River catchment, Queensland: Technical report – Methodology is licensed by Griffith University for use under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Australia licence. For licence conditions see creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Subject
Applied economics
Environmental management
Heterodox economics