Remote Australia Online

The Australian native edible plant industry is rapidly expanding. We provide a review of the horticultural research that has been carried out on the top 14 commercially significant Australian native edible plants; Acacia spp. Miller (wattle), Acronychia acidula F. Muell. (lemon aspen), Backhousia citriodora F. Muell. (lemon myrtle), Eremocitrus glauca (Lindl.) Burkill (desert lime) and Microcitrus spp. Swingle (native lime), Hibiscus heterophyllus Vent. and Hibiscus sabdariffa L. (rosella), Kunzea pomifera F. Muell. (muntries), Podocarpus elatus R. Br. ex Endl. (Illawarra plum), Prostanthera spp. La Billardiere (native mint), Santalum acuminatum R. Br. (quandong), Solanum centrale Black (bush tomato), Syzygium leuhmannii F. Muell. (riberry), Tasmannia spp. R. Br. (native pepper), Terminalia ferdinandiana (= T. latipes Benth. subsp. psilocarpa Pedley) (kakadu plum) and Tetragonia tetragonioides (Pallas) Kuntze (warrigal greens). The research on most of these species has focused on propagation, breeding, cultivation, nutritional value and the isolation of natural products. On none of the species has research been completed in all these areas, and three species have no research published on them. We describe horticultural research on two other commercial species, Backhousia anisata Vickery (aniseed myrtle) and Davidsonia pruriens F. Muell. var. pruriens and var. jerseyana (Davidson's plum), and one species with commercial potential, Pringlea antiscorbutica R. Br. ex Hook. f. (kerguelen cabbage). We identify areas that require further research and issues of concern, such as indigenous intellectual property rights and environmental implications.

Poor germination is considered a barrier to the horticultural development of a commercially significant Australian native edible species, <I>Solanum centrale</I> JM Black (bush tomato). Seed viability and the effects of heat, smoke, soaking, leaching, temperature, scarification and NaCl salinity on germination rates and percentages were investigated. Seed dormancy is imposed by the seed coat; once scarified, germination of two seed lots approached the viability levels determined through tetrazolium testing. Germination did not differ at temperatures of 12, 20 or 28°C, indicating that there is no seasonal temperature preference. Soaking and leaching promoted germination in one each out of five experiments, while heat had no effect. Smoke enhanced the total germination of three of the six provenances tested, once dormancy was broken by seed coat scarification. The seeds showed considerable salinity tolerance, germinating in solutions of up to 200mM NaCl, although 0 and 25mM NaCl produced higher total germination.

This document contains two listings of vascular plants occurring in the southern part of the Northern Territory (NT); one in ‘family order’ and the other in ‘genus order’. The taxonomic entities recognised in both lists are identical, but the lists differ in layout and amount of supplementary information provided. Inclusion of taxa is based predominantly on preserved plant specimens lodged at the Northern Territory Herbarium, using current taxonomic names as at the 18 September 2007.

Large areas of land in rural and remote Australia are now owned and/or managed by Aboriginal communities. There are many opportunities to develop agricultural enterprises that satisfy these communities’ material, cultural and social needs, as well as their land management aspirations. However there are at present significant institutional obstacles to this form of agricultural development. This project explores some of the opportunities for developing more diverse and resilient agricultural systems by reviewing the prospects, constraints and some practical experiences of developing mixed enterprises on Aboriginal land.

Angka Akatyerr-akert: A Desert raisin report

Grazing by domestic livestock is one of the most widespread forms of anthropogenic disturbance globally, and can have a major impact on biodiversity and therefore conservation values. Here we use ants to assess the extent to which livestock grazing is compatible with biodiversity conservation in a tropical savanna of northern Australia, where there is growing pressure to intensify pastoral production. We focus on the extent to which ant responses conform with four general patterns identified in a recent global review: (1) soil and vegetation type have a far bigger impact on ant community composition than does grazing; (2) grazing modifies ant species composition but often not species richness or total abundance; (3) a species’ response often varies among habitats; and (4) between 25–50% of the species that can be statistically analysed are responsive to grazing. We sampled ants using pitfall traps at 38 sites in two land systems, based on cross-fence comparisons of areas of different grazing intensities. A total of 130 ant species from 24 genera were recorded, with the fauna dominated by species of Iridomyrmex and Monomorium. Land system was the primary driver of variation in ant species richness and composition, and grazing intensity was related to neither species richness nor total abundance. Only 10% of common species appeared to be impacted by grazing. Overall, ant responses to grazing in our study region were generally consistent with the four global patterns, except that the local fauna seems to be particularly resilient. Such resilience indicates that current grazing management practices are compatible with the conservation of ant biodiversity

The plants of the Flinders Ranges has provided the Adnyamathanha people with plentiful food, medicine, craft and hardware supplies for thousands of years. This book is complete with botanical descriptions and illustrations of many plants, as well as photographs depicting this unique region.

Background Value chain analyses are commonly used to understand socioeconomic and power relationships in the production chain from the initial starting material to a final (generally high value) product. These analyses help in terms of understanding economic processes but also have been used in the context of socioeconomic and socioecological research. Aims of the study However, there is a gap in the ethnopharmacological literature in terms of understanding what relevance a critical analysis of value chains of herbal medicines could have. Here we provide a research framework for achieving such an analysis. Methods An extensive review of the literature available on value chains and their analysis was conducted, based both on a systematic online search of the relevant literature and a hand search of bibliographies and discussions with experts in value chain analysis Results While the concept of value chains is commonly used in the relevant industries, very few studies investigate the value chains of herbal medicines and products derived from them. The studies identified mostly look at socio-ecological aspects, especially in the context of sustainable resource use. We suggest an analytical framework which can help in understanding value chains in the context of ethnopharmacology and can serve as a basis for addressing questions related to value chains and their relevance in ethnopharmacology. Conclusions We identified a crucial gap in current ethnopharmacological and medicinal plant research which impacts on a wide-range of factors relevant for a sustainable, socio-culturally equitable and safe supply of herbal medicines.

The nutritional composition of Australian aboriginal bushfoods. I.

Tables of Composition of Australian Aboriginal Foods

This report was developed following interviews, consultation and surveys with relevant stakeholders in the four main native food growing areas of Australia, northern New South Wales, south east South Australia, Victoria; and south east Queensland. The study demonstrates that there is an industry image change required which better suits the sophisticated culinary scene in Australia. There is a range of options available to continue to drive the change and build opportunities for native food growers and the food industry.

The Australian Native Food Industry is maturing away from wild harvest and R&D is playing an increasingly important role in developing viable cultivation and post-harvest management systems. Particularly pleasing is the increasing interest shown by mainstream food manufacturers and retailers in Australian native foods. The Australian native food industry offers farm income diversification opportunities and scope for Indigenous people to generate additional income streams on Aboriginal-owned land. The purpose of this stocktake was to provide a first ever situation assessment for the Australian native foods industry; to analyse stocktake findings and determine implications for R&D and strategy; to deliver a survey questionnaire that could be used in the future to update the stocktake; and to develop a simple industry database of willing and publically available contacts.

Aboriginal people and their plants - 2nd Edition

Solanum centrale L., the Australian bush tomato, is a perennial undershrub that is geographically restricted and a rare species. A number of commercial plantations have been established to meet market demand for its use as a flavouring. This thesis investigated improved methods of propagation, the breeding system and hybridisation techniques, potential steroidal alkaloids in fruit, the morphological and genetic diversity of S. centrale populations and identified molecular markers for desirable traits.

Plants for Medicines - A Chemical and Pharmacological Survey of Plants in the Australian Region

Effective methods for propagation of native Solanum species are required for mine rehabilitation and the native food industry in Australia. This study investigated seed germination of eight native Solanum species with respect to incubation temperature and the efficacy of germination-promoting compounds gibberellic acid (GA3), the butenolide isolated from smoke (karrikinolide, KAR1) and smoke water (SW). Seeds of all species were tested under a temperature regime of 26/13°C or 33/18°C. In these conditions, seeds of only two species, S. cunninghamii Benth. and S. phlomoides Benth. germinated to high levels without treatment. Of the remaining six species, GA3 alone promoted germination in S. chippendalei Symon, S. diversiflorum F.Muell. and S. sturtianum F.Muell., whereas GA3, KAR1 and SW were effective at promoting germination of S. centrale J.M.Black, S. dioicum W.Fitzg. and S. orbiculatum Dunal ex Poir. to varying degrees. Additional incubation temperatures (10, 15, 20, 25 and 30°C) were examined for S. centrale and S. orbiculatum. For both species, broadly similar patterns were noted in the response of seeds to GA3, KAR1 and SW across all temperatures. However, for S. centrale seeds, germination percentages were higher at 26/13°C than at any of the constant temperatures, and there was a trend of increasing germination with increasing constant temperature for S. orbiculatum seeds. Analysis of seed embryo type and imbibition characteristics and consideration of the subsequent germination results indicates that dormant Solanum seeds possess physiological dormancy.

Bush products provide one of few prospects for new or expanded natural resource-based enterprise activity by indigenous people of remote regions of arid central and tropical northern Australia. Realizing this potential requires development of effective certification or branding, functioning producer associations and joint ventures if returns to Aboriginal people are to improve. Nine steps are suggested as part of a strategy to address the challenges facing viable bush product enterprises.

Eco–Enterprises and Terminalia ferdinandiana : “Best Laid Plans” and Australian Policy Lessons. This paper reviews practical policy lessons from trade in a dietary supplement (or nutraceutical) processed from Terminalia ferdinandiana ( Combretaceae ), which contains extremely high levels of natural ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Most production is from wild harvest by Aboriginal people, who get USD 14 per kilogram (kg) for picked, sorted fruit. However, the main Australian company involved is struggling to get the 12 tons/year it requires, and could market much more. Although Aboriginal people ideally should benefit economically from harvest of T. ferdinandiana, there are major challenges to this objective, including Australia’s high labor costs compared to Asia, Africa, and Latin America where T. ferdinandiana can be grown. In addition, although Australia is a signatory to and plays a leading role in the international Convention on Biodiversity (CBD), this has meant little in practice so far. “Cultural branding” and certification of organic, wild harvested T. ferdinandiana fruit collected by Aboriginal people working in partnership with commercial companies offers a possibility for Aboriginal people to continue to benefit from wild harvest or enrichment plantings. However, even the establishment of commercial horticultural production within Australia faces several challenges. For Australia to maintain and develop the international market, future development of this bush food must include: (a) implementation of existing international and national policies on protection of genetic resources; (b) formation of a producer association to increase production efficiencies; (c) functioning partnerships between Aboriginal producers and commercial partners that guarantee and expand reliable supply and develop cultural branding and certification as marketing tools; and (d) scientific research into improving T. ferdinandiana fruit yields and production methods, based on improved resource management and efficient processing methods.

This Handbook is a guide for people who are involved in natural resource management (NRM). It will help people work strongly with Indigenous Ecological knowledge (IEK) and Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP). The Handbook provides information, and creates awareness about working between IEK, NRM and ICIP. This can help to make sure Aboriginal peoples’ cultural knowledge and practices are respected and protected. At the same time, it can also assist in land, heritage and environmental management and conservation. This Handbook is a guide for Aboriginal people, to: > Understand how intellectual property can be used to benefit you; > Prevent other people wrongly using your culture and knowledge; and > Strengthen the use and practice of your knowledge on country. Many Aboriginal people, communities and organisations throughout the Northern Territory are thinking about, or are developing enterprises that use bush products and cultural knowledge. They are seeking ways that this work can be supported. Others may wish to find better ways to support the maintenance and protection of their cultural knowledge and practices on country. Support for on-country transfer of knowledge between older and young people is vitally important, and there needs to be more support for this.

Solanum centrale is the focal species of the research reported here because it has an existing commercial value and has provided the bulk of commercial bush food produce sourced from desert Australia. The fruit resembles a raisin in size and shape but certainly not in taste. The wider native food industry calls this fruit the bush tomato. Note that in central Australia the fruit of other species is commonly called bush tomato. All Aboriginal dialects have names for the plant, which include Akatyerr(e), Katyerre, Kampurarrpa and Yakajirri. Solanum centrale is found naturally throughout the central and western desert regions of Australia (SA, WA and NT) that are low rainfall, arid regions. Solanum centrale has been, and still is, an important food plant for Aboriginal people in desert Australia. It is a plant that requires water (from rainfall or irrigation) for flowering and fruiting; however, it is well able to withstand and survive periods of drought. The plant responds positively to disturbances such as fire and mechanical damage (e.g. roadside grading). In the modern native foods industry, which dates back approximately 30 years, the fruit of S. centrale has held an important place. The fruit has been in demand over this period and continues to be sought after as an ingredient for a variety of end uses in the food industry.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi convey well documented benefits to plant growth in domesticated species. We investigated AM in Solanum centrale, a desert shrub of central Australia and traditional food for Indigenous Australians. AM were observed in roots of S. centrale from wild and cultivated stands of different ages and management regimes. Greenhouse seedlings grown in sterilised sand were provided with no or minor additions of phosphorus, with or without AM fungi. Inoculated seedlings not fertilised with phosphorus exhibited moderate AM formation. Added phosphorus resulted in an absence of AM. Inoculation did not significantly affect dry weight, root length and plant height of seedlings fertilised with phosphorus but significantly increased the size of unfertilised seedlings. Inoculation significantly increased root phosphorus content, decreased root to shoot ratio and decreased root biomass at all phosphorus additions, despite the absence of observable AM. Thus it appears AM fungi in the root zone influenced certain plant characteristics, regardless of phosphorus nutrition. Overall, S. centrale benefited from the presence of AM through increased phosphorus uptake, but only when the seedlings were growing in soil with extremely low available phosphorus. The response was immediate in our experimental system and is likely to be important in the wild.

SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS 1. Some states, especially those that are members of the Group of Like-Minded Megadiverse Countries, would like to see more rapid progress on the creation of an international regime on traditional knowledge. 2. No such regime exists at the moment, but there is incremental progress towards such a regime. 3. Most standard-setting on traditional knowledge that takes the form of binding positive law is occurring at the level of state law-making. 4. The economic case for a treaty on traditional knowledge is not clear. Because such knowledge often functions as an input into other research it is hard to value economically. A treaty may simply depress demand for this kind of knowledge. This will suit the indigenous groups who wish simply to safeguard their knowledge. It will not suit states or indigenous groups that wish to commercialize such knowledge. 5. The desire of some states to move towards an international regime must take account of US business interests and agendas. 6. The key to any successful treaty at the international level is harmonious and cooperative relationships between indigenous groups and national governments. Work by the experts at the CBD shows that currently in many cases relations between indigenous groups and national governments are far from harmonious. 7. Any treaty on traditional knowledge would have to accommodate the diversity of traditional knowledge and different national standards of protection. The principles of reciprocity, national treatment and mutual recognition all require, at least to some degree, common standards. There are tensions between these principles and the goal of accommodating diversity. 8. A treaty could commit states to a form of positive comity in this field by obliging states to explore the use of memoranda of understanding (MOU). MOU have the advantage that they are flexible and would allow states to negotiate the enforcement of different standards of protection on an individual basis. At the same time they impose a degree of ‘bindingness’ on states. An incremental approach based on MOU would help to build a community of officials concerned with the enforcement of traditional knowledge, something that is vital to successful regulation in this field. 9. One of the key lessons of TRIPS for a treaty on traditional knowledge is that states should be conservative when it comes to creating new standards, but radical on the issue of enforcement. The issue of how to make an international regime on traditional knowledge enforceable has received insufficient attention. 10. At this stage of the evolution of protection for traditional knowledge a treaty should not attempt to set substantive international norms of protection (for example, by creating an international norm of misappropriation of traditional knowledge). Instead states should focus on creating a treaty that does not discourage the development of national approaches and norm-creation on traditional knowledge, but does offer the members of such a treaty a means of cooperating and coordinating on the enforcement of traditional knowledge. 11. The fundamental role of a treaty on traditional knowledge should be to coordinate the creation of an international enforcement pyramid. The various technical discussion papers produced by WIPO’s Intergovermental Committee suggest that many of the elements of this pyramid are already in place at the national level. Theoretical and empirical work shows that enforcement pyramids are widely used by business regulators because they work. 12. Specifically, this would involve members in the establishment of a Global Bio-Collecting Society that would coordinate enforcement work at the national level so as to constitute an international enforcement pyramid. 13. One possibility that should be explored is whether key organizations such as the WIPO, the FAO and the CBD might be able to establish a Global Bio-Collecting Society as a joint initiative. 14. The treaty should also establish a review mechanism and a set of indicators that could be used to evaluate the progress of states on the regulation of TGKP. A list of indicators could include progress on land rights issues related to TGKP; the implementation of a best practice declaration requirement for patents dealing with TGKP; and assistance rendered to other states on enforcement, including the number of MOU signed with other states. 15. The issue of declaring the origins of genetic resources and/or the use of traditional knowledge should be dealt with through the development of best practice guidelines. The major patent offices of developed and developing countries should participate in the formulation of such guidelines but, if necessary, it could be done by the major patent offices of developing countries. 16. The potential members of a treaty on traditional knowledge should, drawing on the experience of the fairtrade label, use the treaty as a means of developing a co-ordinated approach amongst themselves to labelling and certification. 17. A treaty would have to be careful not to undermine the work that indigenous groups and international organizations have done on broader indigenous issues.

The protection of traditional knowledge by means of intellectual property rights is one of the major concerns of international organizations. Less attention has been paid to the relationship between systems of indigenous innovation and intellectual property. Using Australia as a case study, the paper argues that indigenous innovation systems are located within a connectionist cosmological framework. The distinctive institutional features of this innovation system are identified. Key is that innovation in systems maintains the health of other systems. The commodity-based nature of intellectual property systems does not suit this kind of innovation. Property rights in land matter to this innovation system far more than intellectual property. Forms of intellectual property based on the right to distinguish one?s product in the market will generally be more useful to indigenous innovation than commodity regimes such as the patent system. Voluntary certification systems can probably be harnessed to much greater effect by indigenous business enterprises.

Research was undertaken to gain a preliminary understanding of the horticultural potential of Solanum centrale L. (bush tomato) in central Australia to support the unpredictable supply of wild-harvested product. Specifically, the effects of irrigation (1L/h, 2L/h and 3L/h) and of weed competition (presence, absence) on the performance/yield of three geographic varieties of bush tomato (sourced from Amberlindum, Napperby and Utopia) were evaluated. Yield of plants irrigated at 2L/h was greater than those at 1L/h but did not differ from those irrigated at 3L/h, suggesting that there is a threshold at which irrigation is optimal. While there was considerable variability in form and yield of the three different cultivars, there was no statistical difference between the three varieties of bush tomato in terms of yield under varying rates of irrigation. Unsurprisingly, weed competition had a significant effect on yield of bush tomato, with plants growing with weeds having 15% of the yield of those grown in the absence of weeds. These results suggest that the potential for bush tomato production on a commercial scale requires several follow-up questions that need investigation. Significant questions that need to be addressed prior to horticultural production include careful characterisation of bush tomato genotypes, understanding the interactions of these genotypes with the production environments (i.e. phenotypic plasticity), the development of sustainable production systems (e.g. optimal irrigation rates, mechanical harvesting) and the integration of horticultural production goals with the goals of Aboriginal economic development.

Rainbow Valley Conservation Reserve (‘the Reserve’) was established in 1984 and fire has been used as a management tool since that time, primarily to reduce the risk of wildfires, but also to enhance biodiversity. All previous fire plans, reports and paper maps for the Reserve have been reviewed. The Geographic Information System (GIS) data for the park have been checked and re-organised, and the perimeters of additional fires shown on paper maps have been digitised. No wildfire has occurred in the Reserve since 1984. It is possible that many of the spinifex-dominated parts of the Reserve were burnt by the large wildfires in the summer of 1975–76 after the exceptionally high rainfall in 1974–75; however, we could not confirm this. We speculate that prior to 1975, spinifex dominated parts of the park were burnt every few decades, either by wildfires or by deliberate human ignitions. The past use of fire by pastoralists is unknown. We also have no information on the use of fire by traditional Aboriginal owners of the area but assume that fire was used actively prior to the appropriation of the land for grazing cattle. Based on the prescribed burning reports and maps it would appear that active fire management has been restricted to three main periods: 1984, 1989–93 and 2001–05. However, it is likely that some prescribed fires were not mapped or recorded in the past. There has been more prescribed burning in parts of the park that are accessible by vehicle (spinifex sand plain and sand dune), but there has also been some burning in the rocky hills. The earlier periods of prescribed burning created both large and small patches, some of which have a strategic value for limiting potential wildfires. The recent burning (past five years) has focused on strategic burns, mostly relatively narrow linear burns, but also including extensive off-reserve burns adjacent to the boundary. Large parts of the Reserve have moderate to high fuel loads of spinifex grassland, mostly greater than 20 years old. Despite plans for strategic breaks around and within the Reserve, the implementation of these burns is far from complete. Therefore there is still a strong possibility that large parts of the Reserve could be burnt in a single wildfire, whether the ignition is inside or outside the Reserve boundary and whether started by lightning, by accident or by deliberate human ignition. The Reserve was not affected by the extensive wildfires of 2002, which did not come close to the boundary and therefore did not test the fire breaks that had been established recently along sections of the boundary. This review of fire history provides some useful insight into how much fire management can be achieved with the current staffing levels and training processes. Records from this and other reserves show that it is extremely difficult to implement an extensive network of burnt fire breaks. Work is now required to produce a fire management strategy that will guide fire management on the Reserve over the next decade, based on new resource information and ecological understanding. Ongoing management should involve a combination of strategic burnt breaks and extensive patch burning, and fire mapping and record keeping should be given a higher priority than in the past.