Critical understandings from land management systems for ‘closing the gap’ in desert Australia
Critical understandings from land management systems for ‘closing the gap’ in desert Australia Conference Paper
FaCHSIA Policy Think Tank
- Author(s): Davies, J
- Published: 2008
Abstract: Critical understandings from land management systems for ‘closing the gap’ in desert Australia - Aboriginal land management as a sector that produces a number of complementary benefits. This paper focuses on the health and well being outcomes for Aboriginal people which are important given that improved Aboriginal health is a national priority. By pursuing Aboriginal health and well being through engagement in land management, the complementary outcomes indicated on this slide can also be pursued – in an economically efficient way. Land management can be envisaged as sitting at the centre of a system that produces these outcomes. A strong land management sector certainly needs the building blocks set out in Budget 08 for “closing the gap”. But land management is also an important strategy to contribute to these ‘closing the gap’ outcomes Land management does impact positively on health outcomes (solid arrows). And on economic participation, though generation of monetary income is constrained due to market failure (hard to capture market value from outcomes such as improved biodiversity that benefit all Australians. Also, harnessing the same motivations and world views that drive Aboriginal land management generates motivations for schooling and educational outcomes. Potentially land management may impact positively on other sectors – early childhood, governance and leadership, and maybe more widely. The fundamental reason for land management having a key role is that it has a foundational positive impact on social determinants of health. This is through recognition of strengths of remote Aboriginal landowners in traditional knowledge, ways of organising productive activity that are based on still-strong social norms of customary owner/manager rights and responsibilities. These foundations engender participants’ sense of control over their lives, bring outside recognition, and form or strengthen new skills, confidence, and a sense of identity, particularly important for young people. These things are all linked together and are social determinants of health.
- Urls: http://www.nintione.com.au/resource/JocelynDavies_FaCHSIApolicythinktank_12Sep08.pps, https://web.archive.org/web/20180405122133/http://www.desertknowledgecrc.com.au/resource/JocelynDavies_FaCHSIApolicythinktank_12Sep08.pps
- Publisher Location: Canberra
- Keywords: wellbeing