This project examines questions of power and inclusion in debates over conservation, mining, development approvals, environmental reform, and lawmaking processes in Australia, the Pacific, and global fora. It will work to develop reform proposals in policy development and implementation as well as governance process, with a particular focus on Indigenous peoples, local communities, and ecosystems.
Through two complementary workstreams in addition to a participatory workshop, the project will build relationships, awareness, and new lines of collaborative research, education, and knowledge exchange. The first project aims to explore the perspective of Indigenous communities in the Pacific and Australia on what an inclusive biodiversity policy should entail, with a focus on access and benefit sharing and seabed mining. It will utilise dialogic and listening processes to gain insight. The second project aims to explore the relationship between power and inclusion by identifying a few key reform sites and working to improve awareness, dialogue, and knowledge co-production to create more equitable outcomes. The Collaborative Workshop will build on the work of the projects, bringing together research and partners from various legal, governmental, and Indigenous groups to create a roadmap for empowerment and inclusion research and action. Additional outputs from the workshop will include blogs, podcasts and opinion pieces, and may be developed into a journal special issue.
