Jarvis, D., Graham, V., Coggan, A., Pert, P., and De Valck, J. (2024) Towards a better understanding of First Nations perspectives of monitoring, management, and values of Great Barrier Reef Sea Country. Report. CSIRO Publishing, Australia.

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Abstract

The objective of the Sustainable usE And Benefits fOR mariNE (SEABORNE) project is to improve understanding about who is using the Great Barrier Reef (GBR; the Reef), how the Reef is being used and the benefits enjoyed from this use, focussing on existing data. Improved access to this information will assist management decision-making and enable the evaluation of progress made towards the following ‘human dimension’ objective from the Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan (Australian Government 2021). Focussing on the Cairns Area Plan of Management (CAPOM) and the Keppels Capricorn Bunkers (KCB) spatial areas, the SEABORNE project established and tested a proof of concept to organise existing data and quantify benefits derived from GBR ecosystem services by end users. Hereafter, this is referred to as an Ecosystem Service Value Chain (ESVC). End users included households, Reef-dependent businesses, Traditional Owners, and Governments. Through an ESVC lens, the project team looked at existing data sets to determine which data linked together to give a full account of value of an ecosystem service to an end user and which data provides additional information. This is a form of benefit transfer. The ESVC approach is a linear approach. Working with First Nations people it became clear that this approach was not appropriate to understand the richness of interaction of First Nations people with the Sea Country of the Reef and the values generated from this. Therefore a different, more culturally appropriate approach was taken.

Several First Nations groups have Traditional Use of Marine Resources Agreements (TUMRA) -based management governance within the spatial focus area of the SEABORNE project. The Yirrganydji people represented by the Dawul Wuru Aboriginal Corporation, the Darumbal people represented by Darumbal Enterprises Pty Ltd, the Bailai, Gurang, Gooreng Gooreng, Taribelang Bunda People represented by the Gidarjil Development Corporation Ltd and the Woppaburra people represented by the Woppaburra Saltwater Aboriginal Corporation. All of these groups engaged in the SEABORNE project through a series of workshops which were designed to be flexible in their implementation but were aimed to facilitate discussion about: 1. Workshop participants’ perspectives of the use and benefits provided to their people by their traditional Country, and to consider how well these differing worldviews align with the western science perspective underpinning SEEA EA; 2. Monitoring activities participants have been involved in on their Country to date; and 3. Participants' aspirations for monitoring and managing Country in the future, including identifying existing data gaps, and suggesting additional datasets and information that would be beneficial for their future caring for Country practices.

Whilst each group’s mental model of their connections to, and values of, their Sea Country vary, a key theme in each is the importance of culture, which underpins and overlaps almost all the uses of, and benefits from, Country that were identified. Key concepts and ideas emerging from each workshop are presented. Of note is the non-linear reflection of the relationship between ecosystem services and people which is at odds with the standard western view of the flow of values from ecosystem services. A reconfiguring of the flow between ecosystems and people is proposed. While the involvement of First Nations peoples in monitoring and research is increasing, and now includes co-design of activities in some instances, it remains very rare for these activities to be First Nations-led or driven by the needs of First Nations peoples. Furthermore, historically, the data collected by the research and monitoring programs across the Reef has been owned and stored by the western science researchers and/or funders. Whilst in some instances First Nations groups are able to keep copies of the data they have helped collect, they are not the primary holders, and managers, of the data. All Traditional Owner groups expressed ambitions to lead monitoring and management projects on Country in the future, to be in the position where they can determine what types of projects take place, where they take place, and what happens to the information.

Item ID:	88891
Item Type:	Report (Report)
Keywords:	First Nations perspectives; Traditional Owners; Great Barrier Reef; SEEA EA; Ecosystem services; Environmental Economic Accounting - Ecosystem Accounting
Copyright Information:	© Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation 2024. The information contained in this report has been checked by the people who provided it, who have given their consent for the report to be publicly released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives Licence 4.0 Australia. This means people can share the information provided they do not use it commercially, and they acknowledge the source. If they mix, transform or change the material, it cannot be shared with others.
Funders:	Australian Government’s Reef Trust and Great Barrier Reef Foundation (Reef Trust Partnership).
Projects and Grants:	Sustainable usE And Benefits fOR MariNE (SEABORNE) project
Date Deposited:	22 Oct 2025 02:25
FoR Codes:	38 ECONOMICS > 3801 Applied economics > 380105 Environment and resource economics @ 50% 38 ECONOMICS > 3899 Other economics > 389902 Ecological economics @ 50%
SEO Codes:	15 ECONOMIC FRAMEWORK > 1599 Other economic framework > 159902 Ecological economics @ 50% 21 INDIGENOUS > 2104 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage and culture > 210402 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander connection to land and environment @ 50%
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