Short Presentation (6 minutes) Australian Marine Sciences Association 2025 Conference

Empowering Indigenous Australians benefit from environmental research. (120129)

Teagan Shields 1 , Leah Talbot 2
  1. Curtin University, Wembley, WA, Australia
  2. NAILSMA, Northern Territory

Indigenous Australians have been lobbying for decades to have a voice in setting National Science Research priorities. Currently, there is no effective mechanism for ensuring a National Indigenous dialogue to inform environmental research programs.

NIERN is an Indigenous-led solution that will shift the paradigm in environmental research to a new state where co-governance and Indigenous-led approaches are the standard of conduct in Australian environmental research. NIERN has been designed as a mutually beneficial platform for both, Indigenous groups and the environmental research sector anchored in the principles of right-way science.

 

NIERN will empower Indigenous Australians to participate in, benefit from, and determine the environmental research that occurs on their Country.

Our presentation will focus on the foundations on NIERN and key impacts for environmental research; 

  1. Indigenous knowledges and perspectives determine the direction and priorities of the environmental research.
  2. Culturally informed environmental research policies and practices; that protect and strengthen Indigenous rights and knowledge.
  3. Building two-way capacity in right-way science and Indigenous-led environmental research.
  4. Decolonise agreement making and uphold data sovereignty rights.