Text and photos by Harvy King As humankind’s connection to land and water evolved, our development of agriculture produced the availability of abundant food systems. Our civilizations grew; our cultures became more diverse. Religious and spiritual relationships between humans and nature maintained overall well-being and progressively improved the quality of life. Then, something changed. Spirituality

by Michael Davis In the tropical north of Queensland, Australia, at the mouth of the Trinity River that runs into the Pacific Ocean, lies the city of Cairns. Here, at this “edge of the region,” a long coastal stretch of mudflats and mangroves, rich in birdlife and other fauna, gives way to a major harbor

Project Contributor: Kimberley Language Resource Centre Aboriginal Corporation The Kimberley region of Western Australia is one of the most linguistically diverse areas of Australia. At least forty-two languages, plus dialects, were identified post-colonization. According to 2009 data from the Kimberley Development Commission, Aboriginal people form almost forty-eight percent of the population of the region, or

Project Contributors: Helen Verran, David Turnbull Several groups of Australian Aboriginal Peoples are seeking ways to use digital technology (computers, digital cameras, sound recordings), in particular contexts, to keep their own languages and ecological knowledge systems strong. The project “Biocultural Diversity: Elaborating Theoretical Issues for Communities and Policy Makers” is one of several related projects

Project Contributor: Sarah Edwards Dramatic changes to Aboriginal societies in Australia, which started with European colonization over 200 years ago and led to severe cultural erosion and the extinction of many Aboriginal languages, continue today with globalization. Environmental degradation, as a result of ranching, mining, and the influx of feral animals and invasive species, is

Project Contributor: Bruce White The project “Mapping Aboriginal Cultural Values in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area” was originally supported by the Aboriginal Rainforest Council Inc. (ARC), and is now supported by The Aboriginal Rainforest Advisory Committee, which comes under the Wet Tropics Management Authority, as well as the Queensland Natural Resource Management Ltd. The

Project Contributors: Martha Macintyre, Simon Foale Lihir Island, Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a site for gold mining by a large multinational company — Lihir Gold Limited (LGL), which is projected to be operating for thirty-five years. The mining involves open pit extraction with deep-sea tailings disposal — a system that has been strongly criticized

Project Contributors: Martha Macintyre, Simon Foale Fish stocks around Lihir Island in PNG are threatened by over-harvesting, as determined by research conducted by Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization. There is a real need to understand current and projected use of near-shore fishery resources in the context of rapid social and economic changes driven

Project Contributor: Nancy Vander Velde with Jorelik Tibon In previous times, tribal chiefs could designate an island, a section of land or reef as being mo, or “taboo.” These areas were off-limits to people in general, being reserved for only certain personages and purposes. As in other countries, however, changes in biodiversity and culture have

Project Contributor: Nancy Vander Velde with Jorelik Tibon In the Marshall Islands in the Pacific, as is occurring in many other areas of the world, traditional lifestyles are being replaced by urbanized ones. This transformation, compounded by the occurrence of invasive species and other non-native species, is resulting in disconnection from local biodiverse surroundings. Much