Executive Summary
The Native Oceans Community Exchange Program is a partnership
between Ocean Revolution and the North Australian Indigenous Land
and Sea Management Alliance (NAILSMA).
The exchange program creates opportunities for Indigenous and
Traditional peoples to share knowledge, skills and experiences
about the biological and cultural values and conservation and
management of marine and coastal environments. It builds on early
work by Ocean Revolution in fostering ecological collaborations
within the Comcaac people of Sonora Mexico.
Supported by The Christensen Fund, the inaugural exchange
featured an on-country visit to Mexico by Indigenous land and sea
managers from Australia in January 2008, and a visit to northern
Australia by the Comcaac of Sonora Mexico in November 2008.
In conjunction with the exchange, activities and projects
conducted throughout 2008 built on the learnings and experiences
gained by the exchange participants. These included: a scholarship
program for the Comcaac; and collaboration between the Comcaac and
the Australians on the I-tracker project. I-Tracker is a network of
Indigenous Land and Sea managers who are working together to
collect and share information for better land and sea
management.
The exchange proved to be a huge success with cultural knowledge
and marine turtle management knowledge exchanged freely between the
participants; resulting in greater understanding and the exchange
of new skills.
However the greatest achievement of the program was the
motivation and camaraderie it inspired —a message clearly
expressed by participants in the stories Oceans Apart; United in
Action and Adding our Grain of Sand.
The spiritual outcomes of the exchange can be linked solidly to
long-term and tangible outcomes. Notable examples include:
- The Comcaac were successful in obtaining grants from the
Mexican Government for turtle management projects. The Comcaac
report that it was the inspiration gained from meeting the
Australian delegates, whose skill in presentation and successful
working relationship with government motivated them to make their
own presentation to the Mexican Government.
- Torres Strait Islanders finalised eight community management
plans for turtle and dugong during 2008. The Islanders attribute
the motivation gained by witnessing the dire situation faced by
turtle populations in Mexico and learning about the Comcaac
decision to stop hunting turtle as a result, as a contributor to
the Island communities’ success in finalising the complex
plans in a short timeframe.
Torres Strait Regional Authority Chairperson Toshie Kris spoke
about the success of the Torres Strait communities in finalising
their community based turtle and dugong management plans and summed
up the value of the exchange program.
“The amount of information that you could exchange, from
one Indigenous group to another, it was never… you
can’t weigh that in dollars. You could weigh it in gold, but
not in dollars. It was worth a lot more than what money could buy.
And I think that really helped,” said Mr Kris.
Based on the success of the exchange, Ocean Revolution and the
North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance have
committed to continue their collaboration in the Native Oceans
Exchange Program.
