IWRA Proceedings

Although environmental flow assessments and allocations have been practiced in Australia for nearly 20 years, to date they have not effectively incorporated indigenous values. In many cases, even though indigenous people rely substantially on aquatic resources, environmental flows have been assumed to be an acceptable surrogate for the protection of indigenous interests. This paper argues that the need to adapt flow assessments to account for linkages and dependencies between people and rivers is equally applicable to developed world indigenous contexts such as Australia as it is to developing countries where there has been some attempt to address indigenous or subsistence water requirements. Relying on insights gained through a study of indigenous water values in northern Australia recently completed, we outline the limitations of and challenges to current environmental flow determinations for their capacity to assess and protect indigenous instream values. We focus on the economic benefit derived from customary resource use, noting that under Australian law, the Native Title Act (Cwth) 2004 guarantees native title holders unfettered customary rights in water. Given the large indigenous land holdings in northern Australia and increasing demand for water based economic activity, there are compelling reasons for testing and improving water planning and allocation decisions...