Abstract
This article focuses on environmental and natural resource management involving indigenous Australians, in the context of land, waters, seas, natural resources and wildlife. Modern approaches to these issues go further than passive conservation and adopt the concept of sustainable development, which includes the sustainable use of land and resources. Sustainable use is essential for indigenous cultural continuity and for establishing a contemporary base for indigenous communities. Australian indigenous peoples are still in the process of a long struggle to regain control of their lands and resources. There is also an inadequate "fit" between traditional forms of indigenous land ownership and control and the non-indigenous political and legal system. However, there is a wide range of experience and potential opportunities that are crucially important to all Australians. The primary focus of the article will be to explore these issues in the context of native title and the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) that introduced a framework designed to facilitate the negotiation of indigenous land use agreements (ILUAs). In future many Australian regimes for environmental and natural resources management, involving indigenous people, will be negotiated through ILUAs. The three forms of ILUAs (Body Corporate Agreements, Area Agreements and Alternative Procedure Agreements) will be discussed. The key issues relate to who/what bodies can be parties, decisions relating to native title, the doing of future acts, compensation for past, intermediate period or future acts and a wide range of planning, management and use issues. They may also involve project approval and benefit sharing issues. The Tumut-Brungle Area Agreement (ILUA), involving a mining proposal near Adelong (NSW), will be used as an example of this process. The wider implications of ILUAs as a form of native title settlement, environmental and natural resource management are considered along with the more far reaching approaches to comprehensive regional agreements as illustrated by Canadian approaches such as Nunuvut.
Original language | English |
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Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Environmental and Planning Law Journal |
Publication status | Published - 2000 |
Keywords
- Australia
- Australia. Native Title Act 1993
- environmental protection
- indigenous peoples
- land management
- land tenure
- land use
- native title (Australia)