Collective Aspirations

In 2016 and in partnership with Terrain, the Authority invited a number of Rainforest Aboriginal people with a diverse range of knowledge and experience in World Heritage and NRM to an informal conversation to provide advice on the most appropriate ways both organisations could engage with and continue to support Rainforest Aboriginal people to pursue their interests and aspiration in relation to knowledge, culture and management practice in the Wet Tropics. Our collective journey in NRM and World Heritage was represented visually in a timeframe above and our collective aspirations were represented visually on the tree below.

What we (i.e. Rainforest Aboriginal people, the Authority and Terrain) think about when we talk about the Wet Tropics cultural landscape is people, country and culture (represented by the roots of the tree).

The aspiration we are heading towards is authenticity, recognition and self-determination (represented by the earth that the tree is growing in).

We acknowledge that we can’t achieve this aspiration on our own and that collaborative partnerships between Rainforest Aboriginal people, Rainforest Aboriginal Organisations, Partners and Community are essential (represented by the people standing around the tree).

The outcome we hope to achieve is mainstream cultural capability and accountability and Rainforest Aboriginal sustainable livelihoods (represented by the strong foundations of the tree trunk).

The result we expect is meaningful involvement in NRM & World Heritage, sub-regional and regional collaboration, and cultural leadership (represented by the branches of the tree).

The ‘low hanging fruit’, or areas of focus that we want to work on and invest in over the next couple of years (represented by the red fruits in the lower canopy of the tree) include:

- Sharing and learning from traditional knowledge and contemporary science.

- Telling the story through culturally appropriate communications.

- Sponsoring learning and networking opportunities for Rainforest Aboriginal people.

- Strengthening partnerships for working on country.

- Planning for economic advancement of Aboriginal organisations.

- Reviewing what we have learnt and maximising opportunities in World Heritage and cultural listing.

The motivation for doing this (represented by the upper canopy of the tree) is about:

- Ensuring free, prior and informed consent.

- Understanding the legal complexities and realising benefits in land management.

- Asserting sovereignty as Rainforest Aboriginal people.

- Driving regional unity, capacity and influence around the common interests of Rainforest Aboriginal people and organisations.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE 'COLLECTIVE ASPIRATIONS' TREE