Application of capability approach to assess the role of ecosystem services in well-being of indigenous Australians for welfare policies
Presentation
Paper/Presentation Title | Application of capability approach to assess the role of ecosystem services in well-being of indigenous Australians for welfare policies |
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Presentation Type | Presentation |
Authors | Sangha, Kamaljit (Author) and Le Brocque, Andrew (Author) |
Editors | Andersen, Alan |
Journal or Proceedings Title | Proceedings of the 2014 Ecological Society of Australia Annual Conference (ESA 2014) |
Year | 2014 |
Place of Publication | Canberra, Australia |
Web Address (URL) of Paper | http://www.esa2014.org.au/ |
Conference/Event | 2014 Conference of the Ecological Society of Australia (ESA 2014) |
Event Details | 2014 Conference of the Ecological Society of Australia (ESA 2014) Delivery In person Event Date 28 Sep 2014 to end of 03 Oct 2014 Event Location Alice Springs, Australia |
Abstract | Well-being of Indigenous people in Australia is linked to use and value of natural resources that play a significant part in the socio-economic and cultural lives of people. This research analyses the current well-being approach as used in Australia from an Indigenous perspective, the value of natural resources in Indigenous well-being, and applies the capability approach to suggest transformation of the present concept of Indigenous well-being for the future policy decision making. The study presents data from three case studies from Queensland and proposes to include intangible values (eg cultural and identity values) that are linked to people's capabilities and functionings into the well-being measures. The results suggest changing focus from socio-economic measure of well-being to an integrated socio-economic-ecological measure that incorporates people's capabilities. It examines the current passive welfare policies and recommends to develop pro-capability policies that promote and help people to build knowledge and skills in relation to natural resources; in line with people's past experiences, skills and knowledge. This paper also briefly analyses the tradeoffs of the current Government expenditure on welfare programs for enhancing Indigenous capabilities that can benefit the wider Australian public and could save the cost of welfare programs and of weed/natural resource management programs to a greater extent, if Indigenous people will be provided with appropriate opportunities to access land/other natural resources. The study suggests transforming the concept of well-being and its measures by incorporating people's capabilities and their values in relation to the natural systems. It is demonstrated in here that by including traditional and cultural knowledge as 'functionings' of Indigenous people that enhances well-being, it could enable people to lead creative and healthy lives. This research proposes a win-win situation for the Government, Indigenous people as well for the wider Australian public. |
Keywords | traditional owners; indigenous Australians and the land; cultural identity; natural resources; Queensland; welfare |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 450399. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander environmental knowledges and management not elsewhere classified |
440107. Social and cultural anthropology | |
459999. Other Indigenous studies not elsewhere classified | |
441001. Applied sociology, program evaluation and social impact assessment | |
Byline Affiliations | School of Agricultural, Computational and Environmental Sciences |
International Centre for Applied Climate Science | |
Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q2qwv/application-of-capability-approach-to-assess-the-role-of-ecosystem-services-in-well-being-of-indigenous-australians-for-welfare-policies
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