Blending Traditional Knowledge with Contemporary Science

Indigenous Australians have a cultural and spiritual obligation to take care of Country, and have been sustainably managing their marine estates for millennia. But the rapid environmental changes we see today are challenging traditional protocols.

While contemporary science is well placed to assist in addressing ocean sustainability questions, it often lacks the holistic understanding of the environment that Indigenous science provides. Here we seize an opportunity to build a bridge between two very different knowledge systems to gain a greater insight into Australia’s marine environment and explore how we might work together to better manage our vast coastline.

About the speaker

Harri Davies is a Marine Scientist at the University of Western Australia and the Australian Institute of Marine Science. She is fascinated by the ecological wisdom of Indigenous cultures in Australia, and across the world. Her research focuses on uniting traditional ecological knowledge of the ocean with modern day marine science.