Indicator 6.4c: The extent to which Indigenous values are protected, maintained and enhanced through Indigenous participation in forest management

• Participation by Indigenous peoples and communities in the management of forest land occurs through a variety of arrangements, including direct land management, co-management or consultation.
• A range of legislative and policy instruments exist that provide Indigenous peoples and communities with opportunities to own, manage, and be involved in the management of forest land. The degree of management control and influence that Indigenous peoples have over forest is dependent on the provisions and conditions specified in the instruments.
• Preferences in terminology when referring to Australia’s First Peoples can vary across Australia and can change over time. The term ‘Indigenous’ is used throughout Australia’s State of the Forests Report to encompass all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Indigenous peoples value forests as part of Country for environmental, social and economic reasons. These relationships are grounded in enduring cultural responsibilities to care for Country, and in rights and interests in land and waters that are recognised through a range of tenure, governance, and agreement-making arrangements.

Indigenous values associated with land and forests can be described across three related dimensions:

• Cultural and heritage values, which connect people to Country through cultural sites and places, natural landscape features, and areas of spiritual significance, and underpin responsibilities for protecting cultural heritage and knowledge.
• Contemporary values, reflecting the ongoing practice of culture alongside modern living, including community wellbeing, employment, enterprise, and participation in land and forest management that supports sustainable environmental outcomes.
• Future focused aspirations, include increased autonomy in decision-making, strengthened governance arrangements, and opportunities for Indigenous-led management, ownership and self-determined economic participation in forest-related activities.

For each value, the ownership, management and access are key components of the relationship of Indigenous people with land and forest.

The National Agreement on Closing the Gap provides the overarching partnership framework between governments and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, with Priority Reforms focused on shared decision-making, strengthening Indigenous governance, transforming government systems, and improving data and information sharing. In the context of forest management, this has contributed to growing recognition of Indigenous knowledge systems and practices, including cultural land and fire management, and to increased efforts to support First Nations participation in decision-making, management and economic activity in ways that contribute to sustainable forest outcomes, resilience and long-term productivity.

The participation of Indigenous peoples in the management of forests occurs through a variety of arrangements, including:

• exclusive forest ownership
• direct forest management (without ownership)
• formal shared or joint management arrangements
• other arrangements that include consultation, or that permit use and access to land.

Exclusive forest ownership includes the direct management responsibility by Indigenous peoples and communities, commonly from the transfer to, or purchase of land for Indigenous groups via land rights legislation. The management of forest land may apply or integrate contemporary and traditional land management practices, and the employment of, or partnership with Indigenous peoples. For example, the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation is a Commonwealth Government-owned corporation with a mandate to return land to Indigenous groups to realise the opportunities and benefits from returning possession of land and its management.

Direct management of land and forest by Indigenous peoples and communities can also occur without the holding of title to land, or by being held by governments in trust for particular Indigenous communities. In Western Australia, the Aboriginal Lands Trust is responsible for the control and management of land for the benefit of Aboriginal people. Most of the Western Australia Aboriginal Lands Trust estate is held under Crown reserve but provides rights to specified Indigenous communities to exercise management rights over the estate.

The formal shared or joint management of land between Indigenous peoples and non-Indigenous entities occurs through a variety of arrangements, most commonly through the involvement in management of national parks and conservation reserves. This can occur on land that is both Indigenous owned and non-Indigenous owned. In the Northern Territory, Kakadu National Park is primarily on Indigenous owned freehold tenure and is leased back to the Commonwealth Government and jointly managed by the Bininj/Mungguy Traditional Owners and the Director of National Parks.

Additional arrangements also provide Indigenous peoples and communities with rights of use and access to land for customary purposes. These arrangements may provide for Indigenous communities’ participation in formal consultation processes (for example, on cultural heritage protection), membership of advisory committees, or participation in the development of land management plans. Arrangements that provide special use or access for Indigenous communities enable traditional use of natural resources or access for customary purposes (for example, walking on Country). Common examples include land subject to a Native Title determination, which recognises existing rights or interest to land based on traditional laws and customs. Native Title does not grant title to land but instead co-exists with established land rights. Typically, Native Title provides rights of use or access to land for Indigenous groups and in some cases can permit exclusive possession.

Additional arrangements provide for Indigenous participation in forest management through employment in the forest sector, research programs, or partnerships with industry. Information on the participation of Indigenous peoples in forest and wood product industries is reported in Indicator 6.5d: Resilience of forest dependent Indigenous communities to changing social and economic conditions.

A range of Commonwealth, state and territory legislative and policy instruments exist that provide Indigenous peoples and communities with opportunities to own, manage, access or use land, and be involved in the management of land, including the management of forests on that land (Table 6.4c-1). Indicator 6.4a Area of forest to which Indigenous people have use and rights that protect their special values and are recognised through formal and informal management regimes reports on the 80 million hectares of forest that are in Australia’s Indigenous forest estate. The Australia’s Indigenous land and forest estate dataset assembles the various arrangements that exist under the instruments listed in Table 6.4c-1. The degree of management control and influence that Indigenous people have over these forest areas varies and is dependent on the provisions and conditions within each instrument.

Table 6.4c-1: Main legislative and policy instruments in Australia relevant to Indigenous land and forest, and significant changes from 2016 to 2023

To quantify the Indigenous participation in the management of forest land, information collected on the Indigenous land and forest estate has been grouped into four attributes that capture the range of management arrangements between Indigenous peoples and land and forest across all public and private tenures (Jacobsen et al. 2020). Information on the area of forest that is Indigenous owned, Indigenous managed or Indigenous co-managed, and/or subject to other special rights of use for customary purposes is reported in Indicator 6.4a: Area of forest to which Indigenous people have use and rights that protect their special values and are recognised through formal and informal management regimes. Information reported here summarises the areas of forest in each of the four attributes using data current to 2023. The degree of management control and influence that Indigenous people have over these forest areas varies and detailed information on the area of forest in the main contributing arrangements is available in the Supporting Information for Indicator 6.4c: The extent to which Indigenous values are protected, maintained and enhanced through Indigenous participation in forest management.

Indigenous owned land
Forest on Indigenous owned land is owned by Indigenous communities or is vested through other arrangements. The area of forest that is Indigenous owned is 24.2 million hectares (Table 6.4a-1, Indicator 6.4a). All Indigenous owned land also has a recognised form of Indigenous management arrangement, whether Indigenous managed or Indigenous co-managed.

Indigenous managed land, or Indigenous co-managed land
Forest on land with an Indigenous management arrangement may be either Indigenous managed, which is managed solely by Indigenous communities, or on Indigenous co-managed land where a formal agreement is in place to include Indigenous peoples in the process of developing and implementing a management plan. The area of forest that is under a form of Indigenous management arrangement is 31.4 million hectares (Table 6.4a-1, Indicator 6.4a), with 20.7 million hectares being Indigenous managed and 10.6 million hectares is Indigenous co-managed (areas do not tally due to rounding). Land that has an Indigenous management arrangement occurs on both land that is Indigenous owned and non-Indigenous land. Land that is Indigenous co-managed most frequently occurs in conservation reserves and protected areas within the National Reserve System where formal shared or joint-management arrangements are in place with designated Indigenous communities.

Land subject to other special rights
The area of forest on land that provides other special rights for Indigenous peoples, including special cultural use provisions and access, is 62.4 million hectares (Table 6.4a-1, Indicator 6.4a). This area includes other legislated arrangements that enable access by Indigenous groups or communities.