Literature Review: climate change and Indigenous communities

Abstract

The world faces considerable environmental challenges from the effects of climatic change in the future. Indigenous people are likely to be among the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change (Parry et al 2007), with major impacts to indigenous natural and cultural landscapes. Under modest predictions, sea level rise alone is expected to affect thousand’s of coastal Aboriginal archaeological sites in Australia (McIntyre-Tamwoy 2007:7).

A project was developed by James Cook University researchers to introduce the ‘climate change conversation’ to two indigenous communities in north Queensland. A collaborative project was developed between James Cook University, Injinoo community and Girringun Aboriginal Corporation on indigenous perceptions of climate change. The project included workshops with representatives from the Injinoo and Girringun communities to identify what people valued in the environment, what changes had been observed in the environment and to discuss the scientific predictions of climate change in each discrete geographical area. This report is the literature review that provides context for the topic.