CRC for Plant Biosecurity - Indigenous communities

Mobile technologies assist plant biosecurity management

VANMEURSA — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 01:40:17 +0000

In northern Australia and Indonesia, developing robust approaches to the community management of biosecurity includes making meaningful connections from government to small crop farmers and local communities across long distances. Clearly these connections are dependent on effective communication that values and links local knowledge, industry practice, scientific developments and policy directions. The rapid adoption of mobile technologies across urban, regional and remote communities worldwide has the potential to provide a communication network for previously isolated people around issues of common concern.

As mobile technology is integrated more and more into daily life, people’s expectations of their capacity to be available, and fully functioning increases (or tolerance of being non-functionality deceases). Mobile technologies are being integrated into social and cultural practices of a range of societies. Mobile technologies include digital media in common use such as digital cameras, audio recorders, mobile telephones, personal media devices (such as iPods), laptop computers, smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), SMS (Short Message Service) text messaging wireless modems, and through sharing audio, visual and text files. Mobile learning utilises these devices to support learning experiences. These core platforms are often enhanced by location-sensing functionality such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), video, audio and image capture and playback functionality. Mobile learning also includes digital cameras and using devices (such as PDAs) to improve data entry functionality.

Mobile technologies are being used to improve plant biosecurity management by Indigenous rangers in remote communities. The rangers include the Thamarrurr rangers from Wadeye, the Yirralka rangers from the Laynhapuy Homelands. Indigenous rangers involved in the CRCNPB project are using digital cameras, laptops and headsets to record their knowledge and skills related to surveillance and management of plant biosecurity incursions. These are being used to develop training materials that use local language, contexts and people to demonstrate the skills and demonstrate the competence of rangers involved in learning activities. The videos developed by rangers while working in the field are being shared across communities to increase awareness of new biosecurity threats and management strategies as DVDs, videos on mobile devices and advertisements on the local broadcasting network. The itracker and Cybertracker system being deployed by the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance are a robust PDA and software that supports rangers to collect accurate data using a sequence of customised questions that are recorded in a spreadsheet and displayed by map. These are supported by images to confirm identification of plant incursions. Government agencies have recognised the power of this approach and are negotiating the integration of mobile technologies and Indigenous led training material development into their biosecurity management and workforce development plans.

In Indonesia, mobile phones are being used to report the incidences of citrus pests and diseases and the sites to the research team who enter the information into a GIS system. The data is then used to analyse the patterns of incidence of the range of pests and diseases that are both officially recognised and not officially recognised. The mapping can be used for decision making by researchers and farmers about which are the most prevalent or important diseases in that region and their locations. Mobile technologies have provided a better way to collect information than relying on government officials to regularly visit each farm across remote areas and collect accurate data by field observations. This approach is reliant on establishing an agreement about who owns or has access to a mobile phone and is able to send an SMS notification, and the research team is still developing that system. The results of the analysis of the GIS data will be reported to farmers, community organisations, government representatives, ministries and researchers to assist in developing more accurate information sets and responses to the incidence of a particular disease or population density of a particular pest. Incidence reporting by people who are daily in the field assists in identifying the importance of a particular outbreak and related conditions of the citrus crops.

Mobile technologies that utilise existing infrastructure reduce the reliance on expensive and site specific connection technologies that are also high maintenance, such as satellites, wireless connections or laptop networks. Accessing SMS and digital cameras embedded in mobile telephones which are cheap and readily accessible, supports individuals’ engagement in communication networks. That the technology is in people’s pockets while they are engaged in daily work and learning activities increases the connectivity between that knowledge and people’s own worlds. SMS and user familiar technologies are simple and cheap. They utilise language that is familiar and draws on simple language in people’s own dialects. The images are of people’s own worlds, representing people’s experience accurately, providing a window to often unrecognised competence and realities. The information is shared in two ways that reciprocate the accountability to local communities and broader systems. One challenge is to ensure the ways information is shared back to community members retains its authenticity, accuracy and simple language or images.

The effective integration of mobile technologies including Geographic Information Systems (GIS) into community acknowledgement processes is a tool in itself for improving biosecurity management such as for citrus farming as reported here, particularly for detection and decision-making. Members of local communities who have mobile phones and are willing to voluntarily participate have the opportunity to participate in knowledge transfer processes across geographic, language and knowledge borders. In this way, the coverage of detection will be much improved since mobile communication will solve problems associated with difficult access and lack of staff. Decisions about pest and disease detection and management are becoming easier to make with the advent of computerisation, and it is therefore easier to present a range of concepts to ordinary people, through the use of visual representations by means of maps and graphs.

The use of mobile technologies in work and learning contexts has demonstrated the potential that exists in incorporating new technologies to support community activities. The use of mobile technologies is of particular interest as they are already embedded in people’s daily lives and practices. People who have been traditionally excluded from established institutional knowledge management systems may be distrustful of using institutional resources. The challenge is to identify approaches that are engaging and encourage people to participate in knowledge exchange for common purposes – purposes that are locally prioritised and valued.

Photo caption: Thamarrurr Rangers recording their work to create training videos in the Murrin-Patha language.

Article written by: Ruth Wallace

Indigenous communities managing biosecurity risks

VANMEURSA — Mon, 03 May 2010 04:36:24 +0000

Indigenous communities of Northern Australia have a long-standing connection in plant biosecurity issues through culture and tradition to the land and sea.

As part of our research project ‘An Indigenous community and local knowledge-based model to manage harmful plant pests and diseases, CRC70138’ in Northern Australia and Eastern Indonesia, we are committed to biosecurity management with Aboriginal people, as well as the relevant government agencies. This is achieved through supporting enterprise development, meaning Aboriginal people can remain on country and in homelands.

Biosecurity management through enterprise (contracts with groups like Caring for Country, Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service and other resource based industries) enables a source of employment for Aboriginal people which provides economic, cultural, social and environmental sustainability.

Our research has identified three key features of partnerships that support the community based management of plant biosecurity. Firstly, there is a need to understand the way local communities interact with policy and industry. Secondly, the potential of enterprise development in engaging local communities in the long term is discussed. Finally, the research has developed a training framework to endorse cultural and Western knowledge about plant biosecurity for the community management of biosecurity.

There is a significant opportunity to proactively work with local communities both in northern Australia and south-east Asia to develop and implement novel threat mitigation strategies that bridge diverse knowledge systems and their underlying perspectives.

The successful identification, management and eradication of plant biosecurity incursions across the extensive and sparsely populated Northern Australian coastline is a significant challenge. Plant incursions include weeds such Mimosa (Mimosa pigra) and Parkinsonia (Parkinsonia aculeate) which threaten large areas of southern Arnhem Land. These incursions impact on Aboriginal people's lives as they compete with, and displace, wetlands’ fauna and flora.

The flora and fauna are important food sources. Without access to these sources people consume poorer quality commercial food products, which impacts community members’ health outcomes. In addition, weed eradication work undertaken by Aboriginal people has implications for the Australian agriculture industry that would otherwise need to expend considerably more than the current $4 million per year to address production losses and manage costs (Altman, Kerins, Fogarty and Webb, 2008).

Effective partnerships between Indigenous land managers and relevant government agencies have developed to undertake biosecurity management in these remote regions. This biosecurity surveillance, reporting and management work has the potential to be developed to support economic, cultural and social sustainability in remote Indigenous communities. This has been recognised by the Commonwealth governments unit natural resource management initiatives established through the Caring the Country program. This program integrates delivery of the Australian government's previous natural resource management programs, including the Natural Heritage Trust, the National Landcare Program, the Environmental Stewardship Program and the Working on Country Indigenous land and sea ranger program. The potential for stabilising and extending these programs and securing the environmental, agricultural industries’ and Indigenous people's futures is being realised through connection to emerging enterprises and existing areas of expertise.

Embedding plant biosecurity at a local and national level draws together the principles of community management of plant biosecurity in relation to leadership, governance and change. This proactive approach to managing harmful plant pests and diseases, works through social partnerships in learning across community, policy, regional and national boundaries. These partnerships connect biosecurity management and implementation with existing economic, cultural and social structures and so increase chances of sustainability. In Australia, this strategy has been developed to respond to the changing nature of work and economic viability of Indigenous people in remote and regional communities. This is responsive to recent national policy changes in relation to Indigenous community and workforce development and Indigenous people’s desire for economic independence.

Leading the CRC’s research component of community engagement with Indigenous communities, Charles Darwin’s University’s, Ruth Wallace recently coordinated a visit in conjunction with Lhaynupuy Homelands Association and Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife.

Both Laynhapuy and Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife are keen for people to learn from others and to see the environmental threats for their community and culture. Charles Darwin University is undertaking strengths based learning activities as part of the Conservation and Land Management Training Package that encourage connection to country and others’ experiences and meet the industry standard. This training also helping people manage their country so they don’t lose culture.

During the trip, the team recorded the range of skills developed and demonstrated by Indigenous rangers in order to make teaching resources in Yolngu Mathu and English. These will be used to make information resources to teach young Aboriginal people and other rangers about the role of rangers, identifying plant incursions and the value of being a ranger as a long term career. These will be used with a range of training and knowledge management resources being developed by ranger groups across Northern Australia made with Aboriginal people for Aboriginal people.

ABC’s Stateline recently aired footage of the visit, highlighting to the audience the important roles the rangers and Indigenous communities play in helping to keep Australia free from harmful plant pests and diseases. You can view the program online.

Photo caption: Rangers from Laynhapuy Yirralka Homelands Association Inc and NT Parks and Wildlife survey the extent of weed invasion