Foundations in Indigenous disaster resilience

Natural hazards have always been part of the Australian land and seascape.  Indigenous peoples have lived and thrived in these environments for many thousands of years and have developed deep knowledge of these events, as well as social, spiritual and adaptive responses that strengthen resilience. Colonisation upended Indigenous ways of life and disrupted connections with Country and kin. There is an opportunity to consider how Indigenous peoples are defining and creating resilience in their own contexts, and how disaster resilience structures, processes and institutions are supporting or inhibiting the resilience of Indigenous communities. 

This project has been developed from ongoing work and engagement with the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience and researchers from the Fire to Flourish research initiative at Monash University. 

This research will create an ecosystem of authoritative knowledge and practical guidance to better support Indigenous communities to strengthen their resilience, while creating lasting change in the structures, institutions and processes of emergency management and disaster resilience.

To achieve these aims, the project will focus on three objectives:

1. Address the lack of knowledge and information regarding Indigenous peoples, climate change and disaster resilience by: 
   1. investigating the experiences of Indigenous peoples impacted by disasters
   2. canvassing the disaster resilience and emergency management ecosystem to identify gaps requiring remedial urgent action and identifying opportunities to change practice
   3. identifying systemic inequalities that create vulnerabilities and impact resilience. 
2. Create an Indigenous disaster resilience community of practice by: 
   1. facilitating connections between Indigenous people working in the disaster resilience and climate change adaptation sector 
   2. fostering a research community creating new knowledge and identifying gaps in policy and practice
   3. raising the awareness of disaster resilience in allied Indigenous community, research and policy sectors. 
3. Embed Indigenous leadership in disaster resilience and climate change adaptation by: 
   1. bringing together disaster resilience and emergency management sectors with Indigenous peak and representative organisations 
   2. identifying how Indigenous peoples care for Country practices can be embedded within resilience policy, practice and mindset 
   3. creating an enabling environment for Indigenous leadership in disaster resilience and climate change adaptation.

The outcomes of this project will have far-reaching positive impacts for Indigenous communities and the disaster resilience and emergency management sector more broadly, through the following outcomes:  

• An evidence-based policy framework for guiding Indigenous disaster resilience policy and practice across Australia.  
• Trusting relationships across and between Indigenous communities, peak organisations, disaster resilience organisations and emergency management agencies.  
• An Indigenous disaster resilience community of practice.  
• New evidence and authoritative guidance as a knowledge base regarding Indigenous peoples and disaster resilience.  
• Recognition of the critical roles Indigenous community organisations play in disaster resilience. 
• Increased confidence in Indigenous communities to respond to disasters.