The latest edition of the Australian Journal of Emergency Management (AJEM) collects existing Indigenous-led research and utilisation of disaster risk reduction and resilience research and practice across Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia. With content highlighting the practices and knowledges from across these two nations, this special edition documents and encourages incorporation of Indigenous peoples’ knowledges into practice.
Guest editors Lucy Kaiser (Massey University and GNS Science) and Dr Bhiamie Willamson (Monash University) were guided by a shared purpose to:
- foster an Indigenous-led and decolonial discourse in disaster resilience and emergency management
- explore and enhance understanding of Indigenous perspectives and experiences in relation to disasters and other hazard events
- highlight Indigenous leadership and excellence in disaster resilience and emergency response
- explore structural similarities and points of difference in the experiences of Māori, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
This edition was an opportunity to work with different sources of knowledge and give voice to Indigenous researchers and practitioners in the field of disaster risk reduction and resilience. In doing so, this edition contributes to a broader knowledge base and encourages new ways of thinking and working. This edition was also an invitation to emerging Indigenous researchers to develop and share knowledge that shapes the disaster risk reduction and resilience discourse in Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia and beyond.
Centre-supported projects featured include:
- Principles and protocols for cultural land management governance and research in Australia, sharing outcomes from the Cultural land management research and governance in south-east Australia project. Research projects are moving from consulting with First Nations communities to partnering with them. This is a move from business-as-usual approaches towards greater First Nations peoples self-determination.
- Planning Evacuations with Indigenous Communities, sharing outputs from the Foundations in Indigenous Disaster Resilience project. Evacuations are challenging for anyone who experiences them, however, Indigenous peoples and communities have distinct needs and can face additional risks throughout these processes.
Read the full Indigenous edition of AJEM.