Suchergebnisse

The Brazilian Amazon has the highest concentration of indigenous peoples in the world. Recently, the Brazilian government sent a bill to Congress to regulate commercial mining in indigenous lands. This work analyzes the risks of the proposed mining bill to Amazonian indigenous peoples and their lands. To evaluate the possible impact of the new mining bill, we consider all mining license requests registered in Brazil's National Mining Agency that overlap indigenous lands as potential mining areas in the future. The existing mining requests cover 176 000 km2 of indigenous lands, a factor 3000 more than the area of current illegal mining. Considering only these existing requests, about 15% of the total area of ILs in the region could be directly affected by mining if the bill is approved. Ethnic groups like Yudjá, Kayapó, Apalaí, Wayana, and Katuena may have between 47% and 87% of their lands impacted. Gold mining, which has previously shown to cause mercury contamination, death of indigenous people due to diseases, and biodiversity degradation, accounts for 64% of the requested areas. We conclude that the proposed bill is a significant threat to Amazonian indigenous peoples, further exposing indigenous peoples to rural violence, contamination by toxic pollutants, and contagious diseases. The obligation of the government is to enforce existing laws and regulations that put indigenous rights and livelihoods above economic consideration and not to reduce such protections.

Aboriginal Australians have diverse interests in forest, encompassing cultural, economic, environmental and social values. Historically, the agencies and industries comprising the forest sector have engaged with only some of these interests, and have typically done so in a fragmented fashion. Our research with Aboriginal communities around Australia suggests a myriad of opportunities for a broadly defined forests sector, but this requires improved relationships between Aboriginal people and the dominant society and much deeper understanding of diverse Aboriginal aspirations at the local level. The National Indigenous Forestry Strategy promotes these aspirations, but requires a much stronger commitment from governments if it is to deliver them.

"This book provides a comprehensive view of the quality of life of older people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds living in Australia. The book is unique and significant because the descriptions and arguments presented are based on the lived experience and hence provide deep insights into the complexity and dynamics of CALD older migrants. Key areas of exploration include social connectedness and inclusion, post-retirement economic activities, living arrangement and housing choice, practice of care, intergenerational exchange, and life satisfaction. A focus is placed on the diversity of ageing experience. Pathways of ageing are one of the key factors in investigating inter and intra-ethnic commonalities and disparities. The policy and research implications presented will appeal to policy makers, practitioners and researchers"--Back cover

The conceptual understanding of security and the practicalities of national defence are interdependent. In many countries both are undergoing significant change. This work provides an international context but focuses on Australian defence, arguing that a transition is underway from old security thinking to new, and that this is evidenced by changes in policies and practical activities. The aim of this work is to demonstrate the interdependence between the current reconceptualisation of security and the practicalities of national defence. Old security thinking concerns military power relationships between states, in contrast with new security thinking, which uses a broader conceptual framework. These are described, providing benchmarks for the subsequent analysis. While it is acknowledged that change has occurred in security thinking throughout history, those developments observed since the end of the Cold War and the rise of globalisation signify a fundamental shift. To explore this shift, recent developments in the defence policies and military activities of four relevant nations are examined, providing an international context for the consideration of the primary case study of Australian defence. This case study draws on historical descriptions and empirical data to analyse developments in four spheres - Australian defence policy, current Australian Defence Force activities, recent military developments and contemporary Australian public debate. The weight of evidence supports the thesis of a transition in both security thinking, described as transitional security thinking, and ADF activities. Tensions are observed between the requirements of defending a nation against attack, and contributing to the expanding requirements of the broadened security agenda. Despite these tensions, the expansion in both security thinking and the associated activities of armed forces, is likely to continue. This expansion has important implications for Australia's defence capabilities which are increasingly required to meet the ...

The Australian government seeks to amend the Native Title Act, which presently gives indigenous Australians real property rights by virtue of their history living on the land. In their present form, the proposed amendments to the Native Title Act threaten indigenous representation regarding land disputes. The right to negotiate currently protected by the Act must be preserved, ensuring indigenous participation as well as consensual and procedural agreement. The government should not change its course: indigenous parties deserve the same rights today as were granted just five years ago. Government and indigenous leaders must work cooperatively to draft new amendments to guarantee an indigenous voice in land dispute resolution under the Native Title Act.

In this article, we set up a dialogue between two theoretical frameworks for understanding the developing relationships between indigenous Australians and the encapsulating Australian society. We argue that the concept of "the intercultural" de-emphasizes