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Garma Festival, 13-17 August 2002
Forum: Indigenous People and the Environment
In August
2002 the Yothu Yindi Foundation in conjunction with the World
Wide Fund for Nature (WWF Australia), will be holding a forum
entitled ‘Indigenous people and the environment’
at the YYF Garma Cultural Festival held annually in Arnhemland,
Northern Territory. It is expected participants from around
the world will attend including indigenous people from PNG,
Canada and the Arctic Circle.
At the
present time indigenous people internationally are rethinking
their engagement with western society as they demand and reassert
their rights to both manage their own lands and culture, and
map their own futures. 2002 has been designated the United
Nations International Year of Ecotourism. WWF and YYF believe
that tourism, travel and ‘ecotourism’ is but a subset
of a broader suite of issues.
In true
Aboriginal style, the forum themes are emergent. They may
include governance and natural resource management; caring
for country—sustainable occupation; intellectual and
cultural property rights; and eco-tourism.
The ‘Indigenous
people and the Environment’ forum will bring together
indigenous peoples, scientists, conservationists, venture
capitalists, social scientists and ecotourism experts to find
new linkages, synergies and directions in equitable cultural
exchange, sustainable indigenous and non-indigenous economies
and the wise use of natural resources.
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