Corey Walker1, Hannah Elliot1, Dr Rabi Gol1, Carla Tadich1, Professor Mark P. Taylor1
1EPA Victoria, Australia
Biography:
Corey Walker is the Senior Aboriginal Engagement Advisor at EPA Victoria. His role involves building respectful relationships with Traditional Owners through engagement and collaboration to protect cultural values from pollution and waste.
Prior to EPA, Corey worked on the Living Murray Program at Murray Darling Basin Authority; and was a water and cultural heritage officer for the Yorta Yorta Nations Aboriginal Corporation.
Corey sits on the Traditional Owner Land Management Board of the Barmah National Park and holds a certificate IV in Cultural Heritage Management from Latrobe University and a Graduate Diploma of Land Sea Country Management from Deakin University.
Abstract:
First Nations people have protected the environment in Australia for tens of thousands of years. EPA, Victoria’s environmental regulator, has committed to partnering with Traditional Owners to co-design and embed cultural values and knowledge in Victoria’s environment protection framework. Ensuring that Victoria’s Environmental Protection Act (2017) outcomes apply effectively on Country requires a strong and effective relationship, founded on understanding between EPA and Traditional Owners.
Drawing on NZ EPA’s program, EPA Victoria have established an eDNA pilot program, co-designed with EPA’s Environment Protection on Country (EPOC) officers, who are representatives of Traditional Owner corporations. The pilot will evaluate the value and benefit of providing eDNA sampling kits to Traditional Owners (TOs). The partnership seeks to understand environmental quality in locations selected by TOs to better support the prevention of harm to Country from pollution and waste. combining traditional values with a science-based data-driven narrative. Traditional Owners will have complete ownership over the data collected.
This presentation will share EPA Victoria’s approach to exploring eDNA kits as a tool for: (1) strengthening EPA’s partnerships and engagement with First Nations; (2) detecting the presence of cultural values to support cultural mapping ; (4) strengthening two-way knowledge sharing between First Nations and EPA to maximise opportunities for the prevention of harm to Country: (5) co-designing a platform for data driven conversations; (6) enhancing opportunities for traditional owners to restore or heal Country. The pilot will also explore how eDNA sampling aligns with EPA’s regulatory remit and areas where it may complement existing programs.