Health of people and land through sustainable Aboriginal livelihoods in rangeland Australia

摘要

Our research contributes to the engagement of global indigenous peoples with markets for environmental services and to improvements in their health and well being.We are developing principles and tools to support development of stronger livelihoods amongst Aboriginal peoples of Australian rangelands and we are quantifying associated economic outcomes.Indigenous people — Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders‐are only 2.3% of Australia's predominantly urban population.Twenty‐four percent of them live in the 71% of the continent that is rangeland.Aboriginal peoples hold strong property rights to 27% of rangelands.Their lands are typically marginal for livestock grazing but often have high value for conservation.Sixty‐nine percent of Australians consider that Aboriginal culture is an essential component of Australian society.They identify Aboriginal culture most strongly with the Aboriginal peoples of the rangelands.However rangeland Aboriginal people suffer poor health and life expectancy compared with mainstream society.This carries a social opportunity cost estimated at ＄ 1.5 billion annually in one jurisdiction with extensive Aboriginal owned rangelands‐the Northern Territory.