Landscapes, soils and surface environments — Week 11 Workshop 2b
Raphael Viscarra Rossel and Lewis Walden
2026-04-29
Recap
Two-Way science works through partnership, not simple consultation.
Good collaboration depends on governance, trust, and local authority.
Fire showed how Indigenous knowledge and Western science can contribute in different but complementary ways.
We now turn to institutional and applied examples in landscape management.
Workshop overview
Indigenous Protected Areas.
Healthy Country Plans.
Soil-focused application.
Water and landscape application.
A south-west WA problem-solving task.
Indigenous Protected Areas
IPAs are Indigenous-managed protected areas within Australia’s National Reserve System.
They provide an institutional setting for Indigenous-led conservation, caring for Country, and partnership-based management.
They show that Indigenous governance is contemporary, practical, and central to environmental management.
IPA scale
A 2021 government update reported 78 dedicated IPAs covering 74 million hectares and more than 46% of the National Reserve System.
Older figures of around 67 million hectares and 44–45% still appear in some sources.
Healthy Country Plans
Indigenous-led plans for caring for Country and setting management priorities.
Commonly address fire, water, biodiversity, cultural sites, monitoring, livelihoods, and community goals.
Key point is governance: plans are developed through community process and authority, not just technical consultation.
They help partners understand how to work in ways that support both Country and community priorities.
Two-Way science in practice: soils
Soil condition can be read alongside vegetation, fire pattern, disturbance, and recovery rather than in isolation.
Soil is explicitly connected to plant communities, erosion, compaction, and land management.
Listening for soil knowledge
As you watch the video next, notice how soils are described through vegetation, fire, disturbance, and recovery.
Listen for indicators of soil condition rather than laboratory measurements alone.
Pay attention to how management is linked to both land health and cultural responsibility.
Consider where this complements ideas from soil science already covered in the unit.
Video: The Health and Management of Soils
The talk links soils, vegetation, fire, erosion, water quality, and caring for land and people.
Start at 1:37 and watch till 19:34
Source: 2022 National Landcare Conference, featuring Victor Steffensen of the Firesticks Alliance.
Discussion
What indicators of soil condition are described?
How are vegetation patterns used to understand soil and landscape identity?
How does fire timing influence recovery, seed response, and broader ecological function?
Where do you see complementarity with soil science concepts taught earlier in the unit?
Two-Way science in practice: water and landscape
Traditional water reading encodes long-term knowledge of seasonal change and landscape connectivity.
Western hydrology contributes modelling, monitoring, and catchment-scale analysis.
Two-Way science can support management that is ecologically grounded and culturally legitimate.
This is especially relevant to wetlands, catchments, erosion, and restoration planning.
SW WA application task
Scenario: A south-west WA catchment has experienced repeated hot burns, patchy erosion on sandy slopes, declining wetland condition, and concern about biodiversity loss.
In groups, develop Two-Way science response:
What local knowledge authority would need to be involved before planning begins?
What scientific information would be useful, e.g., soils, hydrology, veg, or fire history?
What protocols or permissions would need to be respected?
What would a good process look like? from listening → relationship-building → action?
Link to assessment
In the stakeholder report, you can show Two-Way science by identifying what kinds of knowledge, governance, and partnership would be needed for a landscape management problem.
In the presentation, you can explain how Indigenous knowledge and Western science might contribute differently to understanding soils, water, vegetation, fire, or resilience.
In the oral exam, you can demonstrate cultural capability by discussing protocol, authority, and respectful collaboration rather than claiming mastery over Indigenous knowledge.
Note: Strong answers connect ULO 4 to the earlier science in ULOs 1–3.
Key takeaways
Two-Way science is best understood as weaving, not absorption.
Strong partnerships depend on governance, trust, time, and Indigenous leadership.
IPAs and Healthy Country Plans show how Indigenous-led management works in practice.
Soil, water, vegetation, fire, and resilience provide concrete places for respectful Two-Way science in landscape management.
