Alternative System Views of Climate Change in the Central West of New South Wales (Australia)

The interrelationships between humans and nature are an essential element of the culture of Aboriginal peoples. In contrast to 'western' or 'European' utilitarian views of ecosystems, Aboriginal peoples value landscapes in a more integrated and holistic style. Following European settlement of Australia, policies and actions for natural resource management resulted in fragmentation of people from their landscape and fragmentation in the management of natural resources. This contrasts with the Aboriginal people's holistic view of the land. Holistic system views are more akin to the modern approach to sustainable development of landscapes; however, our understanding and our actions in managing landscapes are still disjointed. Increasingly, the knowledge of Aboriginal people and their approaches to natural resource management (NRM) are being recognised in the governance structures of Australia. Climate change is an emerging threat to both humans and natural systems, particularly in environments already stressed by past land management practices. In this paper, we present both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal conceptual understandings of a system under the threat of climate change, and we discuss how Aboriginal knowledge can add to our understanding of climate change impacts in Australia. Our focus area is the Central West of NSW, a system with a developed rural economy and ecological values of international significance.