Papers by Kamaljit Sangha
The extractive industries and society/The Extractive industries and society, Mar 1, 2024
Mining on Indigenous lands affects people's well-being and the relationship between thems... more Mining on Indigenous lands affects people's well-being and the relationship between themselves and their lands. Indigenous peoples' sociocultural and spiritual connections to their lands are symbolised in bush food, totems, ceremonial objects, sacred names, and kinship systems representing various provisioning and cultural Ecosystem Services (ES). In Australia, most mine sites are located on traditional lands, causing losses of vital ES due to alterations in the original land cover and the destruction of natural habitats such as woodlands, wetlands, and grasslands. In addition, mining causes conflicting relationships between locals and mining companies, reducing community cohesion and restricting land access. These socio-ecological impacts jeopardise the contributions of ecosystems to people's well-being and their ability to care for traditional lands. However, studies assessing the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of mining on Indigenous well-being during the mine lifecycle are scarce. Considering the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, this study presents how mining operations on Indigenous lands have affected people's well-being and ecosystems in Australia. This review aims to address the gaps in current knowledge for understanding the impacts of mining, not just on the environment but also on people living in mining landscapes, to inform public policy and future programs appropriately. We analysed peer-reviewed articles and book chapters published between 2012 and 2022 by applying the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Conceptual Framework using quantitative and qualitative approaches. Various associations were identified between well-being constituents, mining impacts, and ES. From an environmental perspective, the negative impacts of mining were mainly associated with provisioning and cultural ES, while mining operations affected all five constituents of well-being. We suggest addressing these knowledge gaps by applying integrated approaches focused on consolidating the environmental, social, and economic impacts over the mine lifecycle that can contribute to mine management and rehabilitation plans for the environment and Indigenous well-being.
Sustainable Bioresource Management: Climate Change Mitigation and Natural Resource Conservation. Apple Academic press and CRC press, pp. 1-14. , 2020
This chapter focuses on the key benefits of managing nature’s systems for people’s
well-being an... more This chapter focuses on the key benefits of managing nature’s systems for people’s
well-being and, more broadly, for the modern economy and overall development.
Firstly, it explores a historical perspective of human connections with nature, and how nature has played a key role in shaping our ancient and modern civilizations. Secondly,
it elaborates how natural resources are important for people’s well-being, and outlines
the consequences of mis-managing them in terms of social-economic repercussions in
the present times.
To understand and evaluate the role of natural resources towards human well-being
for policy decision-making, this chapter outlines three main approaches: realizing our connections with nature; applying an integrated and inclusive approach to
development; and an ethical approach to live in harmony with nature. It explains the
need for, and how to, realize our connections with nature, and proposes an integrated development model that is focused on people’s well-being, not the standard input and output measures, and accounts for the role nature’s services. Applying an ethical
approach to lead a meaningful life that is in harmony with nature and embedding
ethical principles in development, this chapter underscores the importance of natural systems in modern economy.
Springer eBooks, Dec 31, 2022
Energies, Jan 5, 2023
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Journal of Ecotourism, Jun 1, 2012
Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC & AFAC annual conference 2018, 2018
Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, Dec 1, 2019
Northern Australia is by far the most fire-prone region of Australia, with enormous bushfires occ... more Northern Australia is by far the most fire-prone region of Australia, with enormous bushfires occurring annually across thousands of square kilometres. Many of these vast, flammable landscapes have precious few barriers to slow down a fire. Infrastructure and resources are limited, and people are widely dispersed across the region. Fire risk reduction in the recent past included very local prescribed burning operations. The overall effect was small, with huge greenhouse gas emissions from out-of-control savanna wildfires. So, what might a better approach look like?
Sustainability, Sep 23, 2020
The role of Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) in sustainably using and managing na... more The role of Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) in sustainably using and managing natural resources is becoming broadly recognised within some international platforms (e.g., the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services). However, the support for IPLCs to continue managing their land is either completely absent or scanty. This paper presents the value of only four ecosystem services, estimated at USD 1.16 trillion per year, that are delivered from IPLCs managed lands alone (excluding coastal, marine, and other resources). These four ecosystem services (ES), i.e., carbon sequestration, biocontrol, air, and water regulation offer offsite benefits to the wider regional and global populations yet without returns to the IPLCs themselves except for facing more climate and natural disaster-related challenges mainly caused by the actions of mainstream society. It further outlines key challenges and advocates for establishing stewardship mechanisms to promote and support IPLCs land management practices that will effectively help in protecting and preserving biodiversity, water, and other natural resources on Earth to sustain and enhance human well-being.
CRC Press eBooks, Sep 3, 2018
Previous chapters have set out a compelling case for developing sustainable economies across the ... more Previous chapters have set out a compelling case for developing sustainable economies across the North that are inclusive of the wellbeing and aspirations of Indigenous people. Despite being very significant components of the North's population, especially in remoter areas, and increasingly 'land rich' through ongoing acquisitions and Native Title determinations, it is widely acknowledged that Indigenous people remain severely economically and socially disadvantaged. In this chapter we address the challenge of developing a culturally, environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable regional land sector economy, focusing on alternatives to the current spatially dominant land use sector of the North, the pastoral industry. By some estimates, beef cattle production activities occur over as much as 90% of North Australia, particularly involving extensive, as opposed to intensive grain-fed, production systems. 1 Pastoral lands include not only pastoral leases but also swathes of country involving Indigenously-owned Land Trust areas, such as Arnhem Land that supports large numbers of feral water buffalo, cattle, and horses. Available data indicate that there are around four million cattle in our focal area of 1.2 million km 2 of the North Australia study region (Chapter 2; Map 2.3), with a ' northern Australian' (including all of Queensland) herd of around 13.7 million, and a national herd of around 25 million. 2 CONTENTS
The release of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Change agre... more The release of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Change agreement highlighted the importance of global sustainability internationally. Here, we outline a vision and strategies for developing northern Australia that demonstrate how a focus on sustainable prosperity can both expand historical approaches and current government plans and integrate the biophysical realities with the social, political, and cultural characteristics of the region. We highlight examples of the significant horizontal and vertical integration opportunities that this expanded vision and related strategies provide for (a) land (carbon farming, targeted food production systems, and native title arrangements); (b) water (water resources management); (c) energy (renewable energy production, storage, and distribution); (d) workforce (culturally appropriate ecotourism, Indigenous ranger programs, and protected area management); (e) knowledge services (health care and innovative employment opportunities); and (f) governance (greater participatory
Global Ecology and Conservation, Jul 1, 2015
The well-being of Indigenous people in Australia and throughout the world is linked to the use an... more The well-being of Indigenous people in Australia and throughout the world is linked to the use and value of natural resources. This research analyses the current well-being approach applied to measure well-being of Indigenous Australians. It reports findings from three case studies in Queensland on Indigenous people's values and concerns and their capabilities in relation to natural systems. It applies a holistic approach based upon the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and Sen's capability approaches and proposes an integrated wellbeing model by incorporating intangible values such as cultural and identity values, that are linked to people's capabilities involving natural systems. It provides a novel way of understanding the role of natural resources in Indigenous well-being by associating natural resources with people's capabilities. The study suggests transforming the present concept of well-being and its measures for incorporating people's capabilities that can effectively inform future policy decision making.
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, Apr 15, 2022
Sustainability, Oct 20, 2019
In 2016, the United Nations (UN) launched the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framew... more In 2016, the United Nations (UN) launched the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework for sustainable development and a sustainable future. However, the global challenge has been to engage, connect, and empower communities, particularly young people, to both understand and deliver the 17 SDGs. In this study, we show the benefit of a strategic planning-based experiential learning tool, the Young Persons' Plan for the Planet (YPPP) Program, to improve the underlying competencies of Australian and Mauritian adolescents in increasing understanding and delivering the SDGs. The study was conducted with 300 middle to senior high school students, in 25 schools throughout Australia and Mauritius, over an 18-month period. The intervention included the development of research, strategic planning, management, STEM (Science Technology, Engineering, Maths) and global competency skills in the students, to enable them to build and deliver regional and national SDG plans. Research methods included pre-and post-intervention testing of the attitudes of these students to sustainable development outcomes and compared these attitudes to subsets of scientists and the Australian national population. Our results, from both qualitative and quantitative evidence, demonstrate significant improvements in these adolescents' appreciation of, and attitudes towards, the SDGs and sustainable outcomes, across a range of key parameters. The results from the 76 students who attended the International Conference in Mauritius in December
Conservation and Society, 2017
Despite calls by various international agencies, considerable work is still required to understan... more Despite calls by various international agencies, considerable work is still required to understand and incorporate the importance of earth's ecosystems for informing public policies. Savannas comprise nearly one third of global terrestrial ecosystems and support many local and Indigenous communities, but the value of their ecosystem services (ES) is insufficiently understood. This study proposes an integrated ES valuation framework and applies it to assess ES for an Indigenous savanna estate in northern Australia, describing how capabilities along with biophysical and socio-cultural ES benefits play a vital role for peoples' wellbeing. We estimated the monetary value of ES by applying a conventional Basic Value Transfer (BVT) method for biophysical benefits (USD 84 M y-1), and a wellbeing approach for valuing socio-cultural benefits and capabilities (USD 4 M y-1). The latter offers a relatively nominal estimate but underscores the importance of including peoples' capabilities in order to demonstrate wellbeing benefits for Indigenous people who regularly visit and utilize their lands. We explore two scenarios, Business as Usual (pastoral land use) and ES-based economies (implying customary land use, particularly through fire management) to project plausible broader benefits for the community over a longer term. This research describes how inclusion of Indigenous peoples' capabilities and socio-cultural values are critical for ES assessments, and indicates that an integrated approach is essential for appropriately informing local, regional and global development policies.
Global Ecology and Conservation, Jul 1, 2015
In Australia, role of natural resources in Indigenous well-being is completely ignored to date wh... more In Australia, role of natural resources in Indigenous well-being is completely ignored to date which further leads to inappropriate and ineffective well-being policies. This research addresses the need to develop an appropriate indigenous well-being approach that incorporates indigenous values in relation to natural systems. It focuses on Indigenous people in Australia and examines the available well-being frameworks from global as well as from local (i.e. Australian and Indigenous), perspectives. It applies a holistic approach to assess the role of natural systems in indigenous well-being demonstrating how people's social, economic and cultural worlds, and how people's capabilities relate to their natural systems. It integrates various social, economic and ecological values through the application of Capability Approach and the Millennium Assessment Approach. The study proposes an integrated framework that focuses on people's belongingness to nature i.e. people's values and capabilities that link to well-being. It emphasises the importance of each connection that people may have with their country in terms of people's capabilities. The proposed framework can contribute to improved and better-informed policies on indigenous wellbeing as well as on the use, value and management of natural systems.
Global Ecology and Conservation, Jul 1, 2019
Exclusion of Indigenous and local communities' connections to the rest-of-nature is a typical pro... more Exclusion of Indigenous and local communities' connections to the rest-of-nature is a typical problem in policy-decision making. This paper highlights the key attributes of these connections and suggests evaluation pathways to mainstream them into policy development. For this, we integrate and apply the ecosystem services (ES) and human capability concepts. Five socio-cultural and economic values relating to peoples' well-being are identified as the core attributes for developing policy tools: (1) livelihoods; (2) social values; (3) cultural values; (4) spiritual values; and (5) capabilities. For policy tools, common ES frameworks and the relevant ES evaluation techniques that can be applied along with community participatory approaches, are considered. We recommend that developing a pluralistic policy platform is essential to appropriately comprehend Indigenous and local communities' connections with nature for enhancing well-being, not just sustaining livelihoods. A three-step process: (1) identifying attributes of natural systems that are vital for peoples' well-being (beyond their livelihoods); (2) developing locallyspecific integrated frameworks; and (3) evaluating identified attributes (monetary and non-monetary), is clearly described in this paper to inform the policy-makers. Recognition and understanding of Indigenous and local communities' values for nature beyond livelihood opportunities is essential for informing inclusive sustainable development processes and policies.
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Papers by Kamaljit Sangha
well-being and, more broadly, for the modern economy and overall development.
Firstly, it explores a historical perspective of human connections with nature, and how nature has played a key role in shaping our ancient and modern civilizations. Secondly,
it elaborates how natural resources are important for people’s well-being, and outlines
the consequences of mis-managing them in terms of social-economic repercussions in
the present times.
To understand and evaluate the role of natural resources towards human well-being
for policy decision-making, this chapter outlines three main approaches: realizing our connections with nature; applying an integrated and inclusive approach to
development; and an ethical approach to live in harmony with nature. It explains the
need for, and how to, realize our connections with nature, and proposes an integrated development model that is focused on people’s well-being, not the standard input and output measures, and accounts for the role nature’s services. Applying an ethical
approach to lead a meaningful life that is in harmony with nature and embedding
ethical principles in development, this chapter underscores the importance of natural systems in modern economy.
well-being and, more broadly, for the modern economy and overall development.
Firstly, it explores a historical perspective of human connections with nature, and how nature has played a key role in shaping our ancient and modern civilizations. Secondly,
it elaborates how natural resources are important for people’s well-being, and outlines
the consequences of mis-managing them in terms of social-economic repercussions in
the present times.
To understand and evaluate the role of natural resources towards human well-being
for policy decision-making, this chapter outlines three main approaches: realizing our connections with nature; applying an integrated and inclusive approach to
development; and an ethical approach to live in harmony with nature. It explains the
need for, and how to, realize our connections with nature, and proposes an integrated development model that is focused on people’s well-being, not the standard input and output measures, and accounts for the role nature’s services. Applying an ethical
approach to lead a meaningful life that is in harmony with nature and embedding
ethical principles in development, this chapter underscores the importance of natural systems in modern economy.
The book incorporates findings from BNHCRC component sub-projects that address a range of related topics (community resilience and governance, economic opportunities especially through payments for environmental services, appropriate bushfire and natural hazards training, savanna fire management, management of high biomass flammable grassy weeds). For reporting and wider readership purposes we have intentionally placed these matters in a broader cultural, historical, environmental, economic, development and governance context. At an early project workshop we asked colleagues what issues they considered necessary to illuminate the broad project theme, and how—this book is the result. The views expressed are those of respective contributing authors and do not purport to represent those of the BNHCRC.