Traditional knowledge
Aboriginal landowners in the Arnhem region have a strong sense
of responsibility towards their land. However, traditional
ecological knowledge, so valuable concerning issues such as fire
management, has limitations in dealing with land-management
problems (such as weeds) which are new to the experience of
Aboriginal people.
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The fruit of weeds like wild passionfruit,
flowering above, are used by Aboriginal people
Photo: Greg Calvert
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In pre-colonial Australia, there was no need for the concept of
a weed, since ecological communities were generally stable under
traditional Aboriginal land practices. Aboriginal people can
therefore have difficulty appreciating the potential environmental
impact of weed spread. It is vital that Aboriginal landowners have
access to culturally appropriate information on introduced plant
species so they can make informed decisions about growing them on
their country.
Useful weeds?
Some introduced species are considered by some Aboriginal groups
to be useful plants rather than weeds. For example, people eat
fruits of wild passionfruit (Passiflora foetida), rosella
(Hibiscus sabdariffa) and chinee apple (Ziziphus
mauritiana ). Other species are not considered deleterious to
the environment and may be accepted as part of the local flora, and
may be eaten by some animals. Often in these situations there is no
perceived need to remove them. Nonetheless, Aboriginal people do
recognise certain invasive, non-useable weed species as
problems.
