THE STRONG PEOPLES – STRONG COUNTRY FRAMEWORK

The Strong Peoples-Strong Country framework forms part of the Reef 2050 Integrated Monitoring and Reporting Program. The Reef 2050 Integrated Monitoring and Reporting Program, together with the Reef Knowledge System, was developed to guide management decisions about the Reef and track the implementation and effectiveness of actions within the Reef 2050 Plan.

The Strong Peoples-Strong Country framework

Strong Peoples-Strong Country is an inclusive framework grounded in Traditional Owner perspectives and values. The framework monitors the health and condition of the Great Barrier Reef, and how inter-connected these values are to the quality of life for Traditional Owner communities around the Reef. This work is culturally grounded through the belief system of Healthy Country, Healthy Peoples.

The framework reflects the social, cultural, health, economic and environmental aspects of Traditional Owners, as well as the land and sea Country that they have a cultural connection, responsibility and obligation to care for.

Find out more in the Strong Peoples-Strong Country Indigenous Heritage Monitoring Framework Summary Report 2019.

In 2019, the framework was picked up through the Reef Trust Partnership and prioritised by Traditional Owners for implementation. In 2020, a new Traditional Owner Integrated Monitoring and Reporting Technical Working Group was formed to co-design what effective implementation might look like, and applied testing through pilot projects.

Today, there are five selected Reef Traditional Owner groups that are funded through the Reef Trust Partnership to run pilot projects that explore ways to monitor and report on the condition of their community and Country. As part of the co-design process, the funding supports each community participating in the pilot to engage a Community Research Assistant to monitor and report on their progress, as well as track any changes over the two-year period of the grant.

What’s in the framework?

The Strong Peoples-Strong Country framework combines both subjective and objective data to provide a socio-ecological, holistic view of the health of Country, people and Indigenous heritage of the Reef. 

The framework has six hubs that represent areas of significance to Traditional Owners. They include People’s Health, Country Health, Empowerment and Economics, Heritage and Knowledge, Culture and Community, and Education. There are also 45 attributes, or indicators, that sit under these hubs and are uniquely described using the worldview of Reef Traditional Owners.

The Strong Peoples-Strong Country framework has three distinct project phases and is currently in stage two of the project. 

Stage One: Development of the Strong Peoples-Strong Country framework

In order for Traditional Owner data and knowledge to be systematically collected, an Indigenous Heritage Expert Group (IHEG) led by Traditional Owners, in collaboration with CSIRO and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, worked under Phase 1 of the Reef 2050 Integrated Monitoring and Reporting Program (RIMReP) and created the Strong Peoples-Strong Country framework.

The expert group looked at other Traditional Owner-driven monitoring frameworks, and found the best frameworks use stories and data to connect Traditional Owner community well-being and Country well-being. In May 2018, the expert group tested and discussed the framework with more than 70 Traditional Owners from throughout the Great Barrier Reef, to make sure it reflects their values and perspectives, and to collect baseline information.

Stage Two: Implementation and testing of the Strong Peoples – Strong Country framework

For the implementation of the framework to work best, a new Traditional Owner governance and leadership working group was created in 2020, called the Traditional Owner Integrated Monitoring and Reporting Technical Working Group to co-design this process with the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. After a thorough and transparent expression of interest process, the working group selected three communities to implement the Strong Peoples-Strong Country framework – the Wuthathi Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC, the Yuwi Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC, and the Goondoi Arts Aboriginal Corporation auspiced under Radiant Life Education Ltd. In 2024 an additional two Traditional Owner organisations – Yuku Baja Muliku Landowner and Reserves Ltd and the Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC joined the pilot, taking the total number of communities in the pilot to five.

The working group also developed several steps to ensure success including the creation of a paid position as the Community Research Assistant in each community and the engagement of a consultant data and IT provider (Environmental Systems Solutions) to assist participating communities with technical support and data management coordination.

Stage Three: Integration of Traditional Owner data and knowledge with Western science systems

The project aims for the data collected through the Strong Peoples-Strong Country pilot project to be integrated with the Western-based RIMReP database systems. The Technical Working Group and the Foundation are continuing to work together to co-design this process and continue to support the pilot communities throughout the integration process.

The data sharing process will begin with a data sharing agreement between pilot community groups and the Foundation to enable analysis of the data across all five groups. This analysis will test the connection between the six hubs, and identify any similarities and differences being revealed by the data.

Looking ahead

Generally governments, researchers and scientists are focused on data, monitoring and management, so they are interested in how the Traditional Owner Integrated Monitoring and Reporting program can support and benefit the Reef into the future. By creating a solid, repeatable blueprint now – and showing the benefits, outcomes and statistics of projects like Strong Peoples-Strong Country – RIMReP, its major partners and other Reef stakeholders will continue to recognise the importance and need for more Traditional Owner-led programs in the future.

Traditional Owners have expressed their aspiration to author their own Outlook Reports and continue to contribute and lead in State of the Environment Reporting about the critically important Great Barrier Reef.