News, Funding & Awards

Charles Darwin Uni, in collaboration with Northern Institute, are offering a generous scholarship for a PhD in Indigenous-led management of Sea Country: Developing and implementing new models of protected area and fisheries governance

Indigenous applicants are strongly encouraged to apply.

Traditional Owners (TOs) are increasingly finding ways of fulfilling their responsibilities to manage their land and sea Country, including through the formation of Indigenous ranger groups and the dedication of Indigenous Protected Areas. Whilst the contributions of TOs and Indigenous rangers to terrestrial conservation have been widely documented, their contributions to Sea Country management are often overlooked. In addition, many management collaborations involving Indigenous and non-Indigenous marine managers reflect unequal relationships in decision-making power and knowledge authority.

The ARC Linkage Project 'Indigenous Led Sea Country Management' is addressing critical knowledge gaps and supporting relationship-building between Indigenous and non-Indigenous marine and fisheries managers, in order to improve the visibility, equity and outcomes of Sea Country management in northern Australia. It seeks to do so by collaboratively designing strategies for planning, implementing and evaluating Sea Country and fisheries management under the dual authority of TOs and government agencies.

We are looking for a PhD scholar to join our team of experienced researchers. They will have the opportunity to contribute to projects in the NT and WA which have been prioritised by our Indigenous collaborators as well as government agencies, which recognise Indigenous knowledge practices and authority, and which have existing funding.

We are offering a competitive stipend (Stipend $50,000 p.a.) substantially above the normal rate for a researcher with existing expertise and experience in partnering with Indigenous communities in a relevant academic or industry sector (such as conservation planning, Indigenous land and sea management, protected area governance, fisheries management, MPA management, anthropology, policy or similar). Ideally the candidate would be based in Darwin for fieldwork and team coordination purposes, and would commence in Semester 1 of 2023, although these are negotiable. Indigenous applicants are strongly encouraged to apply.