By SHANNON BEATTIE
The ecological restoration industry is grappling with how to engage Indigenous organisations and communities in ways that are genuine, respectful and effective, rather than tokenistic or performative.
Across initiatives globally, there is increasing recognition that Indigenous leadership delivers stronger cultural, social and environmental outcomes - but also an urgent need to understand what conditions make this engagement work.
This was the focus of a Master’s thesis in Indigenous Cultural Studies completed by Noongar Land Enterprise Group (NLE) employee Sol Slattery, who set out to review international examples and draw lessons that can improve professional practice.
By comparing approaches across different settler-colonial contexts, his aim was to highlight both the barriers that undermine collaboration and the methods that succeed in creating lasting, respectful partnerships.
“The aim of my master’s thesis was to take a strengths-based position to show what works and what is good engagement,” Mr Slattery said.
“That can be built upon, strengthened, learned from.”
His decision to take this approach was rooted in the reality he has seen play out time and again in the sector.
“A constant mistake made in the industry is inappropriate engagement of Indigenous Australians and Indigenous Australian organisations,” Mr Slattery said.
“It’s others trying to do it for their own agenda rather than actually support self-determination.”
This notion is backed up by the interim report from the independent review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act in Australia, which clearly states that from its findings there is “an overall culture of tokenism and symbolism, rather than one of genuine inclusion of Indigenous Australians”.
For Mr Slattery, the motivation for his research cannot be separated from his personal story.
He spent his earliest years in Papua New Guinea, where his surroundings instilled both a deep appreciation for natural environments and an early awareness of cultural difference.
Returning to Australia as a child, he found that his fascination with landscapes and people only deepened.
This dual interest in people and place carried through into his education.
He pursued a Bachelor of Arts in Social Justice and International Relations, before undertaking an internship with Commonland in Amsterdam, an organisation working globally to restore degraded landscapes through projects that combine ecology, economy and community.
“My interest and passion is more where people and their surrounding environments intersect,” Mr Slattery said.
“There’s not really a separation of the two because social systems and environmental systems are naturally connected.”
That understanding became the foundation of his Master’s research.
Ecological restoration as a field has evolved significantly over the past several decades.
Once defined narrowly as repairing ecosystems through technical intervention, it has increasingly shifted towards holistic approaches that acknowledge the interconnectedness of human societies and the natural world.
Indigenous knowledge systems - built on reciprocity and stewardship of land and sea over thousands of years - are integral to this shift.
They offer not just local ecological insight but also an alternative worldview, one where the wellbeing of people and the wellbeing of Country are inseparable.
By reviewing projects across four countries, Mr Slattery found restoration efforts succeed most when Indigenous organisations are not just consulted but empowered to lead.
“In Australia’s Arnhem Land, for example, Indigenous fire management has reduced carbon emissions, protected biodiversity, and supported cultural continuity,” he said.
“In Canada and the United States, co-managed restoration projects showed how outcomes improved when Indigenous voices were central rather than peripheral.”
But his research also underscored how often engagement falls short.
Indigenous ecological knowledge is sometimes reduced to data to be slotted into scientific models, rather than respected as a system in its own right.
Concerns about intellectual property remain acute, with many Elders cautious about sharing cultural knowledge in case it is misused.
These tensions reflect the continuing legacies of colonisation, where even well-meaning restoration projects can unintentionally reproduce extractive relationships.
At NLE, Mr Slattery sees daily how Indigenous-led approaches can reshape land management and enterprise.
Australia’s first Aboriginal grower group, NLE is built on principles of self-determination and leadership, showing in practice the kind of authentic engagement his Master’s thesis called for.
“I’m pretty privileged at my age to be working in the space that I am, and with the people that I do, at NLE and also at Commonland,” he said.
“It’s definitely not something I take for granted either, and I really enjoy it.”
The connection between his academic research and his professional role makes his contribution especially valuable.
For NLE, the insights he has drawn from international literature reinforce the importance of staying true to Indigenous leadership and resisting tokenism.
For the wider ecological restoration industry, they serve as a reminder that genuine partnership is not an optional extra but a necessary condition for success.
Despite his achievements, Mr Slattery is cautious about tying his identity too tightly to professional titles.
“As long as I’m doing work that I enjoy and that challenges me - and I think is supporting healthy people and healthy Country - then I’m going to be happy,” he said.
“As long as I can keep doing that, I guess that’s my ambition, wherever that leads.”
What is clear is that whether at NLE, through international projects, or in future opportunities yet to come, his focus will remain on the intersection of people and place.
From his childhood among the reefs of Papua New Guinea to his research across four continents, Mr Slattery’s journey has reinforced a simple but powerful truth - ecological restoration is about relationships as much as it is about landscapes.
In bringing together international examples, his Master’s adds to the growing call for ecological restoration that is grounded in respect, authenticity and Indigenous self-determination.
For organisations like NLE, it provides both affirmation and encouragement that Indigenous-led approaches are the path forward.
For the industry more broadly, it offers something too often missing - not just critique of what has gone wrong, but clear evidence of what works, and why.
