Lise Fournier-Carnoy

PhD Candidate

My PhD tries to explore practical and meaningful ways of having Indigenous science and Western science work alongside each other as equals in the research, protection, and management of the marine environment. This is known as Two-Way Science, and I am lucky to conduct this work on Wadandi Country, in the Capes Region, 3h south of Boorloo/Perth.

Across Australia there is an increasing movement for more Marine Parks to be jointly managed with Traditional Owners, meaning both Western and Indigenous interests are looked after. But because this is a very recent way of managing Marine Parks, and there is a lot to learn and improve on.

There is more than ever a need for Western science to make space for Indigenous knowledge and methods, and this has to come with a fundamental change in how we research, how we monitor, and how we manage the marine environment.

My project aims to help along this joint management process, by exploring what exactly it might look like in Wadandi Country – how do we monitor the Ngari Capes Marine Park with a different way of knowing? And how does the Marine Park perform under Wadandi measures of ecological health?

I am conducting Yowli/Sable Shearwater (Ardenna carneipes) population surveys on Wadandi Country with the Undalup Association Rangers, aiming to normalise Two-Way Science in as many ecological research projects as possible, by identifying what good collaborations look like.