Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
knowledge of how to use i re gained through millennia of active engage-
ment between Aborigines and their local environment. This is contextu-
alized with a moral claim that the Aborigines are the 'custodians' (p. 6)
of the land together with the anti-colonial discourse that emphasizes the
European repression of Aborigines. In this way, the Aboriginal story can
rely on strong ai nities with the established cause of native title claims,
which has gained considerable political credibility since the early 1970s.
This rel ects Hajer's idea of how moral orders are established through
discourse in that blame and responsibility are attributed to European
descendants in order to justify prioritizing the Aboriginal representatives'
views on land management. In terms of social practice, it is signii cant
that an Aboriginal representative was, out of respect, asked to open the
seminar. But in terms of the discourse coalition analysis, the important
point is the existence of this clear narrative thread about the need for
active human-nature engagement; as such, this is available for connecting
with the other actors' discourses.
Although couched in very dif erent terminology, government scientists'
discourse follows the same narrative thread as that of the Aborigines.
Here, human engagement with ecosystems is promoted as necessary to
ensure conservation. Two subsidiary discourses are discernible: a story-
line of 'habitat diversity' (p.36), preservation through burning and a
story-line of 'fuel reduction' (p. 37) where anthropogenic i re is endorsed
as a way of avoiding the catastrophic ecological consequences of naturally
occurring i res by reducing the volume of standing fuel. The basis for such
engagement is scientii c knowledge as opposed to traditional knowledge
but the story is the same. By advocating 'patch' or 'mosaic burning' (p. 31),
which is thought to have been traditionally pursued by Aborigines (p. 27),
and claiming that this leads to ecologically desirable 'stable' vegetation
patterns, discursive ai nity with the Aboriginal discourse is also exhibited.
The connection is also facilitated by constructing Aboriginal practices
in scientii c terms, with reference to scientii c papers on Aboriginal land
management and even the inclusion of one such paper in the transcripts
of the conference.
This narrative thread is reinforced again by the discourse of the pastor-
alists. Here, everyday economic practices are portrayed as supporting the
practice of burning in both environmental and economic terms. Again,
active engagement between humanity and nature (through burning) is seen
as benei cial in the long term. The pastoralist representatives maintain
the story-line of i re being environmentally benei cial at the same time as
emphasizing its economic desirability. By describing pastures as 'botanical
communities' (p. 29) they claim that i re can maintain 'botanical stability'
(p.32) and therefore preserve environmental 'integrity'. This provides a
