Corporate Social Responsibility, Indigenous Australians And Environmental Sustainability

Indigenous Australians and the Land

Write a Brief Paper for your company about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), environmental sustainability and how this links to Indigenous Australian peoples’ relationship to the land, and principles of Indigenous sustainability.

Indigenous Australian people are present all over the country and are exposed to risks of various types from business operations especially those of mining (Howitt, 2012). Businesses needs to plan their operations in a manner that understands land and responsibility without threatening environmental sustainability of these people. A company therefore, needs to develop its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) that is able to establish a link of Indigenous Australians with  those of principles relating to Indigenous sustainability. Such responsibility necessarily protects and does not threaten environment as prior to environmental sustainability. The scope of this paper includes pertinent issue regarding land and environment with ways the Company plans to preserve it. A brief discussion connecting with past trends affecting the community has been conducted to establish a historical connection.        

Issue of Indigenous Australians relates to avoiding any possible scope of conflicts and to conduct operation in a peaceful manner. 

Foundational aspects of Indigenous Australian cultures (the Dreaming & economic organisation)

The foundation of Indigenous cultures accommodates ceremonies and practices based on belief in Dreamtime. Their culture emphasizes worship for oral traditions along with land practices. There are a number of tribal divisions and language grouping from individually significant cultures. The Dreaming within their culture provides scope for worldview structures that encompasses a reality framework for understanding regarding the world with roles of humans within it. The framework allows explanation for creation regarding universe and ways its things came into existence (Ens, 2012). Provides a blueprint for living forms that were created through the Dreaming. Thirdly, the concept provides set of rules for living being within it as basis for existence and their social relationships, religious and economic activities. The term Dreaming coined by European anthropologists forms a basis for their cultures with truth regarding meaning of everything within it.       

Indigenous Australian population has limited understanding regarding economic and financial aspects. They cannot even operate their own ATMs and money in an appropriate manner as their participation within the economy was to a limited extent. Unemployment rates within the Aboriginals were 3 times as compared to the non-Indigenous population. Their businesses are however successful having unique advantage when they want to overcome challenges.

The influence of historical colonisation practices, policies and legislation relating to Indigenous Australian peoples

Historical Context

History of Indigenous Australians is central to the understanding related to Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal population. Before the arrival of the Europeans 60,000 years earlier, they had a complex history. Colonization and invasion changed their history from 1788 to 1890, while protection and segregation happened from 1890s through the 1950s. Later there were effects of assimilation from policies, practices and legislations 1940s to 1960s (Cullen?Unsworth, 2012). Integration, self-management and self-determination took place from 1967 to the middle of 1990s. Later there was reconciliation within their culture from 1991 till the end of 2000. They have experienced significant historical legacy with impacts on their lives while living in Australian society. Some impacts relating to Indigenous cultures are emotional from experience of their families, barriers for living skills as some had been separated from their families. They immensely lack sense of institution with lack of trust in them. Backwardness amongst Aboriginals can greatly be attributed to impacts from colonization where they were not allowed to participate in economic activities. Policies and practices that were developed during the period of colonization hindered participation of Aboriginals from quality education as well economic activities. Allowing participation in meager tasks led to their backwardness and inability to similar lifestyles compared to those of other Australians. This hindered progress of Indigenous people creating a gap in their ability to participate or avail basic opportunities of life. Health   of Aboriginal people has become a long-standing effects of backwardness amongst their community. Improving their health has been a challenge for the government along with companies in areas with large concentration of their population.           

The links between past and present Indigenous socio-economic disadvantage

Indigenous population had been socially and economically disadvantaged in the past and remains to lag behind other Australians (HealthInfoNet, 2017). With past socio-economic trends being negative, such have percolated to show recent impacts in health and other socio-economic parameters. In mining areas of Australia, Indigenous people were disadvantaged facing poverty and welfare dependency challenges. Colonization in the area led to depression of Indigenous population, that further led to dependency to the state. Denial of Indigenous people rights to self-determination forced them to depend on the colonizer for their welfare. Earlier Indigenous people had means of subsistence in the economy that had provided them with full employment in the past 12,000 years. Colonization denied them access to quality education with progressively being subject to policy control and segregation. Employment for Indigenous people were limited to rural and domestic industry with a meager amount of wages being paid to them. Later in 1960s equal wages were meant to be awarded to Aboriginal which caused downturn to rural economy. The Community Development Employment Program (CDEP) had aspects of welfare colonization that aimed at building economic equality.

Social and Economic Disadvantages of Indigenous Australians

Large number of issues were facing policy makers in Indigenous employment in face of rising unemployment and job creation for meeting needs of working age population. However, such policies and changes were unable to bring about any significant impact to the Indigenous people. The gap created in social and healthcare welfare was tremendous and increased substantially. Indigenous Australians along with UN had worked for their existing human rights and for future protection of the same. Aboriginals had been denied access to traditional industries ever since colonization. Indigenous people were said to have marginal economic position in Australian society with restricted access to cash economy, discrimination I n education and employment, restricting places of residence as well as mobility, which was reflected through their marginal status. The current economic system within which Aboriginals live have emerged from conditions in which Aboriginals have lived for a period of two hundred years. The economic disadvantage have further percolated to lower levels in incomes, lower labor force, higher rates of unemployment and so on. Mostly poor employment factors can be attributed to Indigenous poverty and their socio-economic disadvantages.          

Current Position 

Businesses in several areas of Australia are conducting mining activities that forces harm of the cultural aspects of the Indigenous population often hampering their arts and artifacts. As mining activities makes extensive use of land, Indigenous people were often forced to leave their current places and migrate elsewhere (Davies, 2011). Lack of technical or professional education amongst them hindered them from having access to suitable jobs as well as health care facilities. Though displaced, companies are taking minimum amount of steps to ensure viability of their population. Conducting of business operations have been threatening environmental sustainability also hampering respect of Indigenous Australian people to their land. Areas that had been inhabited by these population’s forefathers had been taken away by companies for their profit motives. Past circumstances have affected current status of these people, especially lack in education and healthcare facilities have been detrimental to development of these population. Historic factors amongst these people have led to current and future capacities allowing people to participate in programs, ventures, employments and so on. Aboriginal people have taken considerable action towards generation of a positive impact on their life for better opportunities in education and healthcare facilities. Especially in the field of health Aboriginals have made significant progresses. Policy changes and legislations in recent times have impacted development of a better society with improvement in their lifestyles. With contribution from private partnership there can be better impacts generated on this segment of the population.      

Mining and Environmental Sustainability

With accommodation and development of CSR and environmental sustainability norms Indigenous Australians can be transformed. The aim of sustainable land management entails managing of land in absence of ecological processes without hampering biological diversity (Shaw, 2015). Companies need to maintain environmental biodiversity as variety of species, habitats, ecosystems, populations and ecological integrity for general health and resilience of natural life-support. Provisions needs to be made for assimilating wastes, withholding stress of climate change, ozone depletion and natural capital. Indigenous people since the last 40,000 years had been excellent managers of land and their resources, without exploiting them. Such management required extensive knowledge along with responsible practices as it mediates aspect of life from their social organization. Indigenous people unlike companies that are mining in the area have emotional, economic and spiritual connection with their country. They share similar life essence as natural species in their landscape had. The Australian Federal Government respects Indigenous people’s knowledge in management of land, sea, fresh water and conserving biodiversity. The government is taking active steps in conserving their active biodiversity and  for their general improvement, but such efforts is not possible in absence of companies participation. Companies while undertaking CSR and environmental initiatives needs to consider  Indigenous population point of view, taking their recommendations.            

Analysing socio-economic aspects of Indigenous population, it can be understood that they had been ignored in the past.  Mining companies for the purpose of their business activity and operations had been severely faced with conflicts with Indigenous population. They had been destroying several land structures, arts and artifacts that forms a crucial part of the culture relating to Indigenous population. Therefore, while shifting Indigenous population care  must be taken to ensure that such arts and artifacts can be preserved. Company’s implications regarding CSR needs to exclude points that reflects cultures of Indigenous people. Exploring of minerals  needs to be conducted in a conserved manner such that none of arts and artifacts are destroyed. Recommendations includes to promote business in the area with preservation of their culture along with providing prospects for employment. Employment will provide socio-economic benefits for uplifting general conditions of people in the area who has been displaced. Setting up of health centers with centers for education will provide additional benefits to the population. This will reflect respect towards Indigenous Australian peoples.   

Reference Lists

Cullen?Unsworth, L. C. (2012). A research process for integrating Indigenous and scientific knowledge in cultural landscapes: principles and determinants of success in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, Australia. The Geographical Journal, 351-365.

Davies, J. C. (2011). Attention to four key principles can promote health outcomes from desert Aboriginal land management. The Rangeland Journal, 417-431.

Ens, E. J. (2012). Australian approaches for managing ‘country’using Indigenous and non?Indigenous knowledge. Ecological Management & Restoration, 100-107.

HealthInfoNet, A. I. (2017). Overview of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health status 2015.

Howitt, R. (2012). Sustainable indigenous futures in remote Indigenous areas: relationships, processes and failed state approaches. GeoJournal, 817-828.

Shaw, W. H. (2015). Moral issues in business. . Cengage Learning.

Whitford, M. M. (2010). Australian indigenous tourism policy: practical and sustainable policies? Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 475-496