Wellbeing of Traditional Owners: conceptual and methodological approach

This paper presents the conceptual and methodological aspects of an in-progress research project. The project objective is to explore wellbeing of Traditional Owners of country, both in a generic sense and with specific emphasis on the benefits, which Traditional Owners derive from country and participation in natural resource management (NRM) activities. Wellbeing is an inclusive concept, integrating domains such as economic opportunity (employment/income), health (mental/physical), social interactions (family, community), country and culture, among others. A literature review is provided on frameworks and models of wellbeing. From those applications, a framework suitable for the scope of this research is developed and implemented through a combination of qualitative (based on focus group discussions) and quantitative (questionnaire) methods. The paper describes some preliminary data and offers some equally preliminary conclusions. The research is being funded by the Burdekin Dry Tropics Board and CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, and conducted in collaboration with Nywaigi Traditional Owners in North-east Queensland