Over the past three years, more than 300 participants engaged through workshops, roundtables, interviews and case studies to co-design the National Indigenous Environmental Research Network (NIERN). This process confirmed a critical gap: Indigenous voices and research priorities remain largely absent from national environmental research decision-making.
NIERN is now positioned to become a membership-based, Indigenous-led and Indigenous-owned organisation that sets national priorities for environmental research connecting Indigenous research users with research providers. Research priorities identified at the local and regional scale will influence large-scale environmental agendas and programmes, while directly enhancing outcomes for First Nations communities in land and sea management.
The network creates space for a national Indigenous dialogue that informs major environmental programs including NESP, the Nature Repair Market and IPA Rangers, building on decades of work already led by Indigenous Peoples across Australia
Four key impact areas anchor NIERN's vision: Indigenous knowledges and perspectives determining the direction and priorities of environmental research; culturally informed policies and practices that protect and strengthen Indigenous rights and knowledge; building two-way capacity in right-way science and Indigenous-led research; and decolonising agreement-making to uphold data sovereignty rights. Together, these pillars represent a genuine shift in how environmental research is governed and delivered.