Biographical note:
Dani is a transdisciplinary environmental and social scientist and aspiring scholar-activist, specialising in the rights and interests of marginalised and First Peoples, and strengthening bridges between academic research and action, to progress systemic transformations. Dani is from Kingston, Jamaica and has a broad professional and academic background, having attained a Masters in Marine Biology and Ecology from James Cook University after transitioning from a 9-year corporate career in the Caribbean and Central America. Dani made her foray into environmental consulting and project management where she collaborated on and led projects in the Caribbean, Australia and the Philippines for multilateral development funding agencies, NGOs, public and private sector entities. Her projects sat at the interface of sustainable development, climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction and social change designed to help people and communities build their resilience to disaster and climate change through nature-based and engineered solutions.
As a doctoral candidate at The Cairns Institute, Dani’s research will use intersectional theory as a critical and political tool for a multiscale, historically grounded exploration of how power mediates mechanisms designed to support Indigenous-led restoration and environmental governance within the Great Barrier Reef. Her work focuses on Traditional Use of Marine Resources Agreements (TUMRAs), legal decision-making agreements negotiated between Reef Traditional Owners and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA).
Research topic: Rights and Restoration: An Intersectional Exploration Of Traditional Use Of Marine Resources Agreements (TUMRAs) Within The Great Barrier Reef (GBR)
Research outline:
Ecological restoration is deemed a global priority in the face of unprecedented environmental decline. Concurrently, the need for restoration to respect the rights and interests of Indigenous Peoples is increasingly recognised as many of the ecosystems of restoration interest are within Indigenous territories. Claims that restoration, and broader environmental governance, are historically and presently intertwined with settler colonial projects and struggles over territory highlights the urgent need for Indigenous consent, alongside meaningful, equitable partnerships based on power-sharing.
The Great Barrier Reef is an international icon of cultural and ecological importance where over 70 Traditional Owner groups are well positioned to advance meaningful restoration. Traditional Use of Marine Resources Agreements (TUMRAs) will serve as empirical case studies for exploring power dynamics. Intersectional theory, which recognises power structures, will be used as a critical and political tool for a multiscale, historically grounded exploration of how power dynamics enable and inhibit the rights and agency of First Peoples. The project will bring attention to issues of justice, epistemic authority and decolonisation, with important implications for the conservation of biocultural values (that is, to positive relationships between cultural, linguistic and biological diversity) and to compliance with obligations under the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Convention on Biological Diversity.
Advisory panel:
Distinguished Professor Stewart Lockie
Associate Professor Theresa Petray
Dr. Vincent Backhaus
Research Grants:
James Cook University High Degree Research Scholarship
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/daninembhard