There is a growing emphasis on formally recognizing the connection to the marine environment of Indigenous peoples and the traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) these strong connections cultivate. The potential for TEK to significantly enrich the scientific comprehension of the marine environment, whilst also celebrating the rich bio-cultural knowledge in its own right, is indisputable. Here, we present a scientifically robust and culturally appropriate participatory mapping methodology for the marine environment which can effectively achieve genuine cross-cultural ecological knowledge transfer between scientists and Indigenous Peoples. Through a case study working with the Anindilyakwa people of the Groote Eylandt Archipelago, we mapped the TEK of benthic habitats off Australia’s poorly surveyed northern coast. Representatives from 14 Anindilyakwa clan groups participated in the marine mapping (n = 53), resulting in 22 individual maps. Eleven broad-scale habitat classifications, predominately in the intertidal and nearshore marine environment, were described in both Anindilyakwa and English. The information gathered was then used to develop benthic habitat maps covering a combined area of ∼1800 km2 and was assessed for accuracy against in situ observations. We found that despite the difficulties in working across two different world views, through the application of this carefully refined methodology, scientists can effectively document the rich TEK of the marine environment in a manner suitable for conservation and management planning while also supporting the prioritization of Indigenous values within the decision-making process.

中文翻译：

---

通过跨文化合作绘制海洋环境图

人们越来越重视正式承认土著人民与海洋环境的联系以及这些密切联系所培养的传统生态知识 (TEK)。TEK 在显着丰富对海洋环境的科学理解的同时，同时也庆祝其本身丰富的生物文化知识的潜力是无可争议的。在这里，我们提出了一种科学上稳健且文化上适当的海洋环境参与式制图方法，可以有效地实现科学家和土著人民之间真正的跨文化生态知识转移。通过与 Groote Eylandt 群岛的 Anindilyakwa 人合作的案例研究，我们绘制了澳大利亚北部海岸调查不足的底栖栖息地的 TEK 地图。来自 14 个 Anindilyakwa 部落团体的代表参与了海洋测绘（n = 53），产生了 22 张个人地图。Anindilyakwa 和英语描述了 11 个广泛的栖息地分类，主要是在潮间带和近岸海洋环境中。然后使用收集到的信息来绘制覆盖约 1800 平方公里的总面积的底栖栖息地地图，并根据原位观察评估其准确性。我们发现，尽管很难跨越两种不同的世界观，但通过应用这种精心改进的方法，科学家们可以以适合保护和管理规划的方式有效地记录海洋环境的丰富 TEK，同时还支持对土著的优先排序决策过程中的价值观。