The risks posed by new species entering local environments have become a defining characteristic of Indigenous land management in many regions of the world. Managing these risks requires new information which has prompted government agencies, Indigenous organisations, industry groups and others to advance new knowledge and different biosecurity practices. Tensions can exist between interest groups who ascribe to different management discourses and thus advocate different versions of ‘biosecurity’, for example over which organisms should be governed as harmful, what kind of knowledge is useful to inform management practice and what constitutes ‘risk’. Indigenous organisations are typically keen to protect their traditional country from exotic pests, plants and diseases however their ‘caring for country’ values and related management interests do not always align with those of government agencies tasked with the management of ‘high priority’ pests, plants and diseases. We draw on research conducted with Indigenous organisations from northern Australia to understand what they worry about in relation to managing exotic species on their traditional country. We argue that partnerships capable of supporting diverse values, management interests and related understandings of risk are likely to support place based innovations for the management of exotic species in northern Australia.

Cyclone Winston in February 2016 was the most devastating tropical cyclone that attacked the Fiji Islands. At least 43 people were killed and approximately 350,000 people were affected. In particular, communities located on remote islands were severely damaged. Initially, grasping the degree of damage by the cyclone on remote communities was nearly impossible due to the destruction of communication methods. Aid from the governments also did not instantly reach the communities. Interestingly, it was reported that a few villages and remote communities have demonstrated better mitigation mechanisms and faster recovery from the impact of Cyclone Winston, without substantial aid from the government or the international community. In Bukama village on the Yasawa Island, for example, the community has effectively mobilised its social capital and indigenous knowledge to recover from the impact of the disaster. Based on research conducted in four communities in Fiji, our research aims to identify what kind of mitigation mechanisms have functioned in the communities, how people have acted for recovery, and how indigenous knowledge has contributed to the process. Our research also aims to document and highlight key indigenous knowledge to mitigate the impact of natural disasters in the context of Pacific Island countries.