Ethnosciences and Spatial Representations of Changing Environments

Strategies of adaptation and resilience to climate change challenge the perdurable distinction between natural and cultural. Natural and cultural environments are coupled concepts, but they become fully interdependent in situations of environmental change, when traditional representations become unsuitable to describe the transformed spaces. New representations become necessary particularly during environmental crises connected to climate change as they unfold as accelerated processes, caused by both predictable and unpredictable human-driven factors. Enhanced mapping strategies re/developed at the local level need to include former imaginaries superposed with new sets of information. This paper discusses the cases of changing spatial representations developed by Aboriginal communities that live in strict coupling with their natural environment. The paper focuses on the case of the Northern Territory in Australia, which faces enduring conditions of low tides and land degradation mainly due to extensive fires. As the fundamental orientation of Aboriginal communities to land and water is modified by the introduction of GIS technologies, a techno-visual hybrid language is being developed to represent their spaces and themselves at the same time through visual negotiations and technical compromises. A discussion follows on the efficacy of participatory mapping processes in contexts of a manifested imbalance of power, and on the epistemic role played by vision in creating the ground for a constructive negotiation at the cross section between technology, narration, experience, and traditional knowledge.