This issue presents work and ideas from a diverse range of Indigenous and non-Indigenous practitioners, researchers and collaborators who work in central and northern Australia in a range of environments, from local to regional scales.

Most articles in this issue were initially delivered at the 2010 Ecological Society of Australia conference symposium titled ‘Combining Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledge for land management solutions’. Relatively high Indigenous participation was supported by the inaugural ESA Indigenous travel grant scheme. Contributors were then invited to formally develop papers for submission to this issue and calls for other articles were made to broaden the scope and for inclusivity.