Case study
Ensuring Indigenous knowledge is applied in planning and management is key as Indigenous roles in the management of protected areas increases here and globally.
Linking Indigenous knowledge and science to management of protected areas
Globally, and in Australia, the recognition of Indigenous roles in protected areas has increased exponentially, but there are key gaps in the way Indigenous knowledge is applied in planning and management.
Joint Management is a term used to describe a formal partnership arrangement between the Traditional Owners of land and the State, where both share their knowledge to manage specific national parks and other protected areas.
In Victoria, Recognition and Settlement Agreements (under a special legislation for recognising native title in Victoria) required a range of new Joint Managed Parks. One of those Agreements included the Dja Dja Wurrung People and their Country in Central Victoria.
Native Title agreements in other states in Australia are also resulting in many joint managed protected areas.
Introducing an opportunities focus to Indigenous park management
We led a consortium including the Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation, their enterprises arm Djandak, and consultancy Conservation Management, to facilitate development of the Joint Management Plan for six parks and reserves in central Victoria. We also worked closely with staff in Parks Victoria and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.
The goal of the Joint Management Plan was to enable Traditional Owner knowledge and connection to Country to be expressed in the planning and management of the six Dja Dja Wurrung parks.
We used innovative participatory tools and methods to bring together the Dja Dja Wurrung People's Indigenous knowledge with western scientific approaches to land management.
We brought together three different types of planning approaches - Healthy Country Planning, Public Choice Regulatory Planning and Spatial Planning.
Innovations included the use of interactive spatial data table-top projections for our mapping, and new models of habitat suitability and threat prioritisation. We brought an "opportunities" focus into the traditional "threat focus" of planning.
A new benchmark for park management
The Dja Dja Wurrung Joint Management Plan promotes Traditional Owners' strong culture and connection to lands and waterways.
The Joint Management Plan will articulate the vision, goals, outcomes, measures and long-term strategies for parks within planning areas. Management plans have a 15-year time frame and adopt a landscape-wide approach, and will consider things bordering the park that influence how a park operates.
Strategies include:
The result is a best-practice, innovative plan, that sets a new benchmark for park management in Victoria, and Australia.
We partner with small and large companies, government and industry in Australia and around the world.