Moreton Island QYAC Fire Project

Moreton Island QYAC Fire Project

 

Aboriginal Traditional knowledge to develop the best fire management strategies.

 

Fire on MoretonDocumenting and reporting Aboriginal traditional and contemporary knowledge in fire management.Inclusion of the traditional knowledge for the use of fire in restoration and regeneration of disturbed ecosystems and pest management.

Healthy Land & Water’s QYAC Mulgumpin Jarlo (fire) Project is designed to document and record the Quandamooka Peoples Traditional Jarlo (fire) management knowledge for the Indigenous Joint Management Area (IJMA) on Mulgumpin (Moreton Island) to include that knowledge in future fire management strategies.

The traditional knowledge will be compiled into a final Traditional Fire Management Report that will serve as a working draft for review and stakeholder consultation, to create Final Fire Management Strategies.

The project focused on:

  • Recording traditional fire management history.
  • Documenting traditional and contemporary knowledge in the use of Aboriginal land management practices.
  • Developing a fire management report including Quandamooka People's Aboriginal Traditional knowledge.
  • Listing the recommendations for ongoing traditional fire activities required to be undertaken.
  • Including the rationale and recommendations for the use of fire in the restoration and regeneration of disturbed ecosystems and in pest management.

 

What we did

Photo of tree with aboriginal sculpturingListing the recommendations for ongoing traditional fire activities required to be undertaken.

The project involved: 

  • Recording traditional fire management history.
  • Documenting traditional and contemporary knowledge in the use of Aboriginal land management practices.
  • Developing a fire management report including Quandamooka People's Aboriginal Traditional knowledge.
  • Listing recommendations for ongoing traditional fire activities required to be undertaken.
  • Including the rationale and recommendations for the use of fire in the restoration and regeneration of disturbed ecosystems and pest management.
  • Specifying the requirements for integrating cultural sites, values, and their projections into the Indigenous Joint Management (IMJ) Fire Management Strategy.
  • Mapping Quandamooka cultural values and sites within as this relates to contemporary fire management practices and Quandamooka Peoples’ fire management objectives.
  • Providing a summary of all stakeholders’ consultations.
  • Listing recommendations and specifications for the appropriate cultural protocol to manage current and emerging fire operations.

 

Measuring success

As a result, this project delivered a Final Traditional Fire Management Report incorporating all Quandamooka People's Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge recorded and documented throughout the project.

In addition, this initiative ensured that appropriate traditional fire data and documentation were incorporated into the Indigenous Joint Management (IJM) Fire Management Strategy, and any associated Protocols under the IMA.

 

Why this project is important

Effective fire management is crucial to the preservation of cultural heritage values on Moreton Island.

Quandamooka People have always managed the Quandamooka Estate through fire and fire is an important part of their native title rights and interests.

Their knowledge and millennial experience with bushfire management guarantees that the frequency, timing, and intensity of planned fire achieve cultural landscape objectives and that life and property are protected.

Therefore, consulting with Quandamooka People for the development of fire management strategies represents an opportunity for them to reestablish their custodianship of a living cultural landscape and it is paramount to protect life and property and reduce the risk of an island-wide bushfire.

 

Project snapshot

Project name:  QYAC Mulgumpin Jarlo (Fire) Project
Project manager:  Hayley Shields & Nicole Rawson-Harris, Healthy Land & Water
Catchment:  Moreton Island
Timing: 2021
Budget: $146,258
Partnerships: 

This project was funded by the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC), with the support of the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Services (QPWS) and the Department of Environment and Science.

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What's next

There is huge potential to build on the successful work.

 

Project collaborators

This project was funded by the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC), with the support of the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Services (QPWS) and the Department of Environment and Science.

 

QYAC Logo High Resolution transparent background TRIM            Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service logo          des qld logo 30

 

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