ED AR. Our Country Our Way: Guidelines for Australian Indigenous Protected Area Management Plans. Hill, R., Walsh F., Davies, J. and Sandford, M.

Transcription

1 D IN IGENOUS A S PR OT ECT ED AR E Our Country Our Way: Guidelines for Australian Indigenous Protected Area Management Plans Hill, R., Walsh F., Davies, J. and Sandford, M. 2011

2 Our Country Our Way Guidelines for Australian Indigenous Protected Area Management Plans Northern Tanami IPA Enquiries Ro Hill Ph: Fiona Walsh Ph: Jocelyn Davies Ph: Marcus Sandford Ph: ISBN Copyright 2011 Australian Government. To the extent permitted by law, all rights are reserved and no part of this publication covered by copyright may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means except with the written permission of the Australian Government. Copyright over the specific examples from IPA Management Plans included in this document remains with the relevant IPA organisations or peoples as specified in their Management Plans. Report Citation Hill, R., F. Walsh, J. Davies, and M. Sandford Our Country Our Way: Guidelines for Australian Indigenous Protected Area Management Plans. Cairns: CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences and Australian Government Department of Sustainability, Water, Environment, Population and Communities. Design by: Jacqui Smith - Photographs: have been supplied by the IPA Section of the Australian Government Department of Sustainability, Water, Environment, Population and Communities except where otherwise specified. Important Disclaimer CSIRO advises that the information contained in this publication comprises general statements based on the workshop and related research. The reader is needs to be aware that such information may be incomplete or unable to be used in any specific situation. To the extent permitted by law, CSIRO (including its employees and consultants) excludes all liability to any person for any consequences, including but not limited to all losses, damages, costs, expenses and any other compensation, arising directly or indirectly from using this publication (in part or in whole) and any information or material contained in it. INDIGENOUS PROTECTED AREAS Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are warned that this document may contain images of deceased people. Front cover: Spinifex grassland communities in the Northern Tanami IPA. i

3 Preface Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) are a ground-breaking initiative that straddles two major contemporary issues, environmental management and Indigenous cultural survival and adaptation. The Australian IPAs have arisen since the mid 1990s, in parallel with similar global movements reflected in the term Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas. Our Country Our Way has been written for the managers of IPAs, IPA and Co-Management Consultation Projects, and their staff. Their primary aim is to provide practical guidance about how to achieve Management Plans that recognise the connections between Indigenous people, country, traditional law and culture, while also meeting national and international standards for protected area management. In so doing, this document invites planners and others to enter an Indigenous conceptual terrain and consider some highly innovative and at times challenging intercultural adaptations. The Guidelines draw on examples from IPAs and Co-Management Consultation Projects around Australia to illustrate the unique cultural settings and vibrant Indigenous management strategies on country. We thank the many Indigenous traditional owners and/or custodians for their permission to include examples from their IPAs and Consultation Projects. Dedication Our Country Our Way is dedicated to the memory of all Indigenous people who have gone before us, to the ancestral beings and past elders who continue to guide Indigenous management of country, and to all future generations who will inherit and care for land and sea country in Australia. We recognise and respect Indigenous peoples responsibilities and obligations to their country and their ancestors. Acknowledgments Steven Patrick Jampijimpa describes how the Warlpiri people interpret Yankirri the Emu as a teacher who guides people who listen 1. We draw on this Indigenous metaphor to signify the Guidelines goal to provide a useful pathway to those who read them. (Photo by M. Barritt and K. May.) The authors of Our Country Our Way thank the many contributors whose support and input made this document possible. We firstly thank the participants in the workshop on the Australian guidelines project held at the Alice Springs Desert Park in June We especially thank the traditional owners who met us on their country during the workshop. Indigenous peoples from twenty-five IPAs around Australia gave permission for examples from their IPA plans or for photographs of their IPAs to be included in Our Country Our Way. Chrissy Grant, Dan Gillespie, Dermot Smyth, Kim Mahood, Mac Moyses and Miles Holmes provided invaluable comment on an earlier version of this report. The IPA Section of the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (SEWPaC) invested and provided extensive support to the project. CSIRO s Building Resilient Australian Biodiversity Assets Theme provided important co-investment support. Our Country Our Way Guidelines for Australian Indigenous Protected Area Management Plans ii

4 Table of Contents 1 Introduction What is an Indigenous Protected Area What is the purpose of and background to these Guidelines? Why is an IPA Management Plan necessary? What does an IPA Management Plan attempt to do? What does being consistent with an IUCN management category mean? Planning for Indigenous Protected Areas What frameworks and tools assist IPA planning? How can good IPA Management Plans be practically achieved with limited time/money? How should IPA Management Plans be formatted and presented? What is the usual content of an IPA Management Plan? What processes assist management of Indigenous ecological knowledge and property rights? Components of IPA Management Plans What is the vision and intent of the IPA? What is the story of the IPA? What are the governance foundations? Focus for action What are the values? What are the threats to the identified values? What are the community benefits? What strategies will protect values, reduce threats and generate community benefits? What maps do we need to include? How will we learn from what we do and improve management? Other Plans associated with the IPA Management Plan Glossary of planning terms References iii Left: Ensuring access to bush tucker and other resources is an important part of most IPA Management Plans.

5 List of examples from IPA Management Plans Example Two-way management at Angas Downs and Dhimmuru IPAs Example Teachings from country, Northern Tanami IPA Example Conservation Action Planning in the Kimberley Example Planning for country tools Example Yalata IPA Draft Healthy County Plan practical approach with limited time/money Example Plan in parts from Yalata IPA Example Paruku IPA Management Plan Plain English Version Example Map-based poster-style plan Example Table for Contents from Dhimurru IPA Example Table of Contents from the Warddeken IPA Plan Warddeken IPA symbol Example Statement on copyright and intellectual property from Wunambal Gaambera (Uunguu Stage 1) IPA Draft MP Example Toogimbie IPA vision Example Simple, strong vision statements from Paruku IPA Example Ngurrara canvas envisions country from Warlu Jilajaa Jumu IPA Example Story of contemporary arrangements of Guanaba IPA Example Wunambal Gaambera (Uunguu Stage 1) IPA story Example Dhimurru IPA governance arrangements Example Partnering with schools at the Tyrendarra IPA Example Wunambal Gaambera (Uunguu Stage 1) values as targets Example IPA values that are special plants or animals Example Lake Condah IPA: Budj Bim National Landscape values Example Wetland values in Toogimbie IPA: getting the water back to trees Example Dorodong IPA: threats Example Jawoyn IPA: Ecotourism, economic development and mineral resources Example Wunambal Gaambera (Uunguu Stage 1) IPA strategies Example Warddeken IPA Action Tables Example Northern Tanami IPA management maps Example Art and maps in Paruku IPA Planning Example Dhimurru IPA Information Management System Example Tasmanian IPAs Program Logic Frame Example Jawoyn IPA MERI plan List of IPAs in photographs Northern Tanami IPA Cover Anindilyankwa IPA Warddeken IPA Laynhapuy IPA Nantawarrina IPA Acronyms CAP CAPAD CfoC ICCA ICIP IEK IPA IUCN MERI NRS TAFE TO Conservation Action Planning Collaborative Australian Protected Area Database Caring for our Country Indigenous and Community Conserved Area Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property Indigenous Ecological Knowledge Indigenous Protected Area International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Monitoring Evaluation Reporting and Improvement National Reserve System Technical and Further Education Traditional Owner Our Country Our Way Guidelines for Australian Indigenous Protected Area Management Plans iv

6 1.1 Introduction 1.1 What is an Indigenous Protected Area Introduction: What is an Indigenous Protected Area? Indigenous people have looked after their country in Australia for tens of thousands of years. Land and sea country is central to Indigenous people s lives and well-being. It provides an economic base, it underpins Indigenous history, innovation and culture, and is fundamental to spiritual beliefs 2. The Indigenous Protected Areas Program, established in the 1990s by the Australian Government, is a way for Indigenous people to keep looking after their traditional land and sea country with support and recognition from the Australian Government. An Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) is defined by the Australian Government as: an area of land and/or sea over which the Indigenous traditional owners or custodians have entered into a voluntary agreement with the Australia Government for the purposes of promoting biodiversity and cultural resource conservation 2. An agreement with the Australian Government is required for an IPA to be eligible for support from the Australian Government. Indigenous people consider that IPAs are based on their own initiatives and continuing traditional responsibility for country. Indigenous delegates adopted the following definition of an IPA at a national workshop in 1997: An Indigenous Protected Area is governed by the continuing responsibilities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to care for and protect lands and waters for present and future generations. Indigenous Protected Areas may include areas of land and waters over which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are custodians, and which shall be managed for cultural biodiversity and conservation, permitting customary sustainable resource use and sharing of benefit. This definition includes land that is within the existing conservation estate, that is or has the ability to be cooperatively managed by the current management agency and the traditional owners 3. This definition has much in common with the international concept of Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas, which form part of the global protected area system 4 (see 1.4). IPAs that are declared through voluntary agreement with the Australian Government form part of Australia s National Reserve System (NRS, see section 1.4). The first IPA was declared at Nantawarrina in South Australia in Since then the IPA program has expanded rapidly. As at October 2011, there were 48 declared IPAs over all Australian states and territories except the ACT, and more than 40 consultation projects underway (see map on next page). The declared IPAs cover an area in excess of 26.3m ha or just over 25% of Australia s NRS, and 3.4% of the Australian land mass. What is an IPA? Summary Points Indigenous people have looked after their country for tens of thousands of years. IPAs are a way for Indigenous people in Australia to continue looking after traditional country with support and recognition from the Australian Government. IPAs are based on voluntary agreement between the Indigenous owners/managers and the Australian Government. Indigenous people consider IPAs can also be created through their own initiatives. An agreement is needed for support and recognition by the Australian Government. IPAs make up a large part of Australia s National Reserve System and also form part of the global protected areas system. There are now 48 declared IPAs and more than 40 IPA and Co-Management Consultation projects under way that could lead to declarations. 1

7 Introduction: What is an Indigenous Protected Area? 2

8 What is the purpose of and background to these Guidelines? Introduction: What is the purpose of and background to these Guidelines? The Australian Government requires IPAs to have endorsed Management Plans in place to enable it to support any IPA declaration. The purpose of Our Country Our Way is to assist IPA owners, custodians and managers, including those involved in co-management projects, to produce Management Plans that ensure outcomes of value to both Indigenous peoples and the Australian nation. IPA Management Plans bring together management based on connections between Indigenous people, country, traditional law, custom and culture with the Australian and international systems for protected area management. IPA Management Plans are most effective if they ensure Indigenous peoples drive and determine how these requirements will be met. Some excellent Guidelines already exist to help IPA managers develop plans based on the western scientific planning approach: Guidelines for Management Planning of Protected Areas (IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, WCPA, 5 Guidelines for Applying Protected Area Management Categories (IUCN WCPA, 6 Australian Government s National Reserve System Management Plan Guidelines guidemanagement.pdf. 7 Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation ( conservationmeasures.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/cmp_open_standards_ Version_2.0.pdf) 8 These existing Guidelines contain material that is both highly useful and important for IPA managers. However, using these Guidelines alone tends to produce plans that are based on western science and fall short of the potential to present the unique cultural settings and the vibrant Indigenous management strategies on country. between the IPA managers, traditional owners, Australian Government Indigenous Protected Area section staff (within the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities), researchers in the CSIRO, an Independent Indigenous Consultatnt, and other Consultants who have worked on IPA Management Plans. Our Country Our Way will be a valuable resource for both IPA Management Plans and to underpin Management Plans for the Co-Management Consultation Projects. What is the purpose of and background to these Guidelines? Summary Points IPAs need Management Plans to explain how to care for country and keep culture strong. The purpose of Our Country Our Way is to provide information about how to develop and write effective Management Plans. Indigenous law, custom and culture are very important in IPAs. Existing guidelines for writing protected area management plans are mainly based on western science-based planning and do not provide enough ways to address Indigenous law, custom and culture. Our Country Our Way was developed to sit alongside these existing Guidelines. Our Country Our Way was developed through collaboration 3

9 Why is an IPA Management Plan necessary? The Australian Government recognition of an IPA is a response to a declaration process initiated by the Indigenous traditional owners and/or custodians. IPA declaration is preceded by consultation and participatory planning under community control and traditional decision making. The declaration can be recognised by the Australian Government, based on an endorsed Management nt Plan which identifies a management approach consistent with an IUCN Protected Area Management Category (see next section). An IPA declaration also depends on assurances that the right people that can speak for that country have been given an opportunity to make free, prior and informed consent. Once declared, an IPA becomes part of Australia s NRS. Why is an IPA Management Plan necessary? Summary Points IPAs need Management Plans to explain how to care for country and keep culture strong. Documented IPA Management Plans are important to IPA Management Plans: the Australian Government and agencies because (unlike - are the way for people to write down their intent to run their country as National Parks) there is no legislation that specifies the a protected area. role of IPAs. Management Plans establish the intent of - show how an IPA meets international management standards by being traditional owners and custodians to run their country as consistent with an IUCN management category. a protected area. Planning for an IPA allows traditional - are needed so that the Australian Government can recognise and support an IPA. owners tell the right story about their country and - are about people, country, culture, law and custom. their culture, and their aspirations for looking after it. - show how Indigenous people have been here since the Dreaming and Documented IPA plans are important to: express the how their responsibilities for country continue today. intent to run the country as a protected area in writing; - tell local and cultural stories from an Indigenous perspective. guide the development of work plans; communicate with - show other community benefits, for example in youth activities, stakeholders; and can help attract outside support and art enterprises, tourism businesses and leadership resources. IPAs also contribute to the Australian Government development. Closing the Gap initiative involvement in IPAs has been shown to deliver a range of health, social, educational and employment benefits to participating communities Management Plans are an opportunity to outline broader social and economic flow-on benefits for local communities. Multiple opportunities may exist, including for example youth activities, leadership development, re-connecting with country, Indigenous knowledge transmission, art enterprises, co-research initiatives and tourism businesses. Introduction: Why is an IPA Management Plan necessary? 4

10 What does an IPA Management Plan attempt to do? Introduction: What does an IPA Management Plan attempt to do? The goal of an IPA Management Plan is essentially to: express the aspirations, cultural underpinnings and management intent of Indigenous land owners and managers, and, consistent with the IUCN management category, describe measurable objectives and a management approach to achieve the primary management objectives for conservation, cultural maintenance and other community benefit. 12 Putting together a Plan for any protected area includes three broad steps 13 : Identify values (including cultural and natural). Assess the threats and condition or integrity of the values. Outline a management approach to conserve the values. Past experiences in protected area planning show that: Planning is a process not an event it keeps going. It is about the future. It requires thinking about, discussing and solving problems. It is systematic. It takes an holistic view. It is always changing 5. While these steps and experiences are relevant, IPA Management Plans differ because it is through the Management Plan that the Indigenous traditional owners and/or custodians establish the intent to run their country as a protected area or to develop co-management arrangements. IPA Management Plan therefore need to use strategic approaches with an emphasis on high level purposes, such as vision and mission statements. IPA Management Plan must also establish how the management will meet international protected area standards through being consistent with a particular IUCN management category (see next section, 1.4). A range of strategic planning approaches will be useful. Country-based planning is a valuable strategic approach that enables Indigenous peoples to identify their aspirations and strategies for management of all their traditional estates, including sea country, unconstrained by the tenures that are recognised by governments 14. They may decide through the countrybased planning process that they will run all or part of their traditional estate as an IPA. In cases where other organisations or individuals hold tenures of part or all of a traditional Indigenous estate, cooperative management arrangements will be required. IPA planning processes are based on: 1. Engaging the right people with the authority to speak for country in a participatory planning process. 2. Being driven by community needs and conducted in culturally appropriate time frames. 3. Considering important social and economic benefits for local communities. 4. Respecting traditional decision-making processes. Many IPAs describe how their Management Plans aim to be twoway, bringing together management based on Indigenous ecological knowledge, practices, beliefs and tradition, with that based on western scientific knowledge and practices. 5

11 Example 1 Two-way management at Angas Downs and Dhimmuru IPAs Anangu people at the Angas Downs IPA explain how they bring together Indigenous and science approaches 15. Dhimmuru IPA also uses two-way management 16. What does an IPA Management Plan Do? Summary Points IPA Management Plans use strategic approaches to bring out the management intent, using vision statements and key objectives. Country-based planning can be a good way to start talking and writing about IPAs. IPA Management Plans shows how people will work the country for conservation, culture and community benefit. Steps involved in writing IPA Management Plans are: - Get the right people to speak for country. - Talk in the right place at the right time for the community. - Respect traditional decision protocols. - Talk about the natural and cultural values on country, the problems on country, and ways to fix the problems. - Capture the needs and aspirations of Indigenous owners and/or custodians. - Talk about how the community can benefit from the IPA. Introduction: What does an IPA Management Plan attempt to do? Many IPA Management Plans talk about two-way management - First way is Indigenous law, custom, culture and Indigenous ecological knowledge. - Second way is non-indigenous conservation and western science. Dhimmuru IPA Angas Downs IPA 6

12 Introduction: What does a Management Plan attempt to do? Example 2 Teachings from country, Northern Tanami IPA Warlpiri man, Wanta Janpijinpa (aka Steven Patrick), explains how Management Plans can be informed by Aboriginal Law. Aboriginal planning is holistic, interconnected and builds on customary Law, beliefs and ethics. Law or Dreaming is manifested in specific plants, animals and natural elements and their behaviour. Plants and animals are also totems for many Aboriginal people. Individual people and families have responsibilities to look after their totem. In Warlpiri society, there are eight social groups. All individuals belong to one of them. Individuals in each group have different responsibilities to different species, places and Laws. Each group has specific ways of collaboration with other groups 17. Writing Management Plans as if parts of them are taught by specific plant, animal or natural elements will help reflect Warlpiri Law and culture: (this is) a way to bring life to the plan, to guide people through it, to show how the country teaches us and we learn from it. Wanta Janpijinpa (aka Steven Patrick) 1. For Warlpiri people, Wawirri (the Red Kangaroo) signifies high-level customary Law. It could inform and guide people about governance and management principles in a Management Plan. Milpirri, which are the thunder clouds that form over bushfires, tells Warlpiri people of the strength of opposing forces that can bring good things, like the rain. It shows the importance of negotiation to gain benefits. It could guide readers through conflict resolution provisions of a Management Plan. Milpirri, thunder clouds (Photo by P. Latz) Wawirri, Red Kangaroo (Photo by M. Barritt) Wanta Janpijinpa (aka Steven Patrick) Opposite page: The Anindilyakwa IPA Management Plan describes how the community will manage and interpret important art sites. 7

13 Anindilyakwa 8

14 What does being consistent with an IUCN management category mean? Introduction: What does being consistent with an IUCN management category mean? Protected areas exist throughout the world with astonishing variety in size, location, management approaches and purposes. They have many different names in different places national parks, wilderness areas, landscape protected areas, sacred places and community conserved areas. Most protected areas allow for customary harvesting, while some provide for other sustainable uses of resources. Some protected areas strictly prohibit most uses 1. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) recognises that many different approaches are valid, but not all approaches are equally useful in every situation. Some situations need very strict protection whilst others function better with multiple uses. To help make sense of the different approaches IUCN has provided a definition and six different protected area categories based on management objectives. The definition of a protected area is: A clearly defined geographical space, recognised, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem 1, p. 8 services and cultural values. Indigenous Protected Areas are consistent with this definition, although their distinctive characteristics give particular meanings to the term other effective means customary law and traditional management practices are recognised as meeting this definition. The six categories are numbered using Roman Numerals. The first category is subdivided into two parts ( Ia/b, II, III, IV, V, VI). The primary objective of each of these categories is stated in the Table on the next page. The number of a category does not reflect its importance. All categories are needed for conservation and sustainable development. The assignment of a protected area to a category depends on the primary IPA management objective established to reflect the needs, aspirations, practices and beliefs of the traditional Indigenous owners and/or custodians. There is a trend from category I to category VI of increased human activity and modification of the environment. Categories I to IV are mainly preservation-focused areas, while providing for customary uses, whereas categories V and VI provide for a wider array of sustainable resource uses. Protected area management category and degree of environmental modification 1 9

15 Using the categories to guide Management Plans IPA Management Plans need to identify an IUCN category that best describes the aspirations of the Indigenous owners, custodians and managers, and the intent of the Management Plan One overarching category is preferred, with management zones being used to describe different uses. Nevertheless, some IPAs have more than one category to delineate the different approaches in different parts of country. The category that is selected should guide the development of the Management Plan, and be reflected in its vision and objectives. Governance types The IUCN also recognises four broad types of governance of protected areas, associated with any management category: A. Governance by government. B. Shared governance. C. Private governance. D. Governance by Indigenous peoples and local communities. IPAs are primarily type D governance, which recognises customary law, institutions and traditional land and sea management as legitimate and effective means of governance. The rights of Indigenous people to use their lands and equitably share benefits from it are recognised and respected. Protected areas that are governed by Indigenous peoples usually also have multiple partners involved in a wider variety of management and other initiatives 18. IPA Co-Management Consultation Projects are type B shared governance. In shared governance, the Indigenous people and governments through diverse arrangements. Internationally the term Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs) has been adopted to recognise the critical role that Indigenous peoples and local communities, both sedentary and mobile, have played for millennia in conserving a variety of natural environments and species, for a variety of purposes, economic as well as cultural, spiritual and aesthetic 4, 19. Declared IPAs March 2011 Governance Type A. Governance B. Shared C. Private D. Governance by government governance governance by Indigenous IUCN Protected peoples and Area Management Management Objective local communities 1 Category I A- Strict Nature To conserve ecosystems and natural areas 0 0% (0) Reserve/Wilderness undisturbed by significant human activity Area (summary, see full version in NRS Guidelines 18 ) II National Park To protect natural biodiversity along with its 2 4% (7) (ecosystem underlying ecological structure and supporting protection; environmental processes, and to promote protection of education and recreation cultural values) III Natural To protect specific outstanding natural features 0 0% (6) Monument and their associated biodiversity and habitats IV Habitat/ To maintain, conserve and restore species and 2 4% (11) Species habitats Management V Protected To protect and sustain important landscapes/ 13 27% (16) Landscape/ seascapes and the associated nature Seascape conservation and other values created by interactions with humans through traditional management practices VI Managed To protect natural ecosystems and use natural 31 65% (31) Resource resources sustainably, when conservation and sustainable use can be mutually beneficial TOTAL 100% (71) i Figures show the number of IPAs and % of total, whose primary objective places it in that IUCN category note that of a total of 48 declared IPAs, 14 have nominated more than one IUCN Category. The total number in each category appears in brackets. In addition to the 48 Declared IPAs, in October 2011 there were over 40 IPA Consultation Projects underway. Introduction: What does being consistent with an IUCN management category mean? 10

16 Introduction: What does being consistent with an IUCN management category mean? Australia s National Reserve System The Australian Government recognises declared IPAs by including them as part of Australia s National Reserve System (NRS). The NRS is the system of formally recognised parks, reserves and protected areas primarily dedicated to the long-term protection of Australia s biodiversity. The protected areas occur on public, private and Indigenous land. IPAs contribute to the national goal of incorporating examples of the full range of Australian ecosystems and other important environmental values within the NRS. Australia has also committed to establish a National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas by This commitment is being fulfilled through marine bioregional planning auspiced under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Commonwealth). Six Sea Country Plans have been developed as part of the marine bioregional planning exercise, to assist Indigenous peoples describe their objectives for the use, conservation and management of sea country and to work with others to achieve them 20. Work is currently underway in conjunction with key stakeholders to identify what constitutes effective management of the sea. Options for recognising non-legal protected areas in the sea are being investigated, as supported by the 2006 independent review of the IPA program 11. Only areas that fall within the IUCN definition of a protected area form part of NRS. What does being consistent with an IUCN category mean? Summary Points International standards through the IUCN recognise different types of governance and management categories. International standards support customary law and culture as good ways to look after country. IUCN recognises six different management categories each with different management objectives. Categories I to IV provide for protection, with customary harvests, but without substantial other resource uses. Categories V and VI provide for greater human activity and sustainable resource use. Each IPA chooses an IUCN management category that best suits their approach. Usually one category is chosen for the IPA. Zones can be used to describe special management areas within the IPA. What does being part of Australia s National Reserve System mean? IPAs form part of Australia s National Reserve System (NRS). Protected areas in the NRS must meet international standards. The NRS aims to protect a small part of all the different types of country in Australia. Protected areas in the NRS include public, private and Indigenous lands. Australia is also developing Marine Protected Areas as part of the National Reserve System. Dhimmuru IPA includes some sea country. 11

17 Introduction: What does being consistent with an IUCN management category mean? 12

18 2.1 Planning for Indigenous Protected Areas 2.1 What frameworks and tools assist IPA planning? IPA Planning: What frameworks and tools assist? Wunambal Gaambera (Uunguu IPA Stage 1) IPA Management Plans are based on consultation and participatory planning under community control and through traditional decision making. Most participatory planning approaches involve a framework of steps and a set of tools. A common approach is to link these steps into a simple cycle: plan; do; and learn. Different people and organisations place different emphases upon different stages in this cycle. The Co-Management Consultation Projects underway as part of the Australian Government s IPA initative are also based on consultation and participatory planning. Indigenous traditions and custom often require that planning is conducted out on country rather than in meetings and workshops in town. Some groups emphasise combining planning with on-ground works or action planning. Practical work on the country of the IPA is seen to better enliven discussion of traditional knowledge and practices. Two frameworks that emphasise different parts of the planning process are presented here as examples: The Planning for country framework emphasises Aboriginal group decision-making methods that are particularly well suited to remote Aboriginal communities. The Conservation Action Planning framework emphasises finding the really important things people want to look after. Example 3 Conservation Action Planning in the Kimberley Conservation Action Planning, based on the above cycle of four steps, is supported by The Nature Conservancy (an international non-government environment organisation) with many resources: CAP for tangible cultural resources 21. Motagua Cultural Target CAP. Integrating Natural and Cultural Targets in CAP. Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation ( Standards_Version_2.0.pdf) 8 Kimberley IPA planners have used CAP to consider cultural values. The Wunambal Gaambera (Uunguu IPA Stage 1) Management Plan is a good example of a plan developed using this method, through four meetings: vision and targets; health of country; how to fix things; and authorising decisions

19 Conservation action Planning at Paruku IPA in Example 4 Planning for country tools Planning for country includes six planning steps, each with relevant questions and potential methods 23. What frameworks and tools assist IPA planning? Summary Points IPA planning is participatory and has three main steps in a cycle: plan, do and learn. There are lots of different ways of doing these steps to suit different people and places. The right people who can speak for country lead the planning. Participatory planning fits in with other community business and follows cultural protocols. There are lots of participatory planning toolkits to help people. Co-Management Consultation Projects also use participatory planning. IPA Planning: What frameworks and tools assist? 14

20 How can good IPA Management Plans be practically achieved with limited time/money? IPA Planning: How can good Management Plans be achieved with limited time/money? Yalata IPA In the longer term, good Management Plans come from building community capacity and an ongoing planning system. The reality is that many IPAs start with Management Plans put together with limited time and money. Communities may aim to choose a planner who has worked there before, and knows the people, but this may not always be possible. Planners can be more effective in these situations by working closely with the community organisations that have many relevant networks and resources. IPA planning might seem very new to communities who haven t been involved before, but in reality many community organisations are already doing things that are relevant to IPA Management Plans. The key question is: who is working on topics that are relevant to IPA Management Plans? How can we build the IPA planning on existing relationships? Some organisations and potential contributions worth considering are: The school artwork, trips onto country, projects with bush tucker and medicine. Native title organisations the right people, maps, important cultural matters. The health clinic or Home and Community Care centre activities for the well-being of senior people such as trips onto country. The art centre paintings of country, people and important places. Local TAFE or Registered Training organisation training activities linked to conservation and land management. Natural Resource Management organisations, including regional bodies, landcare groups, and park agencies. Co-management Consultation Projects work closely with those agencies with whom governance is shared. How can good Management Plans be practically achieved with limited time/money? Summary Points IPA planning often starts with limited time/money and communities may bring in a planner who does not know people. IPA planning is hard when it s new or seems like new business. Many community organisations are already doing lots of things that are part of IPA business. Schools, clinics, the art centre, land councils, native title organisations, local landcare groups can all help make it much easier. The planner should work with these organisations. The IPA owners/managers should help the planner work with these organisations. Example 5 Yalata IPA Draft Healthy County Plan practical approach with limited time/money Yalata IPA plan consultant Carla Rogers put a very good plan together in a relative short time frame by working closely with lots of Yalata organisations and people