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Aboriginal Cultural Subregions as Surrogates for Biodiversity Conservation Mosaics, Cape York, Australia - Towards Reconciliation of Management Values and Realities
Chris Roberts and Gerhardt Pearson
Balkanu Cape York Development Corporation, CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA
Theme: TH1
Cape York is the ancestral and current home of numerous Aboriginal Australian groups each having resource and cultural rights and obligations to particular geographical areas according to their traditional laws and customs. These laws and customs are recognised in the common law of Australia under the Native Title Act ( 1993 ) which provides a new and legal basis for recognition of Aboriginal domain. The pre-Native Title broader perception, that the Cape represents a relatively unspoiled 'wilderness' area, is changing but has brought with it pressure to include Cape York aquatic resources, marine and freshwater, into reserve system frameworks. The entire east coast of Cape York falls within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, the largest in the world ( GBRMPA Act, 1975 ). The Park has world heritage status carrying obligations which the governments of Australia are required to address. 'No take' protected areas have serious implications for indigenous peoples environmentally, socially, culturally and economically. Historically, establishment of CAR ( comprehensive, adequate and representative ) areas based on biodiversity paramenters have been employed on a world-wide basis as a fundamental reference for protected area managers. This contribution puts forward a case for using cultural regional mosaics as the primary basis for identifying potential protected area placement and discusses how selection might be made within those areas and what the drivers for those decisions might be. It is argued that the issue of sustainable use is central to, not only biodiversity protection, but also the survival of cultures which are not homogeneous and pose cultural CAR questions in themselves. We have bioregional maps available and we also have maps of Aboriginal groupings available. What can be made of this information and how can they support mutually acceptable outcomes? A possible solution is proposed.
