Djiru Warrangburra Peoples share their traditional knowledge across generations: a P3DM experience in Australia

Attracting approximately 2 million tourists each year, the Wet Tropics region is home to more than 18 distinct Rainforest Aboriginal tribal groups for whom the region holds deep cultural and spiritual significance. Many of these Aboriginal groups deal with multiple threats to their traditional landscapes, due to pressures such as tourism, agriculture and population growth. As some of the most disadvantaged people in Australia, Aboriginal people often do not have the resources to address these threats comprehensively and regularly experience the loss of vital cultural heritage and access to their traditional landscapes as a result of these pressures.

The Djiru Warrangburra people are one of the culturally rich Rainforest Aboriginal tribal groups of the region. They live in and around the rainforests and coastal flats of the Mission Beach area, about 2 hours south of the regional centre of Cairns.

Djiru traditional lands are also home to some of the last remaining numbers of the southern cassowary - Casuarius casuarius johnsonii - a species endemic to the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area and listed as endangered. 

In April 2016 Djiru people began implementing a participatory 3-dimensional model (P3DM) covering close to 60,000 hectares (576 sq km) of land and sea, and including areas such as World Heritage, National Parks, freehold tenure.

At a scale of 1:10,000 the Djiru P3DM exercise is intended to encourage intragenerational sharing of knowledge vital to the longevity of Djiru culture ad the identity of Djiru people. Still in progress the P3DM is expected to be complete by June 2016. The project is being facilitated by the Wet Tropics Management Authority and is funded under the Queensland Gambling Community Benefit Fund.

Hands on Culture - Participatory 3D Modelling with Mandingalbay Yidinji People in Australia

This video is about the 3D mapping project of the Mandingalbay people near Yarrabah North Queensland. This project was supported by the Wet Tropics Management Authority, IUCN and CTA to producing a short film based on the amazing project the community took on to bring their 3D mapping project to life.

Interview with Steve deRoy about the role of networking and communication in PGIS practice

In this interview, Mr. Steven DeRoy illustrates the power of networking and the importance of integrating this practice into the daily realm of PGIS. These professional exchanges create an opportunity to dialogue with likeminding professionals, allowing practitioners to share ideas and approaches to solve common challenges. Maps also play a vital role in communicating ideas amongst different parties and for advocating change in current affairs

Sculpture and Science help in Planning to Preserve The Mutton Hole Wetlands in Australia

A 3D model of the Mutton Hole Wetlands near Normanton has been developed as a starting point for community consultation and discussion about how best to preserve and use the Mutton Hole Wetlands.

The Mutton Hole Wetlands are situated just to the North and West of Normanton, and are a part of the Southern Gulf Aggregation, the largest continuous wetland of its type in northern Australia. Being vital for bird migration routes across northern Australia, the Southern Gulf Aggregation is considered to be of state, national and international significance.

In the past the wetlands formed part of the neighbouring Mutton Hole cattle station, but the area was declared a Conservation Park in 2004. Currently managed by Queensland Parks and Wildlife, Carpentaria Shire Council has been considering managing the park themselves. As a part of this consideration the Northern Gulf Resource Management Group has gained funding to write a management plan for the wetland.

The management plan will highlight Aboriginal culture as well as the environmental values of the wetland in a plan to conserve it for future generations. There is strong support from the scientific and local community for use of the wetlands for bird watching, teaching and eco-tourism. As a step towards greater community consultation a model of the wetland area was built and is now located in the Normanton Visitor Information Centre (Burns Philp Building).

Over six weeks in April and May 2009 students and staff from Normanton State School and the Gulf Christian College worked together with Dr Isla Grundy of CSIRO to construct a 3D model of the Mutton Hole Wetlands, using a technique called Participatory 3D Modelling (P3DM).

The model was made by first tracing the image of the wetlands from a 1:9500 satellite image onto a large piece of cardboard, then other features were added on or cut out. Finally, the rest of the landscape was painted onto the cardboard and the boundary of the Conservation Park marked with thread.

P3DM is a relatively new technique developed in the Philippines to support collaborative resource use and management, aimed to facilitate community participation in problem analysis and decision-making. This is the first time this participatory technique has been used to make a landscape model from cardboard in Australia.

Since mid-May 2009 the model has been displayed at the Normanton Visitors Information Centre and on Thursday 21st May there was a formal public opening when students, parents and interested community members came to see what the schools had been working on. The exhibition was opened by Vicki Jones of Northern Gulf, along with Isla Grundy of CSIRO and Agnes Hughes from Normanton State School. The forty or so people who attended were able to take a closer look at the model and discuss wetland history and potential use. The community at large was invited to give it’s opinions and ideas on how the Mutton Hole Wetlands should be managed and used in the future through individual community consultations and group discussions held at the Information Centre.

Source:

Dr Isla Grundy
Community Agro-Ecologist CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems,
JCU / CSIRO Tropical Landscapes Joint Venture
Australian Tropical Forest Institute, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD 4870