Greater Gariwerd Landscape Draft Management Plan (GGLMP) welcomed by Traditional Owner organisations.
Barengi Gadjin Land Council (BGLC), Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation (EMAC) and Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (GMTOAC) welcome the release of the Greater Gariwerd Landscape Draft Management Plan.
The Greater Gariwerd Landscape Draft Management Plan describes a strategic planning approach for the Gariwerd landscape over the next 15 years. The landscape includes the Grampians (Gariwerd) National Park, the Black Range and adjacent parks and reserves.
Parks Victoria and the three corporations supported Traditional Owners through an extensive consultative process to identify and describe the deep cultural connection that the Gariwerd landscape has provided for Traditional Owners for thousands of years. The draft plan recognises and respects the cultural rights of Traditional Owners to access Country for cultural and economic purposes and practices.
The draft plan outlines goals to protect and celebrate cultural heritage; recognise Aboriginal place names; enhance visitors’ understanding of the cultural landscape and apply traditional land management practices.
New strategies to promote the landscape as a place of learning for Traditional Owners, regional communities and visitors include enhancing the Brambuk – The National Park and Cultural Centre experience, welcoming people to country and elevating education, cultural learning and knowledge sharing programs with new signage and interpretative devices.
The Greater Gariwerd Landscape Draft Management Plan is reflective of the pathway which Parks Victoria and the broader community have embarked upon to better understand the relationship which Traditional Owners have with the Gariwerd landscape.
Media contact: Suzanna Maxwell-Wright (Media and Communications Officer) / 0427 271 937 / suzanna.maxwellwright@easternmaar.com.au
Quote attributable to Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation:
Gariwerd National park is profoundly significant to Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation (EMAC) citizens. We are inextricably linked to the area and it provides a place of connection, solace, learning and teaching for our peoples.
Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation (EMAC) is delighted to have partnered with Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation and Barengi Gadjin Land Council to help inform Parks Victoria’s Greater Gariwerd Landscape Draft Management Plan (GGLMP).
This plan aims to provide a platform to articulate the rich history of the area, and outline our cultural obligations in caring for the rich biocultural landscape whilst balancing the importance of our cultural heritage and the pursuit of recreational users and other groups.
We encourage everyone to have their say.
Quote attributable to Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation:
Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (GMTOAC) is proud to work in partnership with Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation, Barengi Gadjin Land Council and Parks Victoria to deliver the draft Greater Gariwerd Draft Landscape Management Plan for the public.
The draft plan describes our traditional knowledge, languages and practices to preserve and honour the rich cultural landscape that Gariwerd shares with us as Traditional Owners and with the broader community.
We look forward with engaging with people and communities who love and respect the Gariwerd landscape through the upcoming draft plan consultations.
Quote attributable to Barengi Gadjin Land Council:
The connection that our members and families have to the Gariwerd landscape is embedded in our culture, traditions and customs, taught and handed down through the generations.
This plan was developed over many months with the three Traditional Owners corporations at the table, workshopping this plan in a collaborative approach to ensure that the plan is culturally appropriate and meets the needs and aspirations of the Traditional Owners. This plan makes great strides in addressing the issues around balancing cultural values with visitor use, this plan confirms Gariwerd status as an Aboriginal living cultural landscape.
Barengi Gadjin Land Council is proud to have partnered with the Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation and Gundjit Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Coropration in delivering this critical project.
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