BANA MAMINGAL – CARING FOR WATER

^{Story created in collaboration with Yirrganydji Traditional Owners.}

For the Yirrganydji, Traditional Owners of the Cairns to Port Douglas coastal region of Far North Queensland, water is life, lore and an essential piece of cultural identity.

A plan has been formed to ensure clean, healthy water is passed down to its bibunbay (next generation) through modern frameworks embedded in cultural water management knowledge and practices.

In a world first, the Yirrganydji people have developed a water plan built with cultural values as its framework, as part of the Reef Trust Partnership’s Traditional Owner Healthy Water grant program.

“There has never been a water plan that has had that cultural value to it,” said Gavin Singleton, Yirrganydji Traditional Owner and Project Manager for the Dawul Wuru Aboriginal Corporation.

“Water has always been really important to the Yirrganydji people. It’s part of our culture, and it’s our duty, our obligation, to look after it.

“So, through this journey, it’s good that we’re able to bring those cultural values to the forefront in the development of the Yirrganydji Cultural Landscape Water Management Plan.”

Why is healthy water so important to the Yirrganydji People?

Yirrganydji Country is internationally recognised and contains two World Heritage-listed areas – the rainforests of the Wet Tropics and the reefs and waters of the Great Barrier Reef. They’re intrinsically linked through water, both physically and spiritually.

Water is seen as a part of one connected system that includes the land, sky, people and all living things embracing the stories, seasons and creation spirits. They are inseparable and they are all connected.

Stories highlight the role of spirits in creating sources of water for the Yirrganydji people. Rivers, creeks, rock wells, lakes and seas all have ancestral spirits and story to them. With the plan in place, the next phase for Yirrganydji is action.

“So, we’ve just developed our plan and now we’re moving into a phase of developing our monitoring and repair program,” Gavin said. “We want to look at long-term management of water and monitoring through our Yirrganydji Land and Sea Ranger program. Through the plan, we’ll be looking to find all our creek and river systems on Yirrganydji Country and map them, test water quality and gain a greater understanding of the way water places are and how that affects our land and sea.

“Through our monitoring program, we’ll look at water quality and come up with our own baseline based on cultural knowledge. We’ll look at what trees should be there, what animals should be there and what shouldn’t be there. And start to build that picture to better improve our water.

“When it comes to water management, the Yirrganydji people want equal say at legislative, policy, planning, implementation and practice levels – and this plan and management will drive this.”

“We have a curriculum, and water is a subject in that curriculum, and what we’ve done is we’ve taken the scientific water cycle and put language to it to tell that story of water in a culturally appropriate way,” Gavin explained.

“The plan has also allowed for a full-time employment position for one Yirrganydji person as a Cultural Water Officer to manage this plan and its implementation.”

Implementation of the plan will re-introduce cultural water practices and use evidence-based knowledge and adaptive practices to help combat the impacts of climate change.

Through the Yirrganydji Cultural Landscape Water Management Plan, the Yirrganydji people wish to honour their Bulbu (elders) and Bama (people) who have guided Yirrganydji people through times of struggle and for their efforts and contributions to our Country and community.

With the plan now cemented, the action begins. Check back on the Yirrganydji Cultural Landscape Water Management Plan here at Our Reef Stories and on the Dawul Wuru Aboriginal Corporation website www.dawulwuru.com.au