Plans for a national park in the Kakadu region date from 1965 but little substantial progress in establishing the park took place until a decade later with the need to make decisions in relation to proposed uranium mining in the region.
The discovery of substantial uranium deposits in the Kakadu region in the early 1970s led the Commonwealth government to establish a major inquiry (the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry) into Australia's participation in this industry and the implications of developing uranium mines in the Kakadu area.
A separate government inquiry at the time (the Woodward Land Rights Commission) was also considering options for legal recognition of indigenous land rights, and it proposed 'a scheme of Aboriginal title, combined with national park status and joint management, would prove acceptable to all interests' (Woodward, 1973).
The Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry was later expanded to consider an Aboriginal land claim to land in the region under the newly established Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 - legislation that had been developed in response to the Woodward land rights inquiry. A key issue for the Ranger Inquiry became the potential to recognize Aboriginal title and - via lease back to a park management agency - the establishment of a 'joint managed' national park.
One early concern of the Aboriginal claimants was that they would not be able, on their own, to manage adequately and look after the land in the face of growing and competing pressures, including pressures from tourism. It was hoped that by joining with the (then) Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service in managing the land as a national park that this would assist in meeting these challenges (Hill and Press, 1994).
The Ranger Inquiry specifically addressed the potential for the park to provide a degree of protection from 'tourism intrusion' and to generally operate as 'a buffer between the Aboriginals, some of whom live within the park, and other people' (Fox et al., 1977). At that time about 600-800 indigenous people were living in the nearby township of Oenpelli, with a further 150 traditional owners and other Aboriginal people living in the area proposed as national park.
The Ranger Inquiry recommended that uranium mining be allowed to proceed, that a large national park (Kakadu National Park) be established and that Aboriginal people in the region be granted title to land that could, in turn, be incorporated in the new national park.
Title to land in the Kakadu region was eventually granted to Aboriginal claimants and, in November 1978, the Kakadu Aboriginal Land Trust leased three areas of land to the Director of National Parks and Wildlife for the purposes of a national park 'for the use, benefit, and enjoyment of all Australians'.
At present, title to about half of the land within Kakadu National Park is held by Aboriginal traditional owners, with most of the remainder of the park still under land claim.
Pending resolution of outstanding land claims, it has been the long-standing and continuing
92 Joint Management: A boriginal Involvement in Tourism in the Kakadu World Heritage Area policy of the joint management partners that commitments to liaison and consultation with Aboriginal people regarding the management of the park extend over the whole park area, not just Aboriginal Land within the park.
Park management aims to conform to internationally accepted principles underlying the definition and management of national parks but it also has to take into account the ownership and continuing occupation of land in the park by its indigenous traditional owners.
A detailed history of the establishment of the park, description of the politics surrounding the declaration of the park and outline of joint management challenges can be found in Lawrence (2000).
Tourism in Kakadu
Organized tourism to Kakadu has only a relatively short history, commencing in the late 1950s. Tourism at this time was built around small safari camps established to provide visitors with opportunities to meet local indigenous people, to view Aboriginal rock art, for sport fishing and to hunt crocodiles and the introduced (feral) Asian water buffalo.
In the late 1970s political events surrounding uranium mining and indigenous land rights in the Kakadu region established a high national profile for Kakadu National Park.
World Heritage listing and the very successful 1986 motion picture film Crocodile Dundee - much of which was filmed in the park - soon promoted its international profile.
By the mid 1980s, and partly as a consequence of the promotion of Kakadu by the film Crocodile Dundee, tourism to Kakadu had grown rapidly; and was continuing to grow at 35% per annum. Tourist numbers peaked in 1994 at an estimated 240,000 visitors per annum. A comprehensive visitor survey in 2001 characterized visitors to Kakadu as follows:
About 50% of visitors were from overseas (primarily of European origin), 45%
were Australian domestic (interstate) visitors and just 5% of visitors were from the Northern Territory.
Of visitors on organized tours, 75% were from overseas.
80% of visitors were on their first, and for many probably their only, visit to the park.
Most visitors stayed for 1-3 days, with an average length of stay of 2.6 days.
Many visitors were young, with 30% of visitors aged 25-34 years.
The top five reasons for visiting Kakadu were given as:
Appreciating the scenery.
Seeing wildlife.
Seeing Aboriginal rock art.
Seeing the waterfalls.
Learning about Aboriginal culture.
Tourism to Kakadu is highly seasonal, with 50% of visitation to the park occurring in just three months of the year (June-August). Extending 'seasonality' has been, and continues to be, a key issue for the tourism industry.
Joint Management: Aboriginal Involvement in Tourism in the Kakadu World Heritage Area 93
Fig. 2. The Bowali Cultural Centre presents the visitor with an 'underwater' perspective, highlighting the ecology of the wetlands.
(Photo: R. Bushel I)
Tourism to Kakadu is critical to the regional economy, and many of the tourism businesses servicing Kakadu are small eco-adventure tour businesses based in Darwin and Kakadu. Staff of the Northern Territory Tourist Commission have estimated that in 2002- 03 visitors to KNP (around 200,000 that year) contributed around AU$100m to the regional economy. It was estimated at the same time that holiday visitor expenditure in the 'Top End' region of the Northern Territory, including Darwin and the Kakadu area, was in the order of AU$620m.
Visitor numbers to Kakadu, and other Top End national park destinations, have been steadily declining since 1999; with 190,000 visitors estimated to have come to Kakadu in 2002, down from the 1994 peak of 240,000 visitors.
The decline can be attributed to a range of factors: 'shocks' such as the post-9/11 impact on tourism (2001/02), the Bali bombing (2002), the SARS epidemic (2003) and, some industry analysts say, the consequences of a shift (by the Northern Territory Tourist Commission) to marketing Northern Territory 'experiences', rather than 'destinations' such as Kakadu. In addition, tourism in the Northern Territory is heavily dependent on air travel, and reduced air services have also impacted on visitors arriving in Darwin.
In 2003 it became clear that another emerging issue, the growth of the estuarine crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) in the park was also to affect the way the park was
94 Joint Management: A boriginal Involvement in Tourism in the Kakadu World Heritage Area marketed and presented to visitors. In that year concerns about the risk of crocodile attack led to restrictions on swimming at the popular Twin Falls destination in the park. This led many tourism operators who had built businesses around swimming and trekking in Kakadu to question the future of tourism, especially tourism futures linked to the backpacker/adventure market segment.
Bininj and Mungguy
(Bininj is the term used by local indigenous people in the centre and north of the park to describe themselves. Mungguy has the same meaning for Jawoyn traditional owners who have responsibility for land in the south of the park.)
Contemporary Aboriginal owners of Kakadu are the direct descendants of people who have lived in the region for at least 50,000 years (Roberts et al, 1990) and the Aboriginal rock art that is a special feature of the park is said to reflect the longest continuing art tradition in the world.
Today about 250 Aboriginal people live in a number of small communities (commonly referred to as 'outstations') within the park, with a further 200 indigenous people living in the Jabiru township (total population 1000) in the park. The nearby community of Kunbarlanjnja (Oenpelli), in Arnhem Land, continues as the home of a further 700 indigenous residents of the region.
Aboriginal people organize themselves around land-owning 'clans' that have stewardship relationships (expressed as 'traditional ownership') for land in the park.
Responsibility for land (land ownership) is derived through a patralineal descent system so the child of a father is regarded as a traditional owner of the land of the clan of his/her father.
There are more than 12 land-owning clans in the park, and a feature of local social organization is an inherent desire for 'clan autonomy' in decision-making - with different land-owning clans wanting to maintain their own identity and to make decisions in line with clan/family priorities and at their own pace.
Historically, tourism has been seen as an intrusion, and traditional owners have mostly been passive beneficiaries of tourism activity - via shared ownership of tourism properties and as beneficiaries of land rent payments and a share of park use fees provided for under the park lease agreements.
But now, traditional owners increasingly seek to engage in tourism, attracted by opportunities to generate an independent (family-based) income, opportunities for employment for young people (to help retain them 'on country') and opportunities through cultural-based tourism to maintain interest in and valuing of the traditional owners' living cultural traditions.
For many traditional owners, being involved in tourism also represents opportunities for financing and underpinning their re-settlement on their land and an active role in day-to- day management of their traditional estates. As an example, one author, Bessie Coleman, sees involvement in tourism as an opportunity to fulfill special obligations to her country (the appropriate management of public access and use of land in the Jawoyn sickness country) and to pass on her knowledge to young people.
Joint Management: Aboriginal Involvement in Tourism in the Kakadu World Heritage Area 95
Joint Management Arrangements
Joint management of Kakadu National Park is built around the EPBC Act and park lease agreements (leases between the Director of National Parks and Wildlife and the traditional owners of Aboriginal Land in the park), the park Board of Management, the park Plan of Management and the active day-to-day involvement of traditional owners in decision- making and park management activities.
The park lease agreements include commitments to:
World standard management procedures.
The maintenance of traditional occupation (residency) and usage rights.
Employment training programmes for traditional owners.
Providing employment opportunities for Aboriginal people.
Support for Aboriginal business enterprises.
Annual rental payments.
Sharing of revenue from any fees and charges for use of the park.
In 1989 a Board of Management was established for the park, with the majority of the members of the Board coming from among the park's traditional owners. The Board's functions include:
In conjunction with the Director (of National Parks) the preparation of Plans of Management for the park.
The power to make management decisions consistent with the Plan of Management.
In conjunction with the Director, the monitoring of the management of the Park.
In conjunction with the Director, advice to Government about all aspects of future Park development.
The Board has a responsibility equal to that of the Director of National Parks and Wildlife to advise the Minister concerning park policy and management. In the event that the Board and the Director cannot agree the Minister may take steps to resolve the disagreement, ultimately by arbitration.
The current Kakadu National Park Board of Management comprises 15 people, including 10 adult Aboriginal people nominated by the traditional owners of the Park. The Aboriginal owners of the Park have majority representation on the Board and the Chairperson is (by convention) selected by and from the Aboriginal members. This arrangement reinforces the status of Aboriginal traditional owners as the landlords (lessors) of much of the park area.
Governing legislation specifically requires that due regard be given to the interests of traditional owners (and other Aboriginal people with interests in the park) in the preparation of park Plans of Management. The park plan has statutory force and sets out how the park will be managed for the term of the plan.
The most recent Plan of Management (1999) articulates four overriding principles that govern the management of the park:
96 Joint Management: A boriginal Involvement in Tourism in the Kakadu World Heritage Area Recognition of Bininj/Mungguy interests'. As freehold landowners of much of the land in
the park - and claimants to land in the rest of the park - the Aboriginal people of Kakadu have rights and expectations; including the right to hunt and forage, and for economic and community development. The plan aims to support these rights and aspirations as much as possible.
Caring for Country: The plan aims to recognize that conserving the special natural and cultural heritage of the park is fundamental to managing the park. The plan also acknowledges Kakadu as a cultural landscape and the important role indigenous landowners have in Caring for Country and maintaining the park's World Heritage values.
Tourism: The plan recognizes that Kakadu is an important place for tourism and recreational use and that traditional owners are proud to share their country with visitors, especially those interested in learning about their culture and their land. It is also said that tourism is not to become more important than caring for country and looking after Bininj/Mungguy interests.
Telling people about the park: The plan is clear that is important that a programme to communicate the parks heritage and the values of the park to visitors and the broader community be an integral part of management.
Hill and Press (1992) have described opportunities for the direct involvement of Aboriginal people in day-to-day decision-making in the park as the 'backbone' of the success of the joint management arrangement. Approximately 40% of the 75 staff members in the park are Aboriginal people, most of whom have a traditional cultural attachment to the park. In addition all park staff members are encouraged to develop and maintain relationships with the local community so that, in effect, all staff share in the responsibility to liaise with the local community.