Kaanju people have a detailed knowledge of fire and its effects and a fire management science based on thousands of years of knowledge and practice. The Chuula community are developing a Fire Management Plan based on traditional Kaanju fire management regimes and taking into consideration factors since colonisation, such as the disruption of indigenous management, the clearing of land for pastoral activities, and the introduction of other fire management practices (such as those of National Parks). We aim to work with leaseholders on Kaanju homelands in the development of this plan. Fire will be integrated within the demands of other management processes and other users' activities.
Objectives:
- To promote the wider recognition of the Kaanju people as the primary fire managers on Kaanju homelands.
- To restore traditional Kaanju fire management regimes on Kaanju homelands.
- To promote the transfer of traditional fire management knowledge and skills to the younger generation.
- To work with neighbouring landholders toward appropriate fire management on homelands.
Chuulangun Aboriginal Corporation has been engaged in the CYPDA Fire Management Project through Balkanu Cape York Development Corporation. One of the outcomes of the Kaanju Fire Management Project has been a report that begins to redress current inadequacies in fire research on Cape York. This report also lists the resources and funds needed to undertake fire management on a culturally appropriate clan-by-clan basis.
The Kaanju Fire Management Plan will incorporate indigenous knowledge of fire and its effects, and will monitor and document effects of fire, such as vegetation and habitat change and changes in fauna populations and distributions. Data will be incorporated into the Kaanju Ngaachi web based multi-media storage and retrievel platform. Kaanju knowledge of fire is also an important component of the Kaanju Ethno-ecology Project.
