Undalup Association wins big for Wadandi ranger project

A major funding boost will allow the region’s traditional owners to undertake an ambitious project helping to protect key cultural sites from population growth and damage from ever-increasing visitation. The Undalup Association has scored a whopping $1.172 million from the State Government for its Listening to Mother Country project. Undalup chair Iszaac Webb told the Times the project was in development for some time, and he hoped it would be bolstered by further grant submissions to build capacity in the group’s Wadandi rangers program, working in conjunction with the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions and other key stakeholders. The 2½-year project would see a co-ordinator and four rangers work in consultation with elders to identify, map and report on up to six of the most under pressure sites across the Leeuwin-Naturaliste scarp. “Its overall basis is to create a case study where we can show how we can work with joint management with Parks and Wildlife and DBCA,” Mr Webb said. “Its working in the Cape-to-Cape region to identify six priority cases within that region and creating reports on those sites on the cultural and environmental impacts that are happening.” The Times previously reported widespread concerns echoed by Wadandi elders that clamour for Instagram posts and increased tourism numbers were harming sites like Quinninup Falls and big stretches of the coast. Margaret River-Busselton Tourism Association chief executive Sharna Kearney said the tourism industry was well aware of the risks of growth to drawcard natural attractions. “Our community leaders have recognised, through the Six-Point Plan, that country is suffering under increasing pressure from residents and visitors, and that we need to come together to help people listen to country, walk softly upon country, and take only memories of country with them,” she said. “The Undalup Association’s project will help to deliver critical guidance for the long-term management of visitation and protection of the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park and Ngari Capes Marine Park.” Warren-Blackwood MLA Jane Kelsbie celebrated the project winning funding support as a valuable way to protect the region. “This funding will ensure the knowledge and expertise of Aboriginal people will be shared and passed on,” she said. “It’s about helping communities care for their country and protecting the cultural and environmental values that bind them.” Mr Webb said forward planning and working with Indigenous owners was key to protecting those locations while keeping them accessible. “We don’t want to lock anything up,” he said. “We just want to find some solutions so we can alleviate that pressure on the cultural and environmental aspects.” To that end, Undalup would partner with the MRBTA as well as marine archaeologists from the University of WA. Drone technology would be crucial for some aspects of the study, as well as working with the Wadandi’s Busselton-based Karri Kallak Aboriginal Corporation and its cultural advice committee.