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Director of National Parks GPO Box 787 Canberra ACT 2601

Director of National Parks Australian business number: 13051 694 963

This management plan sets out how it is proposed the park will be managed for the next 10 years.

A copy of this plan is available online at:

www.environment.gov.au/topics/national-parks/parks-australia/publications.

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Foreword

Kakadu National Park is, and always has been, Bininj/Mungguy land. The evidence for this is in the World Heritage rock art and archaeological sites throughout the park and Bininj/Mungguy people’s traditional connection to their land and culture. The long and continuing history of Bininj/Mungguy custodianship of Kakadu is one of the most important things about the park, recognised in its World Heritage listing.

Traditional owners and managers of Kakadu have strong responsibilities and obligations to care for country and to guide and look after visitors.

From the late 1970s to the time of preparing this plan, about half of the park has been granted as Aboriginal land under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 and the traditional owners have leased back the land to the Director of National Parks to be managed as part of Kakadu National Park. The remaining half of the park may become Aboriginal land during the life of this plan and will also be leased to the Director of National Parks.

Since the park was declared, it has been managed as if it was all Aboriginal land. Through joint management, Bininj/Mungguy have worked hard with the Director of National Parks and park staff to balance the protection of their culture with making the park an outstanding destination for visitors.

The Kakadu National Park Board of Management wrote this management plan. When writing this plan, the Board worked together to:

• decide on the most important values to recognise and protect in the plan
• decide on the most significant issues impacting those values and to provide instructions on how those issues should be dealt with
• provide ways to make sure Bininj/Mungguy are involved in the implementation of the plan
• provide ways to make sure that the things they have said will be done are done and to measure how well they are done.

The plan sets out how Kakadu National Park is to be managed over the next 10 years.

Kakadu National Park Board of Management

Purpose

Kakadu National Park was established for the following purposes:

      the preservation of the area in its natural condition

      the encouragement and regulation of the appropriate use, appreciation and enjoyment of the area by the public.

Vision

The vision for Kakadu National Park is that it continues to be one of the great World Heritage areas, recognised internationally as a place where:

      the cultural and natural values of the park are protected and Bininj/Mungguy culture is respected

      Bininj/Mungguy guide and are involved in all aspects of managing the park

      knowledge about country and culture is passed on to younger Bininj/Mungguy, and future generations of Bininj/Mungguy have the option to stay in the park to look after country

      world-class visitor experiences are provided, and tourism is conducted in culturally, environmentally, socially and economically sustainable ways

      disturbed areas are rehabilitated and reintegrated into the park

      Bininj/Mungguy gain sustainable social and economic outcomes from the park.

Guiding principles

The guiding principles for the management of Kakadu National Park are that:

      culture, country, sacred places and customary law are one, extend beyond the boundaries of Kakadu, and need to be protected and respected

      Bininj/Mungguy and Balanda keep joint management strong by working together, communicating effectively and sharing decision-making

      consultation with Bininj/Mungguy is conducted appropriately and with the right people for that country

      everyone who lives and works in the park learns from, understands and respects each other

      young Bininj/Mungguy have opportunities to learn about their culture and country

      Bininj/Mungguy and park management maintain and respect each other’s obligations and work together to look after the natural and cultural values of the park

      the progress and development of tourism are undertaken in accordance with the wishes of Bininj/Mungguy, and strong partnerships are maintained with the tourism industry

      visitors are provided with opportunities for safe, enriching and memorable experiences.

Acknowledgements

The Kakadu Board of Management is grateful to the many individuals and organisations that contributed to this management plan. In particular they acknowledge Bininj/Mungguy, Parks Australia staff, the Northern Land Council, and the Northern Territory and Australian Government agencies that provided information and assistance or submitted contributions that contributed to the development of this management plan.

Members of the Kakadu Board of Management involved in preparing this plan

Frear Alderson Murrumburr clan (Deputy member)

Michael Bangalang Murruwan clan

Sally Barnes Director of National Parks (from June 2014)

Ryan Baruwei Wurrkbarbar (Jawoyn) clan (Chair from 2012 to 2014)

Peter Cochrane  Director of National Parks (to December 2013)

Victor Cooper Minitja clan (Deputy member)

Michael Douglas Nature conservation (from 2014)

Melanie Elgregbud  Mirarr/Gundjeihmi clan (Deputy member)

Joshua Hunter  Wurrkbarbar (Jawoyn) clan (resigned June 2014)

Graham Kenyon Limilngan clan

Violet Lawson  Murrumburr clan

Jeffrey Lee  Djok clan

Maria Lee  Wurrkbarbar (Jawoyn) clan (Chair from 2014)

Yvonne Margarula Mirarr/Gundjeihmi clan

Mick Markham  Bolmo clan (Jawoyn) (Chair to 2012)

Tony Mayell Northern Territory Government (from November 2013)

Anna Morgan  Assistant Secretary, Parks Australia

Rick Murray  Tourism industry

Jonathan Nadji  Bunitdj clan (Deputy Chair)

Alfred Nayinggul Maniligar clan

Denise Williams  Wurrkbarbar (Jawoyn) clan (Deputy member)

Henry Yates Limilngan clan (Deputy member)

How to read this plan

This management plan takes a different approach to previous management plans for Kakadu National Park. The approach uses the park values statement (see Table 1) to establish the policies and actions needed to protect, present and understand the values of the park over the life of the plan, consistent with the purposes for which the park is established.

This plan also differentiates the actions the Director of National Parks can and will take over the life of the plan to protect, present and understand park values from the rules that apply to activities by park visitors and users; hence it is structured in two discrete parts:

• Managing Kakadu: This part of the plan is structured around joint management, protecting the cultural and natural values of the park, developing and promoting Kakadu as a visitor destination, and increasing our understanding of the park’s values. It sets out policies that will apply to the Director’s activities over the life of the plan as well as describing the actions that will be taken towards achieving the outcomes described in the plan. Any policies relating to provisions of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Regulations 2000 (EPBC Regulations) that specifically apply to the activities of the Director in managing the park are also described.
• Managing use of Kakadu: This part of the plan is structured around how the Director will enable and manage appropriate visitor and stakeholder activities in the park in accordance with the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) and EPBC Regulations. It sets out any policies that apply to park users. Policies include those related to provisions in the EPBC Regulations as well as those that more broadly protect the park values or contribute to the effective management of the park.

This plan takes a more strategic approach than previous plans. To enable this, each section relating to protecting and presenting park values starts with a set of overarching principles which apply to the management of all aspects of that section. More detailed policies and actions relating to a particular issue are then outlined in the relevant subsections.

Some readers of this plan may find that information which was previously in a single section of the plan is now dealt with in a number of sections, or that material which was previously dispersed across the plan is now in a single section. When looking for particular actions or policies, readers should consider whether they are seeking information on what the Director of National Parks will do over the life of the plan or whether they are seeking information about park visitor and user activities.

Bininj/Mungguy

Throughout this plan the term Bininj/Mungguy is used to refer to the traditional Aboriginal owners of Aboriginal land in the park (within the meaning of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976) and other Aboriginals entitled by Aboriginal tradition to use or occupy land in the park (whether or not the traditional entitlement is qualified as to place, time, circumstance, purpose or permission).

Bininj is a Kunwinjku and Gundjeihmi word, pronounced ‘bin-ing’. This word is similar to the English word ‘man’ and can mean man, male, person or Aboriginal people, depending on the context. The word for woman in these languages is Daluk. Other languages in Kakadu National Park have other words with these meanings – for example the Jawoyn word for man is Mungguy and for woman is Alumka, and the Limilngan word for man is Murlugan and for woman is Ugin-j.

The Kakadu National Park Board of Management has agreed to use the term Bininj/Mungguy for the purposes of this management plan.

Contents

Foreword......................................................i

Purpose......................................................iii

Vision.......................................................iii

Guiding principles...............................................iii

Acknowledgements..............................................iv

How to read this plan.............................................V

Bininj/Mungguy.................................................V

Part A - Introduction.............................................1

1. A description of Kakadu National Park.............................2

1.1 Kakadu – a brief description.................................2

1.2 The Aboriginal custodians...................................2

1.3 Establishment of Kakadu National Park..........................5

1.4 Park values and local, regional, national and international significance.....9

1.5 Joint management.......................................16

2. Management plan framework..................................17

2.1 Management planning process..............................17

2.2 The planning framework...................................18

Part B – General provisions and IUCN Category...........................23

3. General provisions and IUCN category............................24

3.1 Short title.............................................24

3.2 Commencement and termination.............................24

3.3 Interpretation.........................................24

3.4 IUCN category..........................................24

Part C - Managing Kakadu.........................................27

4. Joint management..........................................28

4.1 Making decisions and working together (Board of Management)........30

4.2 Making decisions and working together (on country)................35

4.3 Bininj/Mungguy training and other opportunities..................38

5. Looking after culture and country...............................41

5.1 Looking after culture.....................................41

5.2 Looking after country.....................................57

5.3 Managing park-wide threats affecting values.....................75

6. Kakadu as a visitor experience destination, commercial tourism and promotion............................................99

6.1 Destination and visitor experience development..................101

6.2 Commercial tourism development and management...............106

6.3 Promotion and marketing.................................108

6.4 Visitor information......................................110

7. Research and knowledge management...........................113

7.1 Research and knowledge management........................115

8. Living in the park – Jabiru and outstations.........................118

8.1 Outstations and living on country............................118

8.2 Jabiru..............................................120

9. Administration and business management.........................125

9.1 Safety and incident management...........................125

9.2 Compliance and enforcement.............................129

9.3 Authorising and managing activities.........................131

[9.4 Capital works and infrastructure...........................

This is an opening excerpt, not the complete document.