Cultural Heritage Management for Kakadu National Park

This report introduces the concept of cultural heritage management and applies certain principles of intangible cultural heritage management for preserving Kakadu National Park of Australia. It evaluates the sustainability principles of Cultural Heritage Management and the impact of change in the climatic conditions at Kakadu National Park. It also highlights the implementation of the principles of CHM at the Kakadu National Park considering the participation of the stakeholders and sustainable strategies and processes for implementing those procedures on the park. The report investigates the problems arising at Kakadu National Park and commitments towards stakeholder management and sustainability. It also analyzes the issues and trends regarding the role of public, private and informational sectors in Environment and Cultural Tourism initiatives with special focus on Intangible CHM. Finally, it recommends logical and rational solutions to acquire sustainable results for improvements to existing and/or introduction of new sustainability strategies.

Running head: Places in Peril’ and ‘A Cultural Site Adaption Guide’ – Kakadu National Park (Northern
Territory, Australia
Places in Peril’ and ‘A Cultural Site Adaption Guide’ – Kakadu National Park (Northern Territory,
Australia

Places in Peril’ and ‘A Cultural Site Adaption Guide’ – Kakadu National Park (Northern Territory, Australia 1
Executive Summary
Cultural Heritage Management is related to administration of cultural heritage of a nation. It is
associated with the practices of maintaining and preserving the ancient culture, museology,
restoration, history, architecture, archaeology of the historical remains of a place. So, this report
introduces the concept of cultural heritage management and applies certain principles of
intangible cultural heritage management for preserving Kakadu National Park of Australia. It is
one of the oldest living cultures existing on this earth. Kakadu National park is a protected area
located in the northern part of Australia .It is surrounded by the ranger uranium mines which are
the most productive mines existing on this earth.

Places in Peril’ and ‘A Cultural Site Adaption Guide’ – Kakadu National Park (Northern Territory, Australia 2
Contents
Executive Summary.....................................................................................................................................1
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
Body............................................................................................................................................................3
Evaluation of the sustainability principles of Cultural Heritage Management and the impact of change
in the climatic conditions at Kakadu National Park.................................................................................3
Implementation of the principles of CHM at the Kakadu National Park considering the participation of
the stakeholders and sustainable strategies and processes for implementing those procedures on the
park..........................................................................................................................................................4
Findings.......................................................................................................................................................5
Investigating the problems arising at Kakadu National Park and commitments towards stakeholder
management and sustainability................................................................................................................5
Analysis.......................................................................................................................................................6
Integration of the knowledge to evaluate the issues and trends regarding the role of public, private and
informational sectors in Environment and Cultural Tourism initiatives with special focus on Intangible
CHM........................................................................................................................................................6
Recommendations of the logical and rational solutions to acquire sustainable results for improvements to
existing and/or introduction of new sustainability strategies.......................................................................7
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................8
References...................................................................................................................................................9

Places in Peril’ and ‘A Cultural Site Adaption Guide’ – Kakadu National Park (Northern Territory, Australia 3
Introduction
Cultural Heritage Management (CHM) is the values which people give to the objects and places
through their relationship with them. These values comprise of significance to the Aboriginal
people, places of social, historical, architectural and scientific value. It is about striking
equilibrium between developing the tourism industry and generating the income of the local
people along with promoting and celebrating the educational, cultural and historical value and
safeguarding the physical integrity of the historical sites (IESA arts &culture, 2018).
It comprises of tangible characteristics such as historical monuments, and buildings of historical
and natural significance along with intangible characteristics such as folk music, oral traditions,
folk music and dances of the aboriginal people residing in the Kakadu National Park of
Australia. The purpose of CHM is to promote sustainable tourism and protection of the
environment of the park.
So, this report highlights the importance of CHM in safeguarding the cultural heritage of Kakadu
National Park which is situated in the northern territory of Australia. The practices to be
implemented by the stakeholders in its preservation and maintenance shall also be highlighted
along with the issues confronted in its implementation. Also, the roles of public and private
sectors in executing the environmental and cultural initiatives along with recommendations to
solve the problems confronted while implementing them shall be evaluated.
Body
Evaluation of the sustainability principles of Cultural Heritage Management and the
impact of change in the climatic conditions at Kakadu National Park
The concept of sustainable principles can be explained as the procedure which aims at
accomplishing the environmental, economic and social improvements at the local and
international level. It defines the interrelationships of safeguarding and enhancement of natural
resources so that necessities of the current generation can be met without restricting the
capability of the future generations to meet their own necessities. It controls the degradation of

Places in Peril’ and ‘A Cultural Site Adaption Guide’ – Kakadu National Park (Northern Territory, Australia 4
natural and heritage resources, violation of the human freedom and dignity , economic decline
and poverty and the lack of identification of rights and equal opportunities( Carbone, 2016).
As per The Australia ICOMOS Charter for Places of Cultural Significance (2013) the Burra
Charter suggests a vigilant approach for transforming and maintaining the sites. It advices for
necessary care for the park without altering its original cultural significance.
Change in the climatic conditions of Kakadu National Park poses a great threat to the animal and
plant life of park. Rise of the levels of carbon in the environment lead to more intake of the solar
radiations which in turn lead to an increase of the average temperature of earth. So, increase in
the levels of carbon di oxide and greenhouse gases results in the changes in the global climate
thereby influencing the humans and ecosystem of the park to a greater extent.
Changes in the ecosystems pose a great amount of danger to the animal and plant life of the park.
It is mainly because of transformations of the seasonal patterns of its rainfall and temperature.
So, it results in negative impact on the endangered species thereby causing their extinction. As
the park covers both the marine and land-dwelling areas, change in the climatic conditions
affects the park from the two different sides.
Implementation of the principles of CHM at the Kakadu National Park considering the
participation of the stakeholders and sustainable strategies and processes for implementing
those procedures on the park
The sustainable strategies for the protection of Kakadu National Park are implemented through
the application of Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. It governs
the management of the park and the decision making of the Kakadu National Park Management
Board. For the implementation, various stakeholders are involved in the board. It mostly
comprises of the traditional owners of the park and these arrangements are done to ensure that
there is an effective legal protection of the park and with the help of sound planning framework ,
the issues of its management can be resolved (Han et al., 2016).

Places in Peril’ and ‘A Cultural Site Adaption Guide’ – Kakadu National Park (Northern Territory, Australia 5
The important issues which are addressed with the help the sustainability principles amount to
tourism. Due to the world heritage inscription of the park, there has been an increase in the
number of tourists visiting the park. They are motivated to enjoy in the park in such ways which
do not harm its natural and cultural heritage.
The second aspect being flora and fauna existing in the region. Preventive measures have been
taken to remove the unwanted plants or weeds to preserve the plant life of the region. In order to
protect the animals residing in the region, Asian water buffaloes have been removed and the
affected ecosystems have been restored in the park. The third aspect being the administration of
the abandoned small scale mining sites surrounded by the region. The rehabilitation programs
have been executed to diminish the after effects of physical and radiological dangers arising out
of the old mining sites. The cultural sites are also preserved by safeguarding the rock art sites
which are damaged due to water, vegetation, insects, animals and humans (UNESCO World
Heritage Centre, 2018).
Findings
Investigating the problems arising at Kakadu National Park and commitments towards
stakeholder management and sustainability
As per Schubert (2014) there has been a significant decrease in the number of animals residing in
the area. It mostly includes wild and invasive species such as cane toads. It has been analyzed
that change in the climatic conditions is the main reason for this decease.
According to Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency (2011) it has been observed
that from the present conditions of 102 dry days, the situation could worsen by an increase in the
number of dry days by 18 days every year. The impact of climate change has also been observed
on the vegetation of the region. Since the tolerance level of different kinds of vegetation are
determined by the distribution and extent of different wetland communities and the rise in the sea
levels.

Places in Peril’ and ‘A Cultural Site Adaption Guide’ – Kakadu National Park (Northern Territory, Australia 6
Another problem which is confronted by the park is the rise in the risk of fire spreading in the
bush. Due to increase in the temperature and evaporation levels , the park has been exposed to
higher risks of fire Hucke, O.F.(2016).
The commitments towards stakeholder management and sustainability are addressed by
involving the aboriginal people in the management of species which are in danger. Since the
environmental management is a shared responsibility of its various stakeholders, so it involves
an efficient partnership amongst the various stakeholder groups. The stakeholders recognized in
this regard are advisory groups of wild life preservation experts, the Kakadu Board Research
Advisory Committee, the Kakadu Board of Management , the aboriginal people , government,
various NGOs, tourists, guides, staff of the Kakadu National Park etc.
The formulation of Kakadu National Park Management Plan has been a big step in preserving
the natural and cultural heritage of the park. The main objective of this plan is to preserve its
natural values and assist in the recovery of endangered species. With the help of its framework
and policy settings, this strategy seeks to explain the actions taken to achieve the objectives of
the plan (Woinarski & Winderlich, 2014).
Analysis
Integration of the knowledge to evaluate the issues and trends regarding the role of public,
private and informational sectors in Environment and Cultural Tourism initiatives with
special focus on Intangible CHM
As per United Nations New York (2013) the issues regarding the implementation of the
environmental and cultural initiatives can be unawareness of the stakeholders regarding the
environmental pollution and climate change. Lack of awareness regarding technology adoption
and enhanced energy efficiency can be great difficulties for applying the environmental and
cultural initiatives by the public and private institutions.
According to the opinion of Poveda & Young (2015) the role of public, private and other
institutions for safeguarding the diversity of Kakadu National Park is that they create a powerful
impact on the implementation of sustainable tourism. The creation of promotional tools such as
multilingual brochures, web portals, brochures and organizing various tourism and forest

Places in Peril’ and ‘A Cultural Site Adaption Guide’ – Kakadu National Park (Northern Territory, Australia 7
conservation fairs by the private and public institutions can be of greater benefit in the
implementation of the sustainability principles (Marinov, Assenova & Dogramadjieva, 2017).
There are various stakeholders involved in applying the intangible CHM. The local and central
governments, various communities, groups, individuals, experts and non-governmental
institutions etc . are involved in implementing the intangible CHM in the park. The role of
gatekeepers and the knowledge agents can be analyzed in this regard. They can safeguard the
aspects of intangible CHM which they want to continue practice or transmit. The participation of
the entire community for safeguarding the intangible CHM is necessary in this regard. They
should recognize and define their intangible CHM and develop and implement plans to safeguard
their cultural heritage (Martinez & Olander , 2015).
Recommendations of the logical and rational solutions to acquire sustainable results for
improvements to existing and/or introduction of new sustainability strategies
For the preservation of cultural heritage and implementation of the sustainable developmental
strategies, the local communities should be empowered and they should be involved as key
stakeholders so that appropriate results can be produced. The inputs and feedbacks should be
received from the aboriginal people living around the park regarding the current and future
projects so that the role of local public can be strengthened (Pisano et al., 2015).
The sustainable tourism initiatives in the businesses that transact and deal in products which are
ecofriendly should be assisted and rewarded suitably through the grants and loans subject to low
interest. The local public such as taxi drivers, shop owners and the hotel staff can help in
introducing the cultural and natural heritage to the tourists. In order to create a positive impact
on the conduct of visitors, the cultural heritage manager can create the experiences of the visitors
in an optimistic manner. In this way the presence of the tourists can be viewed as a method to
safeguard the cultural and natural sites (Myers, 2016).
Another recommendation to implement the sustainable development principles to implement the
CHM is visitor management. It makes sure that the tourists including the current and future ones
can observe the well preserved heritage sites. So it manages the flow of visitors and limits the
access to the site up to a fixed number of people at a time (Perić, Đurkin & Lamot, 2014).

Places in Peril’ and ‘A Cultural Site Adaption Guide’ – Kakadu National Park (Northern Territory, Australia 8
Conclusion
Hence this report can be concluded by saying that the primary role of CHM in the Kakadu
National park is to analyze the relationship amongst the Aboriginal Cultural heritage and natural
environment. The historical places such as heritage sites, landscapes, cultural practices and
stories at the park should be preserved by the stakeholders. The evidences related to the past such
as management and uses of the land like the various methods of farming and mining along with
specific historical places and landscapes should be evaluated. The current interpretation of the
cultural heritage places should be explained to tourists visiting the park.

Places in Peril’ and ‘A Cultural Site Adaption Guide’ – Kakadu National Park (Northern Territory, Australia 9
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Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency (2011) . Kakadu: Vulnerability to climate
change impacts. Retrieved June 15th , 2018
http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/b2915be6-16e4-4cb3-8533-
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Hucke, O.F.(2016). Climate Change and Booderee National Park Impacts, Challenges and
Implications. Retrieved June 15th , 2018
https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/m4_finalpaper_hucke.pdf
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Schubert , S.(2014). Drop in Kakadu National Park wildlife numbers a significant concern, says
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http://portal.iphan.gov.br/uploads/ckfinder/arquivos/The-Burra-Charter-2013-Adopted-
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UNESCO World Heritage Centre(2018). Kakadu National Park. Retrieved June 15th , 2018
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