Budj Bim Ranger Programme is a key component of the institutional arrangements for the management and conservation of Budj Bim eco-cultural landscape. The programme is funded by the Australian government (through it’s Indigenous Protected Areas program) and managed through the Winda-Mara Aboriginal Corporation and employs full-time rangers mentored by Gunditjmara Elders to provide them with traditional and cultural knowledge and support. The Budj Bim Rangers are responsible for the management of the Budj Bim and Tyrendarra Protected Areas. The rangers are responsible for a wide range of management activities including native flora and fauna management, building and maintaining walking tracks, providing guided tours and monitoring.

The Budj Bim rangers have a key role in ensuring the cultural continuity and the ongoing transmission of traditional and contemporary Gunditjmara knowledge and practices across generations

The colonisation and occupation of Gunditjmara Country led to the loss of some traditional knowledge concerning the functioning of the Gunditjmara aquaculture system and particularly when access to such places was restricted because of private ownership by non-Aboriginal people. Starting from 1984, parts of the land were gradually returned to and purchased by Traditional Owners and with the return of lands to the Gunditjmara following the 2007 native title determination, the Gunditjmara’s focus turned to restoring the water flows and the revitalisation of the aquaculture system. Contemporary Gunditjmara knowledge and practices are renewed and revitalised through inherited customary knowledge. The continuation of traditional expertise (both as knowledge and practices) of Gunditjmara Traditional Owners, in combination with the protected area management expertise of government agencies, have allowed for the establishment of an enhanced adaptive management model through ‘two-way learning’. Gunditjmara customary knowledge concerning cultural water flows extends back more than 6,700 years.

The Budj Bim Cultural Landscape is located within the traditional Country of Gunditjmara. As such, Gunditjmara have long-held rights, responsibilities and

obligations to care for Country based on continuing traditional and continuing Gunditjmara knowledge and practices.

Gunditjmara cultural traditions, knowledge and practices are evident in Gunditjmara aquaculture; as manifest in the changing practices of kooyang (eel) management, storage, harvesting and the associated manipulation, modification and management of water flows. Gunditjmara aquaculture knowledge and practices are also inclusive of sourcing grasses for the weaving of gnarraban (kooyang baskets), traditional representations of Gunditjmara aquaculture (for example, the complex designs produced on possum skin cloaks), adaptation of traditional catching techniques (for example, use of wire mesh baskets and wood crates for holding kooyang) and contemporary, creative artistic expressions of Gunditjmara aquaculture – evidenced in story-telling, dance, song, crafted objects and sculpture.

Ownership is a key element for the effective protection and management of the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape. However, access to and ownership of the land was denied to Gunditjmara during great part of the 19th century when, after the arrival of British colonial invaders, Gunditjmara Country was occupied and access to the land became increasingly denied to Gunditjmara Traditional Owners until the 1980s. Nevertheless, and throughout the period of colonisation, the Gunditjmara retained connections to the aquaculture system through knowledge of the stories of Budj Bim and associated land-use practices.

From 1984, land was increasingly returned to and purchased by Gunditjmara Traditional Owners. In 2007, with the recognition of the native title rights of Gunditjmara, some parts of Country were returned to Gunditjmara. Today, Aboriginal organisations own and manage the World Heritage site of Budj Bim with the exception of Budj Bim National Park, which is co-operatively managed by the Gunditjmara Traditional Owners and the Victorian Government.

The ownership of the land enables Gunditjmara cultural traditions, knowledge and practices to be expressed in the present and into the future as a consequence of the recognition of both Gunditjmara custodial and native title rights and obligations.

The protection of the Kayas is directly dependent to the protection of both the natural and the cultural – both tangible and intangible – attributes/elements of the site and its traditional knowledge system and practices. This need for integrated protection is not only reflected at the local level though the recognition of custodianship, sacredness and the important bio-cultural role of the Kayas but it is also recognized and protected internationally through the inscription of the site on the list of the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (inscribed as the Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests) and the inclusion of the Traditions and practices associated with the Kayas in the sacred forests of the Mijikenda in the list of elements in Need of Urgent Safeguarding of the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The double inscription offers an added international framework to tackle both the protection of the natural and cultural heritage as well as the Outstanding Universal Value of the Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests. Additionally, it supports efforts made in directly addressing the need to urgently and proactively engage with the safeguarding of traditions that are facing significant challenges and might one day disappear.

The protection of the Sacred Mijikenda Kaya forests is ensured through a double set of traditional and legal measures that interact with each other to protect the place and ensure the livelihood of communities and peoples. On top of the existing traditional regulatory framework of the Mijikenda and the Council of Elders (Kambi), all the 10 Kaya forests inscribed on the World Heritage List and many of these sacred forests have also been registered as national monuments under the provisions of the National Museums and Heritage Act, which mandates the Kenyan government to support the kaya elders in the protection of the Kayas. The original registration of 22 kaya forests in 1992 has sparked the need to establish a new dedicated unit – the Coastal Forest Conservation Unit - within the National Museums of Kenya whose work is still today focused on working in partnership with the kaya elders for the protection of these places.

The Mijikenda Kaya Forest are small patches of forest land that extend between 10 and 400 ha on the coastal plains of Kenya. They were originally created in the 16th century as places of settlement but after their abandonment in the 1940s these places have been defined mostly for their spiritual and religious values. The Kaya forests play a key role in the Mijikenda religious sphere, their beliefs and practices as they are regarded as the ancestral and sacred homes of the Mijikenda peoples.

The protection of the Mijikenda Kaya Forests require an holistic and integrated approach based on both natural and cultural values as well as the recognition of the role of the Mijikenda in the conservation of the site through traditional knowledge systems and the recognition of the sacredness of these places. This multilayered identification and protection of values is fundamental for the protection of the site and its people in their wholeness: from the safeguarding of their sacredness to the conservation of their bio-cultural diversity.

Through the recognition of the cultural significance of the site, an important aspect for the effective management and conservation of Mosi-Oa-Tunya/Victoria Falls has been the inclusion of traditional knowledge systems in the integrated management plan for the site. The spiritual and religious values of the site are of high importance for communities and people and their maintenance, management and conservation is carried out traditionally by these communities. These values are embodied by the shrines located in various sites of the site.

The inclusion of these practices as part of the integrated management strategy of the site has led to an enhanced commitment and responsibility from these communities and vitalized the cooperation with the institutions involved in the management of the site. Community stewardship is a key strategic objective of the management activities.

As culture is not static but dynamic in nature, it is important to document the belief and practices of the cultural practices attached to the falls. It is important to acknowledge that by site management facilitating traditional practices in the site, it solidifies the sense of ownership among the communities and local people. This is important in ensuring effective management of the site values is attained.

The key principle behind the governance and management structure of Mosi-Oa-Tunya/Victoria Falls World Heritage Site is critical stakeholder engagement, an approach that aims at including planning and decision-making processes with all key stakeholders and rights holders: from the governments and relevant institutional authorities of Zambia and Zimbabwe to local communities and actors.

Critical stakeholder engagement as a process works on building trust and cooperation between institutional and non-institutional stakeholders. Through this process, local actors and communities are empowered in the exercise of their stewardship towards the site, which further inspires them to engage in conservation and management activities for the long-term safeguarding of the site’s natural and cultural heritage values.

An essential component for the effective management of Scelig Michíl is the establishment of channels for communication and exchange with the multiple local governmental, institutional and private stakeholders based on the Iveragh peninsula, among which there are local communities, public agencies, interest groups dealing with the management of the site, private owners, boatmen, tourism and service industry. The forum is a space in which stakeholders and interest groups can communicate with the site management team and address issues of mutual interest and to inform decision-making processes.  Additionally, the forum offers a space to promote public awareness and pursue the engagement of the local stakeholders with the World Heritage property of Scelig Michíl.

The forum is organized and coordinated by the OPW in cooperation with Skellig Michael Implementation Group and it includes representatives of all relevant interes groups.

This approach is fundamental also in view of strengthening existing  cooperation with national and local partners in the development of a sustainable tourism strategy for the site, a project that has already begun in 2017 with the comprehensive Visitor Experience Development Plan that was published as a result of the cooperation between OPW, Failté Ireland and local stakeholders.