Evidencing Djaara-led, Djandak Wi (cultural firing practices) for healthy Djandak (Country)

About the project

Globally, Indigenous people are asserting and demonstrating their leadership and expertise in fire management for healing Country and people and establishing resilient communities and landscapes. In Southeast Australia, improved fire governance is urgently required to manage the detrimental effects to people and ecosystems of catastrophic fire resulting from the settler fire governance systems. Dominant approaches to understanding the impacts and outcomes of fire management are based in either Western scientific ecological or asset protection terms, and do not generally account for the full value and contribution of Indigenous ‘cultural firing’ and governance. Indigenous peoples have processes for accounting for cultural firing practices—as critical to healing of people and Country, to self-determination, and to social-ecological outcomes—that can improve and transform current fire governance arrangements as well as address their own goals for community and Country.

This project aims to develop criteria, indicators and methods to account for the contributions and effectiveness of Indigenous-led firing practices in Dja Dja Wurrung Country in Victoria, Australia. Similar to much of Southeast Australia, cultural firing practices (Djandak Wi) in Djandak (Dja Dja Wurrung country in Victoria) have become more limited since colonisation.

Evidence of the contribution and effectiveness of cultural fire for healthy country (Djandak) will support Djaara in self-determination and sustainable management of Djandak (Country).