Mamu Country encompasses land and sea country of the Johnstone River, and southern region of the Russell River, Far North Queensland. Waterways across Mamu Country inherently connect Mamu People, Country, culture, and livelihoods. They connect Mamu People’s sacred sites, ceremony and burial grounds, meeting places, massacre sites, and stories. They are where generations were birthed and taught culture.
Today, Mamu People continue to take their families to the waterways to be together, sustainably use resources, pass on culture, and teach their children. The region is now home to a diverse group of people, and waterway health has been influenced by contemporary activities within the catchment, yet Mamu people continue to be actively involved in managing waterways.
Funding from the Australian Government’s Reef Trust and Great Barrier Reef Foundation partnership has enabled Mamu People to identify and discuss their values, rights and interests for waterways across Country. These discussions informed the Mamu Healthy Waterways Strategy 2022, which was used to develop the Mamu Waterway Health Monitoring Plan. The plan brings together traditional knowledge and western science to monitor waterway health and answer Mamu people’s questions. The plan has been implemented by Mamu People over the past 12 months, providing opportunities for employment, training and inter-generational transfer of knowledge. The monitoring data collected will guide Mamu activities, planning, programs, and policies for waterway management.
This presentation will detail how community consultation informed the management strategy and the selection of monitoring indicators, locations and methods; how Mamu People consulted with stakeholders to incorporate regional priorities; and the development of water quality objectives for cultural and spiritual values. We will explain how water quality sampling training materials were developed in collaboration with Queensland Government scientists and how cultural protocols were developed with Elders, to ensure the monitoring was conducted according to the community’s needs.