Aboriginal Cultural Heritage

The draft GLaWAC Country Plan (2015) notes that ‘climate change poses a threat to our Country with decreasing rainfall and an increase in temperatures threatening the health of our rivers and land. Our towns and bush will come under threat from increased bushfire events, and the flooding of coastal environments and towns such as Lakes Entrance will have a major impact on cultural and natural values as well as the tourism industries.’

It is likely there are cultural values within the freehold landscape that will be potentially impacted by climate change (tangible examples of these values are Scar Trees or Coastal Shell Middens), with the likely outcome of the impact being values are destroyed (by fire, flood or coastal erosion processes).

This climate change work supports the concept of building partnerships and goodwill between private landholders and GLaWAC to have a holistic view of managing climate change impacts. For example, GLaWAC and private landholders work together to protect or record the cultural values before they are lost due to climate change.