The State Government today announced the appointment of Puliyapang to develop and implement a monitoring program for the Aboriginal rock art on Murujuga - the Aboriginal name for the Dampier Archipelago, including the Burrup Peninsula.
Murujuga is home to the largest, densest and most diverse concentration of Aboriginal rock art in the world, as well as export industries critical to the Western Australian and national economies.
The scientific monitoring and analysis program will build on work over the past 15 years to determine whether the Murujuga rock art is being subject to accelerated change from the impacts of industry and shipping emissions.
Puliyapang, a joint venture between Calibre Ventures Pty Ltd and Tocomwall Pty Ltd, partnering with subject matter experts from Curtin University, Artcare and the ChemCentre, was chosen as the preferred provider.
Puliyapang is a registered Aboriginal business and brings together a team with specialised expertise, qualifications and experience.
Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation (MAC) rangers will work alongside the Puliyapang team and receive training to gain new skills as the custodians of Murujuga.
The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) and MAC will work in partnership to oversee the monitoring program, and evaluate and report on trends and changes in the condition of the rock art.
The majority of funding for the program is being provided by industry on Murujuga. The State Government acknowledges the significant contribution made by Woodside, Rio Tinto and Yara Pilbara in funding the monitoring program.
The State Government committed $649,000 in the 2019-20 State Budget to support the implementation of the Murujuga Rock Art Strategy released in February 2019. This includes funding for independent peer review of the design, analysis and results from the monitoring program to provide assurance that the best scientific information is available to guide management actions.
Murujuga Rock Art Monitoring Program is an important component of the management framework required for World Heritage listing to support co-existence between the Aboriginal heritage values and industry on Murujuga.
The Murujuga Cultural Landscape was added to Australia's World Heritage Tentative List earlier this month.
As stated by Environment Minister Stephen Dawson:
"The State Government is committed to protecting rock art on Murujuga. The rock art is a vital part of Western Australia's unique cultural heritage and is of immense cultural and spiritual significance to the traditional owners.
"We believe this globally unique monitoring program will support the rock art's co-existence with export industries on the Burrup Peninsula, which are critical to the State and national economy.
"Following a rigorous procurement process, Puliyapang, partnering with experts from Curtin University, Artcare and the ChemCentre, was chosen as the successful applicant.
"The specialised expertise, qualifications and experience brought together by Puliyapang make it an ideal choice to develop and implement the Murujuga Rock Art Monitoring Program."
As stated by Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation CEO Peter Jeffries:
"Our rock art represents an irreplaceable link to Aboriginal culture, history and stories dating back thousands of years and we thank the government for taking further steps to protect it with this appointment.
"We recognise the need for thorough and wide-ranging scientific analysis of the impact of industry on the rock art to ensure the rock art survives for future generations.
"This is also an opportunity to develop the capacity of our local Murujuga rangers so we can manage the preservation of the petroglyphs independently, as we have done for thousands of years.
"The appointment of Puliyapang to implement a monitoring program is another boost to our collective effort to have Murujuga's rock art recognised with World Heritage Listing."
As stated by Pilbara MLA Kevin Michel:
"Murujuga is a very special place that has been around for tens of thousands of years and it's crucial that it remains intact for generations to come. I welcome the work that has been done to date and am also encouraged by the monitoring program providing employment opportunities through the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation."
