Data Management and Automated Mapping Protecting Sacred Sites in the Northern Territory

AAPA What is a Sacred Site? The NT Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act AAPA Data Automated Mapping Project

The Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority The Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority (AAPA) is an independent statutory organisation established under the Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act, and is responsible for overseeing the protection of Aboriginal sacred sites on land and sea across the whole of Australias Northern Territory.

What is a Sacred Site?

a site that is sacred to Aboriginals or is otherwise of significance according to Aboriginal tradition In the Northern Territory most sacred sites are Dreaming sites. Dreamtime ancestors travelled across the landscape giving it form and giving Aboriginal people their traditional law.

Their activities took physical form in landscape features.

Sacred sites take many forms

Hills, rock outcrops, waterholes, trees, reefs, ochre sources, etc. may be Dreaming sites. The Authority has also been asked to protect some ceremony grounds and mortuary areas.

Not all sacred sites are registered.

All sacred sites are protected by Territory law whether registered or not.

NORTHERN TERRITORY ABORIGINAL SACRED SITES ACT 1989

to effect a practical balance between the recognized need to preserve and enhance Aboriginal cultural tradition..and the aspirations of the Aboriginal and all other peoples of the Territory for their economic, cultural and social advancement

It is an offence under the Act to

enter onto a sacred site

carry out works on or use a sacred site desecrate a sacred site

The Act binds the Crown..in all its other capacities.

The Act is administered by the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority.

Functions of AAPA under the N.T. Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act

Establish and maintain a Register of Sacred Sites. Process Authority Certificate applications for works proposed anywhere in the Territory. Maintain a Register of Authority Certificates. Prosecute for breaches of the Act.

AAPA Data

Strange concept mapping a culture

Aboriginal association with the land implies an inherent spatial aspect to protecting culture

We can utilise this to represent aspect of the Aboriginal culture in a visual / map form

11,000 + Sites in the AAPA Database

AAPA Data - Sensitivity

The AAPA are holding sacred site data in trust for custodians and using it to protect sacred sites

New sites are generally recorded in response to an application for an Authority Certificate - custodians divulge information when it is needed to protect a sacred sites

AAPA Data Limitations

Incomplete dataset

Only claim full coverage in areas covered by Authority Certificates

Sites often appear in our records if they are susceptible to damage

Regardless of differing levels of site information and accuracy classed using site status, all are protected under our Act

Different boundary types

Automating our Mapping

Heavy increase in services meant we had to tighten up our systems This included our research database as well as our mapping systems Project was undertaken to automate our common mapping products Authority Certificates, Requests for Information and Site Registration

Automating our Mapping - Situation

Database : Oracle 11g

Mapping Software Mapinfo 11.0

Using some old mapbasic scripts to update data and create layouts Manually providing data to external agencies using mapinfo sql

Automating our Mapping - Changes

Using FME began the process of creating scripts to update data from internal and external databases and set them to run automatically each night. Once this was successful we delved deeper into FME and started creating scripts to automate our mapping. This was highly successful and implemented within a year. Non GIS staff are now responsible for creating lots of our products with sign off by our SLIO

Automating our Mapping - Future

Data Integrity Using scripts to highlight data issues in our database Web mapping view of data for all staff Mobile Mapping