An ecosystem is as community of interactions between the biotic and abiotic elements of an environment. Management strategies are used to try and protect these ecosystems each with effective and ineffective components. There is a variety of traditional strategies such as Dugong Harvesting and Fire stick Farming as used by indigenous people in the past. In addition there are contemporary strategies, for example the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) and Total Catchments Management (T.C.M). These strategies can vary in scale from local to global. (See diagram)
Fire stick farming was a traditional method commonly used by Australian Aborigines. Their objective is to make ?game? more accessible or to herd/trap animals. This local management strategy is over 30000 years old and therefore it has been considered effective it does not adversely affect the ecosystem but ensures long-term sustainability of grassland ecosystems. However, one negative impact is that it has made the casurina tree rare and the eucalypt diverse therefore altering the vegetation and consequently the ecosystem structure.
Great Barrier Reef, Eddy Reef off Mission Beach
Great Barrier reef
A scuba diver looking at a giant clam on the Great...In addition, some Aboriginal people regard dugong as an important part of their aboriginality. In earlier periods Dugong harvesting was used by Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. It was effective to them as a source of oil and valuable traditional food items, however various groups consider dugong harvesting to be ineffective as there has been a decline in the population of Dugongs around the world. For example at the Great Barrier Reef a large inshore protective zone was established by management agencies to protect Dugongs. The Darumbal-Noolar Murree Aboriginal Corporation for land signed an agreement with the GBRMPA so therefore it may be concluded that Dugong harvesting was effective as a regional traditional strategy in the past at reaching its objective but currently it is not used.
The GBRMPA is a contemporary...