First Nations have played the leading role in defining the approach to protection and management of Pimachiowin Aki. The four First Nation communities have strong traditional mechanisms of protection that draw from the cultural tradition of Keeping the Land as articulated in the First Nations Accord, 2002. Protection and management of the World Heritage site are achieved through Anishinaabe customary governance grounded in Ji-ganawendamang Gidakiiminaan, contemporary provincial government law and policy, and cooperation among the four First Nations and two provincial government partners. A memorandum of agreement between the provincial governments also provides assurances about protection and management of the site (World Heritage Committee, 2018).