An Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) is a class of
protected area
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
used in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
; each is formed by voluntary agreement with
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...
, and declared by Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander representative organisations. Each is formally recognised by the
Australian Government
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Governmen ...
as being part of its
National Reserve System
Australia's National Reserve System (NRS) is a network of more than 10,000 Commonwealth plus state and territory protected areas which, in combination, on a national scale, protect more than , greater than 17% of the continent, of unique biodi ...
.
The areas may comprise land and sea, and are managed by Indigenous groups for the
conservation
Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws.
Conservation may also refer to:
Environment and natural resources
* Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...
of
biodiversity
Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic ('' genetic variability''), species ('' species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity'') ...
. Managing IPAs also helps to protect the cultural values of
their country for future generations, and has benefits for Indigenous health, education, economic and social cohesion.
[ Text may have been copied from this source, which is available under ]
Attribution 3.0 Australia (CC BY 3.0 AU)
licence.
As of 2020, there were 78 IPAs, covering around 46.53% of the National Reserve system.
[ In September 2021, a further seven IPAs were declared, which will lead to IPAs comprising more than half of Australia's National Reserve System.]
Indigenous ranger
The Indigenous ranger projects were introduced by the Australian Government in 2007 as part of its Working on Country program. Indigenous rangers are Indigenous Australians who combine traditional knowledge with conservation training in order to p ...
s are employed to work in IPAs as well as in other remote areas of Australia, on land management and related projects.[ Text may have been copied from this source, which is available under ]
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
licence.
History
During the 1990s the Australian Government was working in cooperation with State and Territory Governments to build a National Reserve System aimed at protecting, for future generations
Future generations are cohorts of hypothetical people not yet born. Future generations are contrasted with current and past generations, and evoked in order to encourage thinking about intergenerational equity. The moral patienthood of future g ...
, a representative sample of Australia's diverse range of flora, fauna and eco-systems.
As part of this effort, Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander owners of lands and seas were asked, and many who were interested in re-establishing effective indigenous land management agreed to participate in this endeavour.
At a national conference of Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders held in 1997, it was agreed and resolved by the delegates present that a new class of "Indigenous" protected area should be formed as follows:
An Indigenous Protected Area is o begoverned by the continuing responsibilities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to care for and protect lands and waters for present and future generations... Indigenous Protected Areas may include areas of land and waters over which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are custodians, and which shall be managed for cultural biodiversity
Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic ('' genetic variability''), species ('' species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity'') ...
and conservation, permitting customary sustainable resource use and sharing of benefit.
The first trialling of this new environmental partnership aimed at adding the new class of Protected Areas to Australia's National Reserve System, was with the Adnyamathanha people of Nepabunna Aboriginal community, volunteering of rugged limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...
hills, siltstone
Siltstone, also known as aleurolite, is a clastic sedimentary rock that is composed mostly of silt. It is a form of mudrock with a low clay mineral content, which can be distinguished from shale by its lack of fissility.Blatt ''et al.'' 1980, ...
flats, springs and waterholes between the Flinders Ranges
The Flinders Ranges are the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts about north of Adelaide. The ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna.
The Adnyamathanha people are the Aboriginal group who have inhabit ...
and Gammon Ranges National Parks to be managed as an Indigenous Protected Area.
The land selected for the first proposed Indigenous Protected area was held by the South Australian Aboriginal Lands Trust (on a 99-year lease, for the Adnyamathanha people[), and, by 26 August 1998, an agreement had been reached to see the people of Nepabunna Aboriginal community engaged and some employed in restoring the landscape to its former natural and cultural value, and Australia's first Indigenous Protected Area, the Nantawarrina Indigenous Protected Area was declared.] At the opening ceremony in 1998, Nantawarrina was declared "the first Indigenous Protected Area in South Australia, Australia and internationally" by Gurtrude Johnson, an Adnyamathanha traditional owner
Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...
.
By 2007 the kind of partnership agreed and started with the Nantawarrina Indigenous Protected Area had grown to include 23 declared Indigenous Protected Areas covering close to , or 23 per cent of the National Reserve System
Australia's National Reserve System (NRS) is a network of more than 10,000 Commonwealth plus state and territory protected areas which, in combination, on a national scale, protect more than , greater than 17% of the continent, of unique biodi ...
. By agreeing to establish Indigenous Protected Areas, Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander peoples contributed two-thirds of all new additions to Australia's National Reserve System over the decade 1997–2007.
In July 2012, The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US.
Founded in 1951, The Nat ...
, alongside IPA alongside the Central Land Council
The Central Land Council (CLC) is a land council that represents the Aboriginal peoples of the southern half of the Northern Territory of Australia (NT), predominantly with regard to land issues. it is one of four land councils in the Northern T ...
and government representatives from Australia’s National Reserve System
Australia's National Reserve System (NRS) is a network of more than 10,000 Commonwealth plus state and territory protected areas which, in combination, on a national scale, protect more than , greater than 17% of the continent, of unique biodi ...
, helped announce the launch of the Southern Tanami Indigenous Protected Area. This Indigenous Protected Area is Australia’s largest land reserve, spanning . It protects important pieces of the Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...
’s natural legacy. Included in the Southern Tanami reserve are much of Lake Mackay—Australia’s second-largest lake—and an enormous swathe of the Tanami Desert. This IPA links a variety of habitats that includes desert
A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...
s and savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground ...
s, giving plant and animal species the space they need to manoeuvre around threats like bushfire
A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...
s and climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
.
Two new areas were declared in Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...
in 2020, bringing the total number to 78.[
In September 2021, a further seven IPAs were declared, which will lead to IPAs comprising more than half of Australia's National Reserve System.][In September 2021, a further seven IPAs were declared, which will lead to IPAs comprising more than half of Australia's National Reserve System.][
In May 2022, the incoming ]Labor
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the la ...
government under Anthony Albanese
Anthony Norman Albanese ( or ; born 2 March 1963) is an Australian politician serving as the 31st and current prime minister of Australia since 2022. He has been leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since 2019 and the member of parlia ...
committed to boosting the funding for managing the IPAs to the tune of annually; also to doubling the number of Indigenous rangers to 3,8000 by 2030, and also to improving gender diversity
Gender diversity is equitable or fair representation of people of different genders. It most commonly refers to an equitable ratio of men and women, but may also include people of non-binary genders. Gender diversity on corporate boards has be ...
in employment.
Criteria and description
Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander land and sea owners (including native title holders) may be encouraged, or themselves apply to the Australian Government to establish an Indigenous Protected Area on their lands/seas. However, an Indigenous Protected Area can only come into existence where:
* land and/or seas are owned by Aboriginal Australian
Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait I ...
or Torres Strait Islander
Torres Strait Islanders () are the Indigenous Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal people of the rest of Australia ...
peoples; and
* significant biodiversity occurs within such Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander-owned lands or seas; and
* the Aboriginal Australians or Torres Strait Islanders concerned enter into a formal conservation agreement with the Australian Government to manage some of their lands or seas as an IUCN standard "protected area".
Most IPAs are dedicated under IUCN Categories 5 and 6, which promote a balance between conservation and other sustainable uses to deliver social, cultural and economic benefits for local Indigenous communities.[ ]Indigenous ranger
The Indigenous ranger projects were introduced by the Australian Government in 2007 as part of its Working on Country program. Indigenous rangers are Indigenous Australians who combine traditional knowledge with conservation training in order to p ...
s are employed to work in IPAs as well as in other remote areas of Australia, on land management and related projects.[
]
IPA data
IPA data is available online from several sources.
*Three maps offering different views of all IPA project locations are available on the National Indigenous Australians Agency
The National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) is an Australian Government agency responsible for whole-of-government coordination of policy development, program design, and service delivery for Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Isl ...
's IPA page: an interactive map and project summaries; Indigenous Protected Areas (PDF) and the Indigenous Protected Areas - Commonwealth Funded Indigenous Ranger Groups (PDF), which also lists the ranger group names.[ Text may have been copied from this source, which is available under ]
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
licence. (Se
notice
)
* Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment
The Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE) was an Australian Government department which operated from 1 February 2020 until 30 June 2022. It represented Australia's national interests in agriculture, water and th ...
's Collaborative Australian Protected Area Database (CAPAD). Updated on a two-year schedule, but some data values may be incorrect or out-of-date. Data provided via Excel spreadsheets, by state and territory.
* The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA), "the most comprehensive global database of marine and terrestrial protected areas", is a produced by the UN Environment Programme and the International Union for Conservation of Nature
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
(IUCN). Says it is updated monthly, but the Australian section as of September 2021 shows the Australian Government source as 2020 (lists 78 IPAs under "Indigenous peoples").
List of Indigenous Protected Areas
Federal
* Booderee National Park and Botanic Gardens, in the Jervis Bay Territory
The Jervis Bay Territory (; JBT) is an internal territory of Australia. It was established in 1915 from part of New South Wales (NSW), in order to give the landlocked Australian Capital Territory (ACT) access to the sea.
It was administered ...
, managed by the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community
New South Wales
New South Wales IPAs include:
* Brewarrina Ngemba Billabong Indigenous Protected Area
* Boorabee and The Willows Indigenous Protected Area
* Gumma Indigenous Protected Area
* Minyumai Indigenous Protected Area
* Ngunya Jargoon Indigenous Protected Area
* Tarriwa Kurrukun Indigenous Protected Area
* Toogimbie Indigenous Protected Area
* Wattleridge Indigenous Protected Area
* Weilmoringle Indigenous Protected Area
Northern Territory
Northern Territory IPAs include:
* Angas Downs Indigenous Protected Area
*Anindilyakwa Indigenous Protected Area Anindilyakwa may refer to:
* Anindilyakwa people, an ethnic group of Australia
* Anindilyakwa language, an Australian language
* Anindilyakwa Indigenous Protected Area, a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia
* Anindilyakwa Land C ...
* Dhimurru Indigenous Protected Area – declared in 2000, it was the first land/sea IPA in Australia
* Djelk Indigenous Protected Area
* Karlu Karlu / Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve ?
* Katiti Petermann Indigenous Protected Area - declared on 1 October 2015, more than in Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park
Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia. The park is home to both Uluru and Kata Tjuta. It is located south of Darwin by road and south-west of Alice Springs along the Stuart and Lassete ...
.
* Laynhapuy Indigenous Protected Area - , created in 2006
* Marri-Jabin , Stage one of the Thamarrurr Indigenous Protected Area
* Northern Tanami Indigenous Protected Area
* Southern Tanami Indigenous Protected Area
* South-East Arnhem Land Indigenous Protected Area
* Warddeken Indigenous Protected Area
* Yanyuwa Indigenous Protected Area
Queensland
Queensland IPAs include:
* Eastern Kuku Yalanji Indigenous Protected Area
* Guanaba Indigenous Protected Area[
* Kaanju Ngaachi Wenlock and Pascoe Rivers Indigenous Protected Area][
* Magani Lagaugal Indigenous Protected Area (]Torres Strait Islands
The Torres Strait Islands are a group of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait, a waterway separating far northern continental Australia's Cape York Peninsula and the island of New Guinea. They span an area of , but their total la ...
, declared Sep 2021)[
* Mandingalbay Yidinji Indigenous Protected Area][
* Masigalal Indigenous Protected Area (]Torres Strait Islands
The Torres Strait Islands are a group of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait, a waterway separating far northern continental Australia's Cape York Peninsula and the island of New Guinea. They span an area of , but their total la ...
, declared Sep 2021)[
* Thuwathu-Bujimulla Indigenous Protected Area
* Umpila Indigenous Protected Area ( Cape York, declared Sep 2021)][
* Warul Kawa Indigenous Protected Area][
]
South Australia
South Australian IPAs include:
* Antara-Sandy Bore Indigenous Protected Area
* Kalka-Pipalyatjara Indigenous Protected Area
* Mount Willoughby Indigenous Protected Area
* Nantawarrina Indigenous Protected Area
* Watarru and Walalkara Indigenous Protected Area
*Yalata Indigenous Protected Area
The Yalata Indigenous Protected Area is an Indigenous Protected Area in South Australia. It has an area of 4643.97 km2.UNEP-WCMC (2022). Protected Area Profile for Yalata from the World Database of Protected Areas. Accessed 25 May 2022/ref>
T ...
Tasmania
Tasmanian IPAs include:
* Preminghana Indigenous Protected Area
* Risdon Cove and Putalina Indigenous Protected Areas
* Mount Chappell and Badger Islands Indigenous Protected Areas
Victoria
Victorian IPAs include:
* Deen Maar Indigenous Protected Area
*Framlingham Forest Indigenous Protected Area
Framlingham is a rural township located by the Hopkins River in the Western District of Victoria, Australia, about north-east of the coastal city of Warrnambool. In the 2016 census, the township had a population of 158.
The town lies within ...
*Kurtonitj Indigenous Protected Area
Budj Bim heritage areas includes several protected areas in Victoria, Australia, the largest two being Budj Bim National Heritage Landscape and the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape. Within the latter, there are three Indigenous Protected Areas: the ...
*Lake Condah Indigenous Protected Area
Budj Bim heritage areas includes several protected areas in Victoria, Australia, the largest two being Budj Bim National Heritage Landscape and the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape. Within the latter, there are three Indigenous Protected Areas: the ...
*Tyrendarra Indigenous Protected Area
Budj Bim heritage areas includes several protected areas in Victoria, Australia, the largest two being Budj Bim National Heritage Landscape and the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape. Within the latter, there are three Indigenous Protected Areas: the ...
Western Australia
Western Australian IPAs include:[
* Balanggarra Indigenous Protected Area
* Bardi Jawi Indigenous Protected Area
* ]Birriliburu Indigenous Protected Area
The Birriliburu Indigenous Protected Area, also known as Birriliburu IPA, is an Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) covering an area of in the Western Desert region of Western Australia, was declared in 2013. Text may have been copied from this ...
(Little Sandy Desert
The Little Sandy Desert (LSD) is a desert region in the state of Western Australia, lying to the east of the Pilbara and north of the Gascoyne regions. It is part of the Western Desert cultural region, and was declared an interim Australian ...
, and Gascoyne
The Gascoyne region is one of the nine administrative regions of Western Australia. It is located in the northwest of Western Australia, and consists of the local government areas of Carnarvon, Exmouth, Shark Bay and Upper Gascoyne. The Ga ...
, 2013, Martu people
The Martu (Mardu) are a grouping of several Aboriginal Australian peoples in the Western Desert cultural bloc.
Name
The Martu people were originally speakers of various Wati languages in the Western Desert dialect continuum whose identity c ...
, )
* Dambimangari Indigenous Protected Area
* Karajarri Indigenous Protected Area
* Kiwirrkurra Indigenous Protected Area
* Matuwa and Kurrara-Kurrara Indigenous Protected Area
* Ngaanyatjarra Indigenous Protected Area
* Ngadju Indigenous Protected Area (2020, north of Esperance, in the Western Australian Goldfields, Ngadju people, )
* Ngururrpa Indigenous Protected Area (2020, in the Great Sandy Desert
The Great Sandy Desert is an interim Australian bioregion,[IBRA Version 6.1](_blank)
data , )
* Ninghan Indigenous Protected Area
* Nyangumarta Warrarn Indigenous Protected Area
* Paruku Indigenous Protected Area
* Uunguu Indigenous Protected Area
* Warlu Jilajaa Jumu Indigenous Protected Area
* Wilinggin Indigenous Protected Area
* Yawuru Indigenous Protected Area
New areas declared September 2021:[
* Mayala Indigenous Protected Area (Kimberley)
* Ngurra Kayanta Indigenous Protected Area (Great Sandy Desert)
* Nykina Mangala Indigenous Protected Area (Kimberley)
* Warramba garr wambooriny Indigenous Protected Area (Kimberley)
]
2020: New IPAs
, there are 20 new proposed IPAs under consultation at the following locations:
* Tiwi Islands
The Tiwi Islands ( tiw, Ratuati Irara meaning "two islands") are part of the Northern Territory, Australia, to the north of Darwin adjoining the Timor Sea. They comprise Melville Island, Bathurst Island, and nine smaller uninhabited islands, w ...
, north of Darwin, Northern Territory (Tiwi Land Council)
* Haasts Bluff, south-west Northern Territory (Central Land Council)
* Mamu Wet Tropics, far north Queensland (Mamu Aboriginal Corporation)
* Arafura Swamp The Arafura Swamp is a large inland freshwater wetland in Arnhem Land, in the Top End of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is a near pristine floodplain with an area of that may expand to by the end of the wet season, making it the largest ...
, north-east Arnhem Land, Northern Territory (Arafura Swamp Rangers Aboriginal Corporation)
* Maralinga Tjarutja Lands, western South Australia (Oak Valley (Maralinga) Aboriginal Corporation)
* Mimal, south-east Arnhem Land, Northern Territory (Mimal Land Management).
* Wuthathi Shelburne Bay, Cape York Peninsula, Queensland (Wuthathi Aboriginal Corporation)
* Olkola
The Olkolo or Koko-olkola' are an Indigenous Australian people of central and eastern Cape York Peninsula in northern Queensland. According to Norman Tindale, they are to be distinguished from the Kokangol, higher up on the Alice River watersh ...
, central Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación ...
, Queensland (Olkola Aboriginal Corporation)
* Crocodile Islands Maringa, north-east Arnhem Land, Northern Territory (Milingimbi & Outstations Progress Resource Association)
* Spinifex Pilki, south-east Western Australia (Pila Nguru
The Pila Nguru, often referred to in English as the Spinifex people, are an Aboriginal Australian people of Western Australia, whose lands extend to the border with South Australia and to the north of the Nullarbor Plain. The centre of their ...
Aboriginal Corporation)
Awards
The World Future Council
The World Future Council (WFC) is a German non-profit foundation with its headquarters in Hamburg. It works to pass on a healthy and sustainable planet with just and peaceful societies to future generations.
FuturePolicy.org
The website f ...
(WFC) awarded the Indigenous Protected Areas and Indigenous Rangers programs with the"Bronze Future Policy Award 2017: Desertification
Desertification is a type of land degradation in drylands in which biological productivity is lost due to natural processes or induced by human activities whereby fertile areas become increasingly arid. It is the spread of arid areas caused ...
".
See also
* Aboriginal reserve
An Aboriginal reserve, also called simply reserve, was a government-sanctioned settlement for Aboriginal Australians, created under various state and federal legislation. Along with missions and other institutions, they were used from the 19th c ...
* Community Conservation Areas
* Indian reservation
An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...
(US)
* Indian reserve
In Canada, an Indian reserve (french: réserve indienne) is specified by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty,
that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band."
In ...
(Canada)
* Minister for Indigenous Australians
The Minister for Indigenous Australians in the Government of Australia is a position which holds responsibility for affairs affecting Indigenous Australians. Previous ministers have held various other titles since the position was created in 196 ...
* Protected areas of Australia
Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although t ...
* Territory of Traditional Natural Resource Use
Territory of Traditional Natural Resource Use, TTNRU (russian: территория традиционного природопользования, ТТП, Territoriya traditsionnogo prirodopol'zovaniya, TTP) is a type of land use and protected ...
, in Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
References
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
*
*
* Interactive map
Map of IPAs as of February 2020
{{Indigenous Australians
-