The Northern Tanami

Indigenous Protected Area An Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) is a class of protected area used in Australia; each is formed by voluntary agreement with Indigenous Australians, and declared by Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander representative organisation ...

(IPA) is Walpiri-managed region of the

Tanami Desert The Tanami Desert () is a desert in northern Australia, situated in the Northern Territory and Western Australia. It has a rocky terrain and small hills. The Tanami was the Northern Territory's final frontier and was not fully explored by Austral ...

Central Australia Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as the Red Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre of Australia. In its narrowest sense it describes a region that is limited to the town of Alice Springs and ...

. IPAs are areas of land and sea Country managed by First Nations groups for

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

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 manage ...

and cultural outcomes through voluntary agreements with the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

. These areas form part of Australia's National Reserve System. Dedicated in 2007, the area has significant cultural and natural value. It is managed by the Warlpiri Rangers, of 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 ...

's ranger groups combining Yapa (Aboriginal) and Kardiya (non-Aboriginal) knowledges. They are working to control threats from wildfire, weeds and feral animals. The IPA is subtropical climate with distinct wet and dry seasons. It features high conservation value areas, including vast areas of hummock grassland. It is home to vulnerable species including the ''walpajirri'' (greater bilby) and '' warrarna'' (great desert skink), and endangered

Gouldian finch The Gouldian finch (''Chloebia gouldiae''), also known as the Gould's finch or the rainbow finch, is a colourful passerine bird that is native to Australia. Taxonomy The Gouldian finch was described by British ornithologist John Gould in 1844 ...

. The Groundrush gold mine was located on the Northern Tanami IPA. While it is no longer operational, there are numerous mineral exploration licences covering parts of the IPA, but no current mining activity.

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Further reading