Three new #Indigenous Protected Areas declared in WA, paving the way for more cultural protection
"The animals that we used to see when I was a child, they've become more and more scarce."
By Charlie Mills
Posted Wed 10 Jul 2024
In short:
Yindjibarndi, Nyamal and Wudjari lands in Western Australia have been announced among 12 new Indigenous Protected Areas (IPA) today.
IPAs trigger funding for traditional owners to manage land and sea country, including threatened species and feral animal management.
What's next? The groups will now undertake consultation to determine where the funding should be directed.
"The federal government has announced a significant investment into protecting and managing cultural heritage in Western Australia's north, a first for the west Pilbara region.
"The government will invest $14.6 million to establish 12 new Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs), with three of those in WA.
"The protected areas have been announced for #Yindjibarndi Country near Roebourne and Nyamal Country near Marble Bar in the #Pilbara, and #Wudjari Country near Esperance on WA's South Coast.
"CEO of Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation Michael Woodley said the move will help #revitalise the land and protect cultural heritage.
"'There's a real need and urgency to put [flora and fauna] back on the land,' he said.
"He said the newly proclaimed protected areas will allow rangers to reverse those impacts.
'"This gives us a really good opportunity to make sure we can revitalise those particular elements, and continue to sustain them as well,' he said.
"Indigenous Protected Areas are vast areas of land and sea country directly managed by #traditional owners such as Indigenous rangers, who work to protect #CulturalHeritage and #biodiversity.
"More than 90 million hectares of land across #Australia are currently covered by #IPAs, and the newly announced areas will add another eight million."