Establishment of Indigenous Protected Areas
Through the Indigenous Protected Areas element of the Caring for our Country initiative, Indigenous communities can receive funding and other assistance from the Australian Government to develop and declare their own IPA.
There are a number of stages involved in developing and managing an IPA: considering an IPA, developing a plan of management, declaring the IPA, implementing the land management plan, and monitoring the results.
Considering an IPA Declaration?
Communities first apply to the Government for help to start investigating whether an IPA is the right future for their land. Support can be provided for Indigenous groups to consult with their community and other stakeholders, and considering what IPA declaration would mean for them.
Indigenous landowners thinking about establishing an IPA on their land can access support for legal advice, and advice on cultural heritage and conservation aspects of their proposed IPA.
Developing a Plan of Management
Before an Indigenous landowner can declare their land to be an IPA, they must prepare a plan to manage their country and its cultural values as an IPA.
Developing the management plan may involve:
- talking to relevant State/Territory conservation agencies and other agencies that may be able to support the project
- getting expert advice on the values of the IPA and how these should be managed and protected
- visiting existing IPAs to talk to the Indigenous landowners there about their experience with developing an IPA.
IPA projects usually combine this planning stage with the consultation stage, culminating in a draft management plan and a decision on whether an IPA declaration will proceed. If the draft management plan has been completed before the consultation stage is complete, developing IPAs can sometimes receive funding to implement some of the activities in the draft plan while they work towards declaration.
IPA management plans identify:
- the activities the community plans to undertake to manage the land and its cultural values
- the decision-making structures that will govern how they make management decisions
- the World Conservation Union category that will guide the way the IPA is managed.
IPA Declaration
When communities are ready, they make a formal and public announcement of their intention to manage their land as an IPA in accordance with the management plan.
Implementing the Plan of Management
Once an IPA has been declared, it is actively managed in line with the plan of management. The management activities depend on the needs of the IPA, but usually include work to control weeds, feral animals and wildfire, work to conserve cultural and natural heritage, and setting up infrastructure to manage visitor access.
Monitoring
Monitoring and evaluation are built into the Indigenous Protected Areas element of the Caring for our Country initiative. IPA communities work with government agencies and other partners such as conservation groups and universities to keep track of management activities and their results.
The results of this monitoring are used to adjust management activities so work is done as efficiently as possible, and future management plans take into account the 'lessons learned'.
IPA monitoring and evaluation is also designed to pick up information on the broader social and cultural benefits of managing land as an IPA.
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