Indigenous Communities

and the Environment

Indigenous Protected Areas

Kaanju Ngaachi Wenlock and Pascoe Rivers

Almost 2,000 square kilometres of lush tropical habitat on Cape York has been protected in Australia's 25th Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) - the Kaanju Ngaachi Wenlock and Pascoe Rivers IPA.

Like all of Australia's IPAs, Kaanju Ngaachi now becomes part of the National Reserve System, a network of parks and reserves where examples of our biodiversity are protected for future generations. More about Kaanju Ngaachi

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians have managed their lands for tens of thousands of years.

Land is central to their lives and wellbeing - it provides an economic base, underpins history, innovation and culture, and is fundamental to spiritual beliefs.

The Indigenous Protected Areas element of the Caring for our Country initiative is one way Indigenous Australians are being supported to meet their cultural responsibility to care for their country and to pass on their knowledge about the land and its resources to future generations.

Through Indigenous Protected Areas, the Government supports Indigenous communities to manage their land for conservation - in line with international guidelines - so its plants, animals and cultural sites are protected for the benefit of all Australians.

It helps Indigenous communities develop a plan to manage their land's natural and cultural values, and provides ongoing support for work to control threats such as weeds, feral animals and wildfire.

Since the concept of Indigenous Protected Areas was first championed in the early 1990s, 25 IPAs have been declared in Australia covering more than 20 million hectares - that's an area more than twice the size of Tasmania.

The initiative received a major boost in August 2007, when the Indigenous Land Corporation contributed $7 million over three years, to expand the work of Australia's existing IPAs and help create at least 10 new ones.

Australia's 25 declared IPAs range from the turquoise waters of the Dhimurru IPA in the Gulf of Carpentaria to the arid beauty of Australia's first IPA at Nantawarrina in South Australia.

From rejuvenating country and protecting culture, to creating stronger, healthier and more hopeful remote and regional Indigenous communities, IPAs provide much for Australia to be proud of. The stories of Australia's first 23 IPAs are told in the book Growing Up Strong, the first 10 years of Indigenous Protected Areas in Australia.

Alongside the Australian Government's National Reserve System element of the Caring for our Country initiative, Australia's IPAs make an important contribution to the National Reserve System - the nation-wide network of parks and reserves designed to protect examples of every one of Australia's different types of ecosystem.

Evaluation of the Indigenous Protected Areas program

In 2006 an independent evaluation of the Indigenous Protected Areas program hailed it as the nation's "most successful innovation in Indigenous conservation."

The review found the Indigenous Protected Areas program has been extremely cost effective in contributing to national conservation goals, and that it makes a significant contribution to the National Reserve System.

As well as underlining the important environmental results that the program delivers, the review confirmed that IPAs provide meaningful work opportunities for Indigenous Australians, and can have fantastic spin-off benefits in health, education and social cohesion. IPA communities report reductions in substance abuse, higher school attendance and improved family and community relationships.

Current declared IPAs

About IPAs

Applying for IPAs and funding

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