Around Australia local initiatives by Indigenous communities are becoming one of the most important components of national strategies to protect the environment. This project looks at a number of these initiatives in order to learn about the successes and challenges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples encounter when caring for country.
We are reviewing a sample of management plans from two of these initiatives – Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) and Traditional Use of Marine Resource Agreements (TUMRAs). These plans contain a wealth of information on current and future issues in culturally appropriate land and sea management. As they are community-produced, they also detail the hopes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have for these initiatives, and the steps they are taking to achieve them.
This project arose from a workshop on Indigenous land and sea management at the 2014 National Native Title Conference. Participants raised a number of concerns around policy development and research priorities in the area. Providing more information on the needs of Indigenous environmental projects will help governments to create policies which empower communities to achieve their own and national objectives.
Locations of a selection of IPAs and TUMRAs which have been reviewed so far, prepared by Timothy Heffernan
Key
A – Warraberagal and Porumalgal IPA
C – Girringun Region IPA and TUMRA
D – Dhimurru IPA
E – Ganalanga-Mindibirrina IPA
F – Angas Downs IPA
G – Karajarri IPA
H – Matuwa and Kurrara Kurrara IPA
