Ceremony celebrates new protected area in Kimberley

By PETER ROWE

The dedication of the Mayala Indigenous Protected Area has been celebrated with a ceremony near Ardyaloon, in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

The newly dedicated Indigenous Protected Area fills a key gap in a network of protected areas in the Kimberley. It covers nearly 12,000 hectares of land and over 360,000 hectares of sea Country.

It includes Tanner Island and a small area of the Port of Yampi Sounds.

“First Nations people have been custodians of land and sea Country for 65,000 years,” Minister for Indigenous Australians, Senator Malarndirri McCarthy said.

“The Indigenous Protected Areas Program supports First Nations communities to manage land and sea Country and deliver cultural and biodiversity conservation outcomes, in accordance with Traditional Owners’ aspirations.

“Nantawarrina around the community of Nipapanha in South Australia’s Flinders Ranges became Australia’s first IPA in 1998, and today we welcome the Mayala People’s dedication of Australia’s 87th IPA.

“Congratulations to all parties involved.”

The Mayala Indigenous Protected Area is made up of islands, reefs, seabeds and land, it includes the endangered Monsoon Vine Thickets of the Dampier Peninsula and a portion of the Kimberley Marine Park.

Mayala sea Country is home to five species of sea turtles, sawfish and dugong, while the land is home to threatened terrestrial species like the golden bandicoot and northern quoll.

The Mayala Inninalang Aboriginal Corporation, with support from the Kimberley Land Council, manage the Mayala Indigenous Protected Area.

Indigenous Protected Areas now make up more than 11 per cent of Australia’s landmass and more than 50 per cent of the National Reserve System.

The Government has set a target to protect and conserve 30 per cent of our land and 30 per cent of our oceans by 2030.

The Mayala Indigenous Protected Area added nearly 12,000 hectares to help reach this 30 per cent land target – 22 per cent of Australia’s total landmass is now protected.

“Mayala Country is a living cultural landscape of islands, reefs, seabeds and saltwater, which has been cared for by the Mayala people for thousands of years,” Minister for the Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek said.

“First Nations people have been successfully looking after land for 65,000 years. We are so lucky in Australia to have the world’s most successful environmentalists to learn from.

Indigenous Protected Areas are established under voluntary agreements between First Nations peoples and the Australian Government to manage and protect areas of land and sea for biodiversity conservation.