Indigenous Communities

and the Environment

Indigenous Protected Area - video


This video explains the cultural ties that Indigenous Australians feel for their country. The IPA program allows the traditional owners of the land to maintain these ties while caring for the land.


Indigenous Protected Areas - Culture from Parks Australia on Vimeo.


Indigenous Protected Areas are one of Australia's great success stories.

By using traditional ways to care for country, IPAs are keeping their culture and their communities strong.

This has all sorts of spin-off benefits in health, education and social wellbeing.

Ismahl Croft, Warlu Jilajaa Jumu IPA:
The country is our law, it's our culture, it's our identity. Even landscapes, even animals, they all got stories behind 'em.

We may have a life span in terms of the wider non-Indigenous population in Australia, which is twenty years less, and we live in poverty. But when people get back on their country they're rich inside, you know, they've got the land and they don't need to be a millionaire to feel that they're rich.

And that's why we see the IPA programme as a good opportunity, for our people, our young people and our old people to get back on that country together and when people live on country they live very healthier lifestyle. Stay away from take-away shops, alcohol, drugs and other negative substances that they do to themselves in town.

Phil Palmer, WWF Scientist:
The kids are the future of the lake and the old people have really strong conservation values.

The kids these days don't necessarily, as part of their daily life, don't necessarily have those values embedded on them. But this is a great opportunity for the senior Elders to sit down with the kids and explain why they feel the way they feel and why they want to protect the lake and hopefully install some of those values into the kids.

Marminjay Nuggett, Warlu Jilajaa Jumu IPA:
Well I think the IPAs are, you know, it's going to be a new thing and it's an important thing for our families to look after country.