Burringurrah, Nanda Indigenous land use agreements signed in Mid West and Gascoyne

Two significant agreements signed in the Mid West and Gascoyne last week will see more than one million hectares added to WA’s conservation estate and empower traditional owners to jointly manage the swathes of land. The Indigenous land use agreements (ILUA) will also result in more opportunities for Indigenous tourism and employment. Mount Augustus in the Gascoyne, or Burringurrah — Australia’s biggest rock, about one-and-a-half times the size of Uluru — is the centrepiece of an Indigenous land use agreement with the Wajarri Yamatji people that includes an 816,000ha parcel of land — about four times the size of the ACT — which marks the single biggest contribution to the State’s conservation estate. Also last week, an ILUA was signed with the Nanda people, adding a further 325,000ha to the estate and creating national parks and nature reserves in and around Kalbarri. Since 2019, 3.8 million hectares has been added to the State Government’s Plan for Our Parks, and the target of five million hectares is well on track. Former pastoral-lease land bought for conservation in the 1990s and 2000s as part of the Gascoyne Murchison Strategy — including the proposed Burringurrah (Mount Augustus), Muggon and Dalgaranga national parks and Lakeside Conservation Park — have joined the Wajarri Yamatji conservation estate in the Gascoyne and Murchison regions. Under the Burringurrah agreement, 16 traditional owners will be employed as rangers and five under the Nanda joint management deal. The new national parks have vital cultural values, with waterways associated with the Aboriginal Dreamtime and are home to several threatened flora and fauna species. The State Government will partner with Burringurrah and Minangu — two Aboriginal land groups within the Wajarri Yamatji native title determination area — to manage the new and existing national parks. Wajarri Yamaji Aboriginal Corporation CEO Jamie Strickland said the ILUA provided Wajarri Yamatji people access to be able to manage Wajarri country. ““The ILUA will also provide much-needed resources. This is what our people have wanted for a long time,’ he said. Burringurrah Joint Management Body chair Rebecca Lockyer said: “The agreement will mean so much for Burringurrah community and the future for our people and the next generations that are yet to come.” Kalbarri National Park — home to popular tourist destination Nature’s Window — along with Zuytdorp Nature Reserve, and the new parks and reserves, will all be jointly managed by the Nanda people and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA), allowing the Nanda people to make decisions with the department about how the country is managed. The national park and other reserves include several significant Aboriginal heritage sites and cultural landscapes, including the Murchison Rover and Zuytdorp cliffs. Nanda Aboriginal Corporation chairperson Carrum Mourambine said: “Today is a day to celebrate for Nanda people ... the negotiations with the State Government for Kalbarri National Park means we can protect our country, we can rehabilitate it and share its beauty with other people, tourists and the world.” The new reserves will be formally named after consultation with Nanda traditional owners. On site for both signings last week, Environment Minister Reece Whitby said the ILUAs were significant milestones for the Nanda and Wajarri Yamatji people as well as the government’s Plan for Our Parks initiative. “It means Wajarri Yamaji Aboriginal Corporation, in partnership with the State Government, will support efforts to manage cultural sites, create job and economic opportunities for traditional owners, and improve conservation efforts,” he said. On the Nanda agreement, Mr Whitby said: “These national parks can become a stopping point for visitors on the way to Mount Augustus or Ningaloo, providing a great chance for them to explore our State’s landscape.”