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Working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

Anindilyakwa IPA and Rangers

The Anindilyakwa Indigenous Protected Area (IPA), dedicated in 2006, spreads across the Groote Eylandt Archipelago in the Gulf of Carpentaria. It covers around 300,000 hectares of land which includes Groote Eylandt, Bickerton Island, and numerous smaller islands and is surrounded by another 700,000 hectares of sea country.

Sacred places, songlines and traditional resources on land and sea are highly valued by Traditional Owners and have been recognised as existing within the IPA. The Anindilyakwa Rangers manage the Archipelago's land and sea country according to customary and contemporary practices under the direction of senior Traditional Owners.

Work includes keeping the islands pest free (there are no cane toads or introduced grazing animals); controlling feral cats; monitoring threatened species such as the northern hopping mouse, northern quoll and sea turtles; controlling weeds; and collecting marine debris.

Importantly, the rangers also manage cultural heritage sites and record and document cultural knowledge. Both the men and women ranger groups educate young people ‘two ways’; teaching them traditional culture and contemporary conservation management. 

State: 
NT - Arnhem Land region
Project Website: 
http://anindilyakwa.com.au/land-sea
Administration Organisation
Anindilyakwa Land Council
http://anindilyakwa.com.au/