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Highlights
- The Australian government set to co-manage newly built marine parks in WA with Indigenous people.
- Australia has given back about 6,017 square miles of land to its traditional owners.
- Last year, on 29 September, the Queensland government returned approximately 160,000 hectares of land to the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people.
Australian lands have been under the protection of Indigenous people for over 60,000 years. More than 220 years after being forcibly evicted from their native territories by British colonisers, Indigenous people are now reclaiming more sovereignty over their lands.
It was only last year when the Queensland government, led by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, returned approximately 160,000 hectares (nearly 400,000 acres) of land in Cape York to the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people. About 180 years old Daintree rainforest in northeast Australia was one of the lands given back to its original owners.
Australian government continued the initiative; two more states returned 3,700 square miles of land to the aboriginal Australians. Apart from that, in the state of Western Australia (WA), three new marine parks were established by the government in cooperation with Indigenous people. These parks cover about 2,317 square miles of area.
Why is Australia returning lands to Indigenous people?
These initiatives are a significant effort by the Australian government to push the expansion and preservation of national parks while coming to terms with the nation’s tragic colonial past. The native Australians are comparing this increased control over the wilderness to important advancements.
Furthermore, the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) wants to emphasise the traditions of Indigenous communities in Western Australia (WA) in order to promote environmentally and culturally sustainable tourism in Australia.
Know more about the initiative
Australian authorities and Indigenous leaders have decided to co-manage the newly built marine parks named Mayala, Maiyalam, and Bardi Jawi Gaarra. These parks are situated in Western Australia’s Buccaneer Archipelago, a group of remote islands near the Kimberly region. Authorities have also emphasised how the marine parks showed what could be accomplished through true co-design between the government and Indigenous communities.
The Australian government and aboriginal people will supervise all three marine parks using ancient and modern environmental practices. Indigenous rangers who have been trained to manage fires, track biodiversity, preserve Aboriginal cultural sites, impart land management knowledge to Indigenous people, and educate tourists about aboriginal heritage will be leading this initiative.
