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49-554: The Birriliburu Indigenous Protected Area , also known as Birriliburu IPA , is an Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) covering an area of 6,600,000 hectares (16,000,000 acres) in the Western Desert region of Western Australia , was declared in 2013. Stretching from the nationally significant Carnarvon Range (Katjarra) to Constance Headland, along the famous Canning Stock Route , the IPA covers three central Western Desert regions:

98-420: A "cultural imperative for protecting, maintaining and creating knowledge". Much, but not all, of this knowledge relates to land and environmental management , including controlled burning , wildlife observation , pest control , water conservation , and erosion control . European Australian journalist Jeff McMullen cites Gurindji stockman and land rights activist Vincent Lingiari as an example of

147-519: A 1993 report: "The Yolngu people belong to a number of separate clan groups, each consisting of individual families. Each clan is spiritually connected to their own particular ancestral homeland place (wanga), and being the traditional custodians are responsible for the care and management of their wanga. Living in their own lands make people feel happy and brings the relationship of the land, its people and their ancestors together." Turbuna man Jim Everett and Barkandji woman Zena Cumpston both identify

196-545: A 2021 report, the Australian federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water defined traditional custodians as "Indigenous people or nations who have responsibilities in caring for their Country". This contrasted with traditional owners, defined as "an Indigenous owner of their traditional Country, as determined through the purchase of freehold , as granted by government or as determined through

245-445: A custodial obligation to care for Country as a shared foundation of First Nations communities across Australia, embedding a sense of deep respect and accountability for the natural world. According to this view, being on Country is not considered a right, but a privilege; as Warrwa - Noongar woman Louise O'Reilly explains: "it is not about our right to own land, it is about our right to protect that land. Our right to ensure that land

294-458: A custodian of knowledge: "As a senior lawman, Vincent Lingiari was drawing on his grandfatherʼs knowledge and connection to Gurindji country, reclaiming and asserting the core responsibility of custodianship. Like the very strongest Earth science , this foundational concept of the Aboriginal system of knowledge gives every man, woman and child some responsibility to help maintain the balance of

343-557: A high number of nationally significant species, including the black-flanked rock-wallaby , great desert skink , night parrot and the slender-billed thornbill . Ancient rock art sites culturally significant to the Martu exist throughout Birriliburu IPA, including Karnatukul (Serpent's Glen). In 2014, the Birriliburu traditional owners and rangers reopened Katjarra for the month of July after it had been closed since 2008, with

392-491: A more accurate understanding of Aboriginal alternatives to the Western concepts of spirituality , justice and rights : "In Aboriginal ways of being [these are] not needed as it is taken for granted we will care for each other, in whatever shape and form the other comes in. It can be described as the custodial ethic and is the reason there are no owners of country, only custodians." Noonuccal woman Samantha Cooms concurs that

441-784: A national conference of Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders held in 1997, it was agreed and resolved by the delegates present that a new class of "Indigenous" protected area should be formed as follows: An Indigenous Protected Area is [to be] governed by the continuing responsibilities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to care for and protect lands and waters for present and future generations... Indigenous Protected Areas may include areas of land and waters over which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are custodians , and which shall be managed for cultural biodiversity and conservation, permitting customary sustainable resource use and sharing of benefit. The first trialling of this new environmental partnership aimed at adding

490-479: A particular custodial responsibility. In the Dharug language , the related phrase "yanama budyari gumada" means "walk with good spirit". The distinction between traditional custodians and traditional owners is made by some, but not all, First Nations Australians. On one hand, Yuwibara man Philip Kemp states that he would "prefer to be identified as a Traditional Custodian and not a Traditional Owner as I do not own

539-449: A unique mode of thinking expressed in the following four basic assumptions: that we are not alone in the world; that our needs are more than just physical; a deep reflective motive of long-term strategic thought; and a rejection of self-oriented survivalist thinking that ultimately normalises competitiveness . Other First Nations authors have adopted the concept of a custodial ethic. Wiradjuri man Glenn Loughrey suggests that it may offer

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588-507: A variety of habitats that includes deserts and savannas , giving plant and animal species the space they need to manoeuvre around threats like bushfires and climate change . Two new areas were declared in Western Australia in 2020, bringing the total number to 78. In September 2021, a further seven IPAs were declared, which will lead to IPAs comprising more than half of Australia's National Reserve System. In May 2022,

637-441: Is available online from several sources. New South Wales IPAs include: Northern Territory IPAs include: Queensland IPAs include: South Australian IPAs include: Tasmanian IPAs include: Victorian IPAs include: Western Australian IPAs include: New areas declared September 2021: As of 2022 , there are 20 new proposed IPAs under consultation at the following locations: The World Future Council (WFC) awarded

686-493: Is formed by voluntary agreement with Indigenous Australians , and declared by Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander representative organisations. Each is formally recognised by the Australian Government as being part of its National Reserve System . The areas may comprise land and sea, and are managed by Indigenous groups for the conservation of biodiversity . Managing IPAs also helps to protect

735-488: Is looked after in a way that will ensure its healthy, sustainable existence. It is a deeply imprinted sense of connection and responsibility that Aboriginal people feel to the land and not about having land as a possession." First Nations poets and musicians often express their affinity with Country and associated custodial responsibility through their works: I am a child of the Dreamtime People Part of

784-798: Is me Rock, water, animal, tree They are my song My being’s here where I belong This land owns me From generations past to infinity Kev Carmody , This Land is Mine , 2001 Custodians may be referred to by different names in the hundreds of distinct Australian Aboriginal languages . These include "nguraritja" in Pitjantjatjara , "kwertengerle" in Arrernte , "kurdungurlu" in Warlpiri , and "djungkay" in Kuninjku – although these words may refer more specifically to familial roles within traditional kinship networks that bestow

833-579: The Little Sandy Desert , Gibson Desert and the Gascoyne . The land belongs to the Birriliburu native title holders, known as the Martu people . Three native title claims, dating from 2008, 2010 and 2011, were decided in 2016. There is a high level of biodiversity in this IPA, ranging from red sand dunes and sandstone mountain ranges to salt lakes and claypans . The area is home to

882-762: The Nantawarrina Indigenous Protected Area was declared. At the opening ceremony in 1998, Nantawarrina was declared "the first Indigenous Protected Area in South Australia, Australia and internationally" by Gurtrude Johnson, an Adnyamathanha traditional owner . By 2007 the kind of partnership agreed and started with the Nantawarrina Indigenous Protected Area had grown to include 23 declared Indigenous Protected Areas covering close to 170,000 km (66,000 sq mi), or 23 per cent of

931-568: The National Reserve System . By agreeing to establish Indigenous Protected Areas, Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander peoples contributed two-thirds of all new additions to Australia's National Reserve System over the decade 1997–2007. In July 2012, The Nature Conservancy , alongside the Central Land Council and government representatives from Australia’s National Reserve System , helped announce

980-417: The oral tradition through kinship networks , and despite some progress, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples allege that more work needs to be done to protect their custodial knowledge. According to Kamilaroi man Marcus Waters, attempts to form a broad pan-Aboriginal political community of scholars in Australian academia, even if well-intentioned, may end up sacrificing the nuance and context of

1029-409: The " question of existence ", Graham posits that Aboriginal Australians identified land or nature as "the only constant in the lives of human beings", to such an extent that the physical and spiritual worlds were regarded as inherently interconnected. This emphasises the importance of the custodial ethic, effectively an obligatory system for people to play a role in following natural wisdom, looking after

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1078-512: The 1980s. In 1981, journalist Jack Waterford wrote of Aboriginal law as a system of "religious obligations, duties of kinship and relationship, caring for country and the acquisition and passing on of the community's store of knowledge". Geographer Elspeth Young, in 1987, elaborated on the concept of "caring for country" as "a set of practices that articulated primary rights to land, which were based on spiritual custodianship, with secondary land use rights". By 1992, handing down their judgment on

1127-585: The 1990s the Australian Government was working in cooperation with State and Territory Governments to build a National Reserve System aimed at protecting, for future generations , a representative sample of Australia's diverse range of flora, fauna and eco-systems. As part of this effort, Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander owners of lands and seas were asked, and many who were interested in re-establishing effective indigenous land management agreed to participate in this endeavour. At

1176-580: The Australian Government to establish an Indigenous Protected Area on their lands/seas. However, an Indigenous Protected Area can only come into existence where: Most IPAs are dedicated under IUCN Categories 5 and 6, which promote a balance between conservation and other sustainable uses to deliver social, cultural and economic benefits for local Indigenous communities. Indigenous rangers are employed to work in IPAs as well as in other remote areas of Australia, on land management and related projects. IPA data

1225-720: The Council's final report recommended prioritising a Voice to Parliament and Makarrata Commission rather than symbolic recognition of this status. Conversely, advocates for Australian Indigenous sovereignty may prefer to emphasise their status as traditional owners rather than solely traditional custodians. Addressing the 2018 Barunga Festival , deputy chair of the Northern Land Council John Christophersen proclaimed: "We're not custodians, we're not caretakers. We weren't looking after [the land] for somebody else to come and take away. We were

1274-486: The Indigenous Protected Areas and Indigenous Rangers programs with the"Bronze Future Policy Award 2017: Desertification ". Indigenous Australian traditional custodianship While specific practices and interpretations of custodianship may differ among the hundreds of distinct Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander groups, they all seemingly share a close affiliation with

1323-504: The constitution to acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as First Peoples , whether framed as owners, custodians, or otherwise, have not been successful. The failed 1999 referendum would have added a preamble to the Constitution that included "honouring Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, the nation's first people, for their deep kinship with their lands and for their ancient and continuing cultures which enrich

1372-600: The cultural values of their country for future generations, and has benefits for Indigenous health, education, economic and social cohesion. As of 2020, there were 78 IPAs, covering around 46.53% of the National Reserve system. In September 2021, a further seven IPAs were declared, which will lead to IPAs comprising more than half of Australia's National Reserve System. Indigenous rangers are employed to work in IPAs as well as in other remote areas of Australia, on land management and related projects. During

1421-558: The custodial ethic is "a profound concept rooted in the belief that all things are considered equal, autonomous, and protected through the wisdom of the collective". The importance of commitment to a custodial ethic has also been acknowledged by some elements of non-First Nations Australian society. The Royal Societies of Australia (a national group representing the scientific academies of New South Wales , Victoria , Queensland , Western Australia , South Australia and Tasmania ) in 2021 proposed that: "This custodianship approach has to be

1470-564: The first proposed Indigenous Protected area was held by the South Australian Aboriginal Lands Trust (on a 99-year lease, for the Adnyamathanha people ), and, by 26 August 1998, an agreement had been reached to see the people of Nepabunna Aboriginal community engaged and some employed in restoring the landscape to its former natural and cultural value, and Australia's first Indigenous Protected Area,

1519-651: The following simple definition of traditional custodians: "the direct descendants of the Indigenous people of a particular location prior to colonisation ". However, they add the caveat that "western worldviews are encapsulated within the English language and using western terminology to illuminate Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing is inevitability fraught with misinterpretations and imperfect understandings". As noted by Wiradjuri scholar Yalmambirra and European Australian archaeologist Dirk Spennemann : "before

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1568-488: The foundation of our stewardship of country, with priority for support for country on ethical and pragmatic grounds (it is the right thing to do; we rely on it for daily living). We must be looking to the long term, thinking strategically. A society with a custodial ethic must do this." In being responsible for Country, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's traditional custodians typically serve as custodians of accompanying systems of traditional knowledge ; they bear

1617-456: The hope of opening it to the public each July in the future. Permits were issued for 70 visitors, with an access fee of $ 100 access fee per vehicle. It was also hoped that more Aboriginal people, especially young people, would visit to reconnect with their culture. Indigenous Protected Area An Indigenous Protected Area ( IPA ) is a class of protected area used in Australia ; each

1666-426: The incoming Labor government under Anthony Albanese committed to boosting the funding for managing the IPAs to the tune of A$ 10 million annually; also to doubling the number of Indigenous rangers to 38,000 by 2030, and also to improving gender diversity in employment. Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander land and sea owners (including native title holders ) may be encouraged, or themselves apply to

1715-411: The land "owns us". Elders including Quandamooka woman Oodgeroo Noonuccal , Gai-mariagal and Wiradjuri man Dennis Foley, and Yankunytjatjara man Bob Randall discuss this theme at length, often in a spiritual context , referring to Country as an owner or a maternal figure, and a core component of cultural identity. Noonuccal assigns particular importance to the following maxim: "We cannot own

1764-552: The land and a responsibility to look after it. Since the 1980s, First Nations and non-First Nations Australian academics have developed an understanding of a deeply rooted custodial obligation, or custodial ethic, that underpins Aboriginal Australian culture, and could offer significant benefits for sustainable land management and reconciliation in Australia . Aboriginal Australian academics Joann Schmider ( Mamu ), Samantha Cooms ( Nunukul ) and Melinda Mann ( Darumbal ) offer

1813-502: The land but I care for the land." Wurundjeri man Ron Jones shared this sentiment, claiming that the words "traditional owners" are not typically used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In 2017, the Referendum Council received several submissions expressing a desire to have First Nations Australians recognised as traditional custodians or guardians in the preamble of the Constitution of Australia , although

1862-426: The land for the land owns us". Drawing on this important relationship with Country, many First Nations Australians — including Aboriginal Australians across the continent and Torres Strait Islanders alike — identify a sense of responsibility or obligation to care for Country as a central tenet of traditional custodianship. Yolŋu woman Djuwalpi Marika outlined this sense of responsibility within her community in

1911-462: The land on which they live, and renewing its flora and fauna . Elaborating further, Graham identifies two principles that together comprise the custodial ethic: "1. the ethical principle of maintaining a respectful, nurturing relationship with Land, Place and community, and 2. the organising governance principle based on autonomy and identity of Place". These two principles can complement and balance each other to permit "a non- ego-based society", and

1960-539: The land, like the gnarled gumtree I am the river, softly singing Chanting our songs on my way to the sea... I am this land And this land is me Hyllus Maris , Spiritual Song of the Aborigine , 1983 We know that the earth is our mother who created us all. We cannot own her, she owns us. So we are the custodians of our Earth Mother, whom we must protect and respect at all times. Oodgeroo Noonuccal , Legends and Landscapes , 1990 This land

2009-408: The landmark Mabo case , High Court Justices William Deane and Mary Gaudron acknowledged that "[u]nder the laws or customs of the relevant locality, particular tribes or clans were, either on their own or with others, custodians of the areas of land from which they derived their sustenance and from which they often took their tribal names. Their laws or customs were elaborate and obligatory." In

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2058-519: The latest, when sections 4 and 9 of the Western Australian Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 defined them as "a representative body of persons of Aboriginal descent [that] has an interest in a place or object to which this Act applies that is of traditional and current importance to it". Following progress on First Nations land rights , European Australian understanding of traditional custodianship improved in

2107-709: The launch of the Southern Tanami Indigenous Protected Area . This Indigenous Protected Area is Australia’s largest land reserve, spanning 10,150,000 hectares (25,100,000 acres). It protects important pieces of the Northern Territory ’s natural legacy. Included in the Southern Tanami reserve are much of Lake Mackay —Australia’s second-largest lake—and an enormous swathe of the Tanami Desert. This IPA links

2156-484: The life of our country"; while the failed 2023 referendum would have established a Voice to Parliament "in recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia". Mary Graham, a Kombu-merra and Wakka Wakka woman, developed the philosophical concept of a unique Aboriginal "custodial ethic". Acknowledging that different people and cultures develop different theories on

2205-524: The living system of life, the source of well-being for all creatures now and into the future." First Nations Australians' knowledge of Country, and the practices underpinning traditional custodianship, have been incorporated into some Australian education programs. Some First Nations groups in Australia have spoken out about their struggles to receive recognition as traditional custodians within Australia's current political and legal frameworks. Traditional knowledge had historically been passed down via

2254-592: The native title process ". Since 2022 the Australian Public Service has advised capitalising the first letters in each word when referring to traditional custodians, i.e. "Traditional Custodians". First Nations Australians have expressed their interpretations of traditional custodianship through academic writing, political advocacy, traditional stories, poetry and music. Numerous Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures share an understanding that, contrary to Western views on land ownership ,

2303-538: The new class of Protected Areas to Australia's National Reserve System, was with the Adnyamathanha people of Nepabunna Aboriginal community, volunteering 580 square kilometres (220 sq mi) of rugged limestone hills, siltstone flats, springs and waterholes between the Flinders Ranges and Gammon Ranges National Parks to be managed as an Indigenous Protected Area. The land selected for

2352-555: The onset of European administration, there was no collective concept for the original custodians of this continent, and each community, culturally divergent from its neighbours, had its own identity". The English-language term "traditional custodians" is not unique to First Nations Australians, and has been used to refer to local communities' relationships with land and resources in West Africa, Southern Africa, and Canada. It has been applied in an Australian context since 1972 at

2401-436: The owners. And occupiers. And custodians. And caretakers." Wurundjeri , Yorta Yorta and Taungurung man Andrew Peters expressed the view that "using the phrase ‘traditional owners’ indicates an Indigenous definition of ownership that has never involved monetary payments, title, or exclusive rights, but rather the recognition of thousands of years of respect, rights and responsibilities shared among many." Proposals to amend

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