The Nyangumarta ranger and Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) program was established in 2015.
It is hosted by Nyangumarta Warrarn Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC, with support from YMAC.
The ranger program is now in a consolidation phase, displaying the full range of functions and skills of an Indigenous ranger group: fire management, feral animal control, fauna and flora monitoring, weed management, water monitoring, cultural heritage protection, collection and transfer of Traditional Ecological Knowledge and tourism development.
The Nyangumarta program is financially supported by the Commonwealth (Indigenous Advancement Strategy and Indigenous Protected Area program). It also receives funding from the Indigenous Desert Alliance, an organisation playing a vital role in keeping the desert connected and building resilience for desert ranger programs.
The fee-for-service portfolio of the Nyangumarta rangers is continuing to grow, with the income generated directly added back into the program. This enables more people to be employed and more on-Country activities to be conducted. Organisations using ranger services have so far included the State Government’s Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions and Department of Water and Environmental Regulation; Federal Department of Agriculture; private environmental consulting firms; and resources companies.
Key activities:
• Fire management
• Turtle and shore bird monitoring
• Fencing work
• Feral animal control
• Biosecurity and marine debris surveys
• Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) recorded
• Two-hectare track plots
• Camera trapping
• Construction of bee and bird boxes
Nyangumarta Warrarn Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) Plan 2022–2032
Created through a process of consultation across Nyangumarta Country in WA’s north-west Pilbara and south-west Kimberley region in 2020 and 2021, the Nyangumarta Warrarn Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) Plan 2022–2032 builds on the previous IPA Plan of Management 2015–2020 that involved extensive consultations with the Nyangumarta community between 2010 and 2015.
Through four field trips over an 18-month period, the IPA plan drew from consultation and research conducted with Elders, rangers, cultural advisers and Nyangumarta community members. This ensured as much information as possible was gained on how best to encapsulate the Nyangumarta values, practices and beliefs regarding Culture and looking after Country.
The IPA plan is currently split into six values/categories:
1. Marrngumili – Nyangumarta Law and Culture
2. Yinta – important sites
3. Governance and partnerships
4. Nyangumarta people and pathways
5. Pirra Country (Great Sandy Desert)
6. Jurrar Country (Eighty Mile Beach)
The management plan is a living document that will be reviewed and updated when required. The review process is through the MeRI (Monitoring, evaluation, Reporting and Improvement) framework, allowing a way to make change transparent on the management plan, so progress can be tracked and adapted when necessary.
The Nyangumarta Warrarn Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) Plan 2022–2032 can be viewed by clicking the image below.
