The WA Government and Malgana Aboriginal Corporation have signed an Indigenous Land Use Agreement that is set to pave the way for a new era of conservation management in Shark Bay.
Known in the Malgana language as Gathaagudu, Shark Bay is globally recognised for its cultural and natural values including dugongs and stromatolites, and spectacular camping and recreation destinations like Steep Point and Zuytdorp Cliffs.
“Expanding protections for Shark Bay will mean more authentic cultural experiences, two-way knowledge exchanges, and dozens of employment opportunities in regional WA,” said WA Environment Minister, Reece Whitby.
“It also shows how our Government’s investment in Plan for Our Parks is protecting and celebrating tourism icons that draw tens of thousands of tourists from all over the world every year.”
The proposed Malgana Conservation Estate will be jointly managed by Traditional Owners and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
It will comprise 183,000 hectares of new conservation areas including Yaringa and Pimbee nature reserves, Edel Land National Park and the Malgana portion of Nanga National Park.
Joint management arrangements will also be extended over existing national parks including Dirk Hartog Island and Francois Peron, and conservation parks at Monkey Mia and Shell Beach.
Malgana Joint Management Body Chair, Ben Bellottie said the signing of the ILUA signifies the continuation of “a long but good journey” between Malgana Aboriginal Corporation and DBCA.
“I’m very happy to see young Malgana people caring for Malgana Country and I’m excited for the future opportunities,” he said.
“I am proud to see Malgana people getting back on Country during this joint management journey and sharing their knowledge and experience to better manage Country.”
Malgana Conservation Estate has been created as part of Plan for Our Parks, through which the State Government is securing an additional five million hectares of new national parks, marine parks, and other conservation reserves throughout Western Australia.
This represents a 20% increase in WA’s conservation estate, which is the single biggest increase to the State’s conservation estate in its history.
Malgana Conservation Estate’s creation means 4.3 million hectares of new jointly-managed national parks and conservation reserves have been created throughout WA since 2019.
It is expected four Traditional Owners will be trained to jointly manage Country as part of the Estate’s creation.
“This is an amazing achievement as we move towards our five-million-hectare target.”
