New Indigenous Protected Areas Program – Competitive Grant Round

Overview

Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) are areas of Land, or Land and Sea, managed by Indigenous people for biodiversity conservation. There are currently 75 dedicated IPAs across approximately 67 million hectares of Australia. These IPAs are recognised by the Australian Government as an important part of the National Reserve System (NRS), which is the network of formally recognised parks, reserves and protected areas across Australia. IPAs constitute more than 45 percent of the NRS. This grant opportunity will provide funding to new IPA projects. The objectives of the New IPA Program, in order of priority, are: 1. Protect and conserve Australia’s biodiversity. 2. Assist Indigenous Australians to deliver sustainable environmental, cultural, social and economic outcomes through effective and sustainable management of their land and sea. 3. Build the extent and condition of Australia’s NRS. There are two stages to an IPA project under the Program. All IPAs start with a Consultation Stage. This stage involves Indigenous led discussion and planning processes amongst Indigenous Traditional Owners and others and includes the development of a management plan. The management plan identifies the values of the proposed IPA area and the threats to those values, outlines the management goals, and includes the relevant International Union for Conservation of Nature protected area category or categories for which the area will be managed. The IPA project moves to the Dedication Stage following approval of the management plan by Traditional Owners (and endorsement of the plan by the Australian Government) and an informed decision by Traditional Owners to dedicate their Land, or Land and Sea, as an IPA. The Dedication Stage involves managing the IPA in accordance with the approved management plan. The Australian Government will recognise the dedicated IPA as part of the NRS.