Baalijin Guunyju | Bellingen Valley
Country & IPA
The Indigenous Protected Area on Gumbaynggirr Country connects culture, land, and community. Through caring for Country, we maintain the ancient relationship between people and place.
Understanding
What is an Indigenous Protected Area?
An Indigenous Protected Area is an area of land and sea managed by First Nations people through a voluntary agreement with the Australian Government. IPAs combine traditional knowledge that has sustained Country for tens of thousands of years with contemporary conservation science to protect biodiversity, cultural heritage, and living landscapes.
They don’t change ownership of Country. Instead, they formalise and support the custodial practices that have always been there — cultural burning, heritage site protection, species monitoring, and training the next generation of rangers and custodians.
Indigenous Protected Areas now make up more than half of Australia’s National Reserve System — a testament to the central role that First Nations land management plays in caring for the continent.
Traditional Knowledge
Tens of thousands of years of custodial practice guiding land and sea management.
Biodiversity Protection
Safeguarding ecosystems, heritage sites, and living landscapes for future generations.
Community-Led
First Nations people leading conservation on their own terms, on their own Country.
Protection
What the IPA means to us
The Indigenous Protected Area is our commitment to Country. YAC manages this land with the knowledge passed down through our people, ensuring that Gumbaynggirr Country remains strong for generations to come.
Impact
The scale of IPA work nationally (So far...)
Numbers tell part of the story. They show the reach of the Australian Governments' commitment to Country with the depth of knowledge First Nations people bring to every project. This is about what we protect, what we restore, and what we know.
The land remembers fire. When we bring it back the right way, the country heals itself and teaches us what we forgot.
Territory
Our protected area spans the Gumbaynggirr Nation
Each zone represents country managed under our stewardship. The land speaks through the work we do here.