Protecting Country: Indigenous governance and management of protected areas

This publication had its origin in one-day workshop on Indigenous Governance and Management of Protected Areas held during the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) Conference in Canberra in 2007.

All but one of the contributions to this publication began as a presentation at the workshop. The workshop was an opportunity for Indigenous land managers, protected area managers, researchers and graduate students (not mutually exclusive categories) to reflect upon and share their experiences about the current status and direction of Indigenous peoples’ involvements with protected areas (national parks, marine parks, world heritage areas etc.) in Australia.

The presentations represented a snapshot of initiatives, innovations, opportunities and challenges faced by all parties involved in the continuing journeys towards the recognition of the rights, interests and opportunities of Indigenous peoples within protected areas established on their traditional Country. With this publication our aim is to make this snapshot available to a wider audience and to provide a permanent record of the status of those journeys in 2008.