The Women’s Project (Minymaku Warka) commenced in 2013, aiming to increase women’s participation in land management training and work across the APY Lands. The project is working on country in the east of the lands, outside of IPA areas, particularly around Pukatja, Mimili and Indulkana Communities. The Project will focus on School and community country visits, to provide opportunities for senior/knowledgeable women to transfer traditional knowledge of country to young women. Young women will be supported through accredited conservation and land management and media training to assist in and document all on-ground activities.

The traditional owners of Walalkara IPA, Robin Kankapankatja and his wife Antjala and other family members were one of the first groups that recognised the importance of establishing an IPA to protect their country into the future.  They worked very hard with their family members to have the IPA declared in 2000.

Anangu tjuta from Walalkara have an unbroken connection to country, going back many, many generations. There are rock paintings, tjukurrpa and evidence of past ancestors across the IPA that are important markers for the Rangers today. Passing on traditional ecolological knowledge to the younger generations is an integral and implicit aspect of life on Walalkara. The elders were hopeful that the IPA would support the transfer of knowledge, necessary to meet the responsibilities of looking after country through visiting and monitoring important cultural sites. As Tjilpi Robin stated “This is the major land management work…Without the Tjukurpa there is nothing The main reason for looking after country is to look after miilmiilpa tjuta…. Whitefellas don’t know how to look after them. Only I know how to look after them.”   

Today, each year, up to 20 of their descendants and family members work on the IPA. The IPA protects over 700,000ha of almost pristine wilderness to the South West of Fregon Community. The area has never been grazed and is home to many endemic plants and a host of threatened species.

The vast ecological knowledge of the rangers is important to informing the management practices across the IPA. The land management work focuses on projects to protect species diversity. Key is limiting the impact of feral species including buffel grass and camels. Protecting endangered species such as malleefowl (nganamarra), marsupial mole (itjari itjari)  and  quongdong (wayanu) through monitoring and surveys are challenges that the Rangers face. Another important area of ranger responsibility is cleaning, maintaining and protecting rockholes. Clean water in the desert is an essential resource and it is therefore an important task taken on by Rangers.  Regular Patch burning is also undertaken so that country is protected from larger wildfires and regrowth is stimulated to provide food for animals and Anangu.

The Walalkara families are proud of their country and welcome opportunities to share it with others. If you would like to find out more contact APY Land Management on 89548111.

Historical photos show that woodlands on the APY Lands have suffered severe degradation with large losses of woodland area and in some extreme cases a conversion to grassland. This is likely due to mismanaged fire regimes and invasive feral herbivores. Land Management continues to monitor woodland changes through finding and revisiting old photo points and documenting landscape change. Land Management will work towards rehabilitating degraded woodlands and attempt to restore landscape connectivity by using low intensity winter burns around remnant woodlands to protect them from intense summer wildfires and allow for future woodland regeneration. Healthy woodlands are vital for the survival of many animal species in the APY Lands.

Burning country was a normal part of everyday Anangu life in the old days. This behaviour led to a special pattern of burning that meant people had great control over where and when fires happened. Nowadays, with people mainly living in communities, the old pattern of burning has been lost. Without regular small fires being lit, fuel loads increase uniformly across vast areas. Fires now burn without any control, and are often large and burn with great intensity. This new pattern of burning is why so many plants, animals and cultural sites have been lost. Land Management is undertaking contemporary fire management in the APY Lands in order to help recreate the old patterns of patch burning. Patch burning is conducted to promote regrowth and plant diversity through creating a mosaic of vegetation ages, and protecting fire-sensitive plant communities, threatened species habitat and sacred sites with firebreaks. Land Management works closely with Traditional Owners and communities to undertake burning work, both on the ground and from helicopters.