Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) signed over Mandingalbay Yidinji Country

The dedication on Saturday 26 November 2011 of an Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) over Mandingalbay Yidinji Country near Cairns heralds a new beginning for land and sea management and the first multi-tenured agreement anywhere in the country.

Mandingalbay Yidinji Country is located across the Trinity Inlet from Cairns. The 9,740 hectares of country within the IPA includes areas of pristine mountainous rainforest, coastal woodlands, and freshwater and saltwater habitats. These areas of significance to the Mandingalbay Yidinji people will be managed in accordance with the IUCN values for it’s rich biodiversity, conservation and, importantly, Aboriginal cultural values.

“This is the very first multi-tenure agreement anywhere in the country that delivers a new management and conservation regime for Indigenous land and sea country that provides not only opportunities for our people, but importantly respects the inherent management knowledge that we as traditional owners have over our country” said Vince Mundraby, Chairperson of Mandingalbay Yidinji Aboriginal Corp.

The Mandingalbay Yidinji Indigenous Protected Area and the preparation of the Management Plan was undertaken in collaboration with our management partners: Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management, Fisheries Queensland, Wet Tropics Management Authority, Terrain NRM, and the Cairns Regional Council.

The IPA dedication means that Traditional Owners have voluntarily dedicated their country as a protected area, complementing the separate land and sea protected areas already established on Mandingalbay Yidinji country by Commonwealth, Queensland and Local government.