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Indigenous owners seek joint management

$25/hr Starting at $25

An Indigenous corporation on Western Australia's south coast wants to secure management rights over the region's national parks before the state government spruiks the area to private companies.

The WA government earlier this year announced $17.7 million had been set aside to develop national parks, including $6.5 million to establish sites for private investment like eco-retreats.

But Peter Bednall, Esperance Tjaltjraak Native Title Aboriginal Corporation (ETNTAC) chief executive officer, believes the state should finalise joint management agreements with traditional owners before inviting companies into the parks.

The agreements set out how traditional owners and the WA Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) will together make decisions and recommendations about a park's management, including over cultural sites and values.

"What is the best way to bring traditional owners [to] have a genuine seat at the table?" Mr Bednall said.

"To explore what it means and what the opportunities are but also what are the threats from these types of developments?

"Joint management is the obvious way of doing that [and] we think that would be how these opportunities are potentially unlocked."

Some of the region's national parks have campgrounds that tourists pay to use but the arrangement does not benefit traditional owners.

The state government since 2012 has entered 16 formal joint management partnerships with WA traditional owner groups, spanning more than 46 parks and reserves.

A DBCA spokesperson said this equated to 22 per cent of its Parks and Wildlife Service-managed estate.

He said further agreements were being negotiated but did not say whether they would need to be finalised before private development occurred.

"A proposal would require the free, prior and informed consent of the relevant Aboriginal traditional owners to proceed in a national park," the spokesperson said.

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An Indigenous corporation on Western Australia's south coast wants to secure management rights over the region's national parks before the state government spruiks the area to private companies.

The WA government earlier this year announced $17.7 million had been set aside to develop national parks, including $6.5 million to establish sites for private investment like eco-retreats.

But Peter Bednall, Esperance Tjaltjraak Native Title Aboriginal Corporation (ETNTAC) chief executive officer, believes the state should finalise joint management agreements with traditional owners before inviting companies into the parks.

The agreements set out how traditional owners and the WA Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) will together make decisions and recommendations about a park's management, including over cultural sites and values.

"What is the best way to bring traditional owners [to] have a genuine seat at the table?" Mr Bednall said.

"To explore what it means and what the opportunities are but also what are the threats from these types of developments?

"Joint management is the obvious way of doing that [and] we think that would be how these opportunities are potentially unlocked."

Some of the region's national parks have campgrounds that tourists pay to use but the arrangement does not benefit traditional owners.

The state government since 2012 has entered 16 formal joint management partnerships with WA traditional owner groups, spanning more than 46 parks and reserves.

A DBCA spokesperson said this equated to 22 per cent of its Parks and Wildlife Service-managed estate.

He said further agreements were being negotiated but did not say whether they would need to be finalised before private development occurred.

"A proposal would require the free, prior and informed consent of the relevant Aboriginal traditional owners to proceed in a national park," the spokesperson said.

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