The Dampier Archipelago is made up of 41 islands, islets and rocks located within a 50-kilometre radius of Dampier and Karratha in Western Australia’s Pilbara Region.
The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) is seeking to partner with Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation (MAC) to protect and conserve the value of the lands and waters to the culture and heritage of Aboriginal people through a new joint management plan for the reserves.
The new joint management plan will update information on the cultural, natural and recreational values of the islands and include the conservation and recreation reserves of Malus, West Lewis and East Lewis islands.
Register your interest to be involved
Your views are important to us. You are invited to register your interest to be kept informed of opportunities during the planning process. This may be via newsletter articles, fact sheets, stakeholder meetings, community workshops or an online survey during the planning process. You will also be notified when the draft joint management plan is released for public comment.
Planning for the joint management plan will occur throughout 2022 and into 2023.
Significant values of the islands
The Murujuga cultural landscape has the largest, densest and most diverse collections of rock art, or petroglyphs, in the world.
For the traditional owners and custodians the rock art is a living landscape with an important link to stories, customs and knowledge of the land and connects them to the events and people of the past and their beliefs today.
The islands are also important refuges for plants and animals once more widespread on the mainland where they are largely protected from development and introduced plants and animals.
The islands are also significant breeding sites for turtles, significant breeding and roosting areas for seabirds and internationally important feeding and resting sites for migratory shorebirds.
The joint management plan will demonstrate management and protection of the National Heritage and the potential outstanding universal values of the area to be nominated to the World Heritage List. Read more about the Murujuga World Heritage Nomination.
Joint management
Joint management is a partnership between traditional owners and custodians and DBCA to work together to care for country.
It is an extension of the recognition of traditional owners and custodians’ role in managing and caring for country and that Aboriginal knowledge and western science together can better protect country.
MAC and DBCA will work together to prepare the joint management plan. Traditional owner and custodian aspirations, values and concerns for country will be integral to the joint management plan.
Read more about joint management between traditional owners and custodians and DBCA.
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