Australian Bushland Program – New Indigenous Protected Areas

The Program supports First Nations people to voluntarily dedicate and manage their land, or land and sea Country, for biodiversity conservation and the protection of cultural values. Indigenous Protected Areas (IPA) are recognised by the Australian Government as an important part of the National Reserve System (NRS) of Protected Areas, and complementary to the National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas.

The objectives of the Australian Bushland Program (ABP) are to strategically grow protected and conserved areas by targeting priority areas in line with the principles, criteria and pathways outlined in the National 30 by 30 Roadmap through:

1. prioritising the protection or conservation of areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services and functions
2. increasing the ecological representativeness and comprehensiveness of the National Reserve System and Conserved Area Network
3. supporting First Nations people to care for Country.