Mount Willoughby Indigenous Protected Area

Mount Willoughby Indigenous Protected Area
South Australia
Mount Willoughby Indigenous Protected Area; South Australia
IUCN category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources)
	Mount Willoughby Indigenous Protected Area
Nearest town or city	Coober Pedy
Coordinates	28°28′43″S 134°09′58″E / 28.4785°S 134.1660°E
Established	22 August 2002
Area	4,206.72 km2 (1,624.2 sq mi)
Managing authorities	Tjirilya Aboriginal Corporation
See also	Protected areas of South Australia

Mount Willoughby Indigenous Protected Area is an indigenous protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located in the gazetted localities of Mount Willoughby and Evelyn Downs about 150 kilometres (93 miles) north-west of the town of Coober Pedy.^[2]^[3]

The indigenous protected area (IPA) was declared on 22 August 2002 at the meeting of the Tjirilya Aboriginal Corporation after a period of “two years of consultation and planning” with the declaration being “subsequently ratified by senior Traditional Owners.” The lease for the land which was previously used for pastoral purposes including the grazing of cattle and sheep was purchased for the Tjirilya Aboriginal Corporation by the Indigenous Land Corporation in 1996 in “recognition of its cultural significance to the local Aboriginal community and the potential for small business operations such as ecotourism.”^[4]

The IPA occupies land within the southern parts of the localities of Mount Willoughby and Evelyn Downs and shares a boundary with the Tallaringa Conservation Park, a protected area managed by the Government of South Australia, to the west. Land within the IPA is located on the boundary between two bioregions - the Great Victoria Desert and the Stony Plains.^[3]^[4]

In 2003, a survey was carried out within the IPA by the state government on behalf of the Tjirilya Aboriginal Corporation and under the auspices of the Biological Survey of South Australia. This survey recorded “75 bird species, 14 native mammals, 47 reptiles and one frog species” as well as the rare desert flower, the daisy Erigeron sessilifolius.”^[5]^[4]

As of 2004, the IPA was proposed to be managed as two zones with one being a “Resource Protected Area” and the other being a “conservation, tourism and recreation area.” Management works were reported as including “monitoring of erosion, protection of fragile areas and management of feral animals and stock, monitoring of sensitive vegetation communities, weed eradication and recording of sites of cultural significance.” A small business operation was proposed to be established in order to “provide funds for environmental management and community employment.”^[4]

The IPA is classified as an IUCN Category VI protected area.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Terrestrial Protected Areas of South Australia (see 'DETAIL' tab)". CAPAD 2014. Australian Government, Department of the Environment and Energy. 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c "(Fact Sheet) Mount Willoughby, Stony Plains, South Australia" (PDF). Australian Government, Department of Environment and Water Resources. February 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 December 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Search result for "Mount Willoughby (LOCB)" with the following layers selected - "Suburbs" and "Indigenous Protected Areas"". Nature Maps. Government of South Australia. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Mount Willoughby Indigenous Protected Area". Agreements, Treaties and Negotiated Settlements Project. Indigenous Studies Program, The University of Melbourne. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
^ B., Brandle; B., Sparrow; J.N.; A.C., Robinson (2005), A biological survey of the Mt Willoughby Indigenous Protected Area, South Australia : October 2003 (PDF), Biological Survey and Monitoring Section, Science and Conservation Directorate, Dept. for Environment and Heritage, pp. 95–96, retrieved 1 February 2017