More than two decades ago, the State Government purchased certain pastoral leases for the purpose of converting them into national parks and conservation reserves.  

The pastoral leases, most of which were in the Pilbara, Midwest, Murchison and Goldfields regions, had remained unreserved until the Plan for Our Parks initiative commenced in 2019 (see ‘Plan for our Parks’, LANDSCOPE Winter 2019).  

Plan for Our Parks was announced with an ambitious target to add five million hectares to the conservation estate. Five years since the program started, Plan for Our Parks has exceeded this target and secured 6.5 million hectares of new and expanded national and marine parks and other conservation reserves, bringing with it significant cultural, environmental, social and conservation benefits.  

The initiative has expanded the conservation estate to protect some of the State’s most valuable natural assets and cultural values, including wetlands, rangelands, forests, marine areas and scores of threatened flora and fauna.  

It has also changed the future of joint management in WA, with the vast majority of the new parks and a number of existing national parks being jointly vested and jointly managed with Traditional Owners.  

Nature itself makes an incredible contribution to mitigating changes to the climate, the impacts of invasive species and infectious diseases. As humans, we cannot be healthy in an unhealthy environment, and it is in our best interests to preserve the natural world around us.  

More than 1000 native plant and animal species are currently regarded as threatened in WA, which is part of a broader issue across Australia and the world.  

These new additions to WA’s conservation estate has meant 671 priority flora and fauna have been afforded protection in the past five years.  

The new and expanded parks stretch from the Kimberley in the north, across WA’s Rangelands, through population centres in Perth and Bunbury, to WA’s south-west forests and along the southern coastline.  

Spectacular biodiverse areas such as Houtman Abrolhos Islands National Park, Ningaloo Coast and Matuwa Kurrara Kurrara National Park have all been protected.  

The reservation of national and marine parks involves the consent of native title holders by way of an Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) in accordance with the Commonwealth Native Title Act 1993. Plan for Our Parks has involved ILUAs with 21 different Traditional Owner groups across the State.  

For Yinggarda Traditional Owner Terry McKie, having a sense of agency as to the use of the land is a significant step.  

Local and international tourists want to see and experience WA’s amazing natural environment.  

There is considerable opportunity for further development of nature-based and cultural tourism attractions and facilities, based on the remoteness, isolation, vast open spaces and spectacular scenery of the new conservation areas.  

Capital investments are also underway within the parks, such as new tracks and paths to enhance visitor access, interpretive material, ranger facilities to facilitate direct engagement between visitors and rangers, and the development of new camping experiences.  

Park assets drive tourism, and the newly created parks give people new reasons to travel to the regions.  

Of that, a significant portion of $7.7 billion—or 46 per cent—was spent by those visitors who travelled beyond Perth and its surrounds and out to the State’s unique regions.

Together with joint management partners, the parks offer opportunities for visitors to experience Aboriginal culture and heritage, offering a rich new lens through which to view Country.  

The parks will make an important contribution to aspirations for WA to become the premier destination for authentic Aboriginal cultural tourism experiences, articulated in the State Government’s Jina: Aboriginal Tourism Action Plan 2021–2025.  

Every natural ecosystem works in balance. Plan for Our Parks has protected millions of hectares of precious natural assets while creating and strengthening partnerships with Traditional Owners, so we can all share the many benefits of a beautiful natural environment.  

It is providing transformative job, training and career development opportunities for Aboriginal people in all areas of land management.  

The program has set a new benchmark for joint management of parks with Traditional Owners—it is the most successful native title agreement-making program for conservation ever undertaken anywhere in Australia.  

The legacy of these changes will be experienced and appreciated for generations to come.