The Alinytjara Wiluṟara (AW) Landscape Board is the only all-Aboriginal board among the nine boards responsible for the landscape management of South Australia (SA). It is also the only natural resource management (NRM) board in Australia entirely comprised of Aboriginal people.

The board is responsible for managing their region’s natural resources with an emphasis on land and water management, biodiversity and pest and animal control. Climate change is a key driver behind the development of their water/sea and land management to minimise its impact on communities and Country.¹ Alinytjara Wiluṟara Landscape Board South Australia, Landscape Plan 2021-2026, [link]

The AW Landscape Board centres caring for Country in their approach to landscape management, which sees the environment, economy, society and culture as inextricably and seamlessly linked.² Alinytjara Wiluṟara Landscape Board, Landscape Management, accessed April 2025, [link] All Alinytjara Wiluṟara Landscape Board members are Traditional Owners who are recognised by their communities as having the cultural knowledge and connection to Country to provide cultural advice regarding their Country within the Alinytjara Wiluṟara region. As knowledge holders of the land, the board respects the traditions, customs, and strong connection to Country of Traditional Owners.³ Alinytjara Wiluṟara Landscape Board, Annual Business Plan 2024-2025, accessed April 2025, [link]

“Every day, as members of the Alinytjara Wiluṟara Landscape Board, we recommit to healing ourselves, each other and the communities we represent, to co-creating alongside our fellow Australians, allies and family a culture where each person feels seen, heard, and supported.

We acknowledge, respect and celebrate differences and commonalities.

We work vigorously for freedom and justice for Aboriginal people and, by extension, all people.”

– The AW Landscape Board⁴Alinytjara Wiluṟara Landscape Board, Landscape management, accessed April 2025, [link]

In Pitjantjatjara, ‘alinytjara’ means ‘north’ and ‘wiluṟara’ means ‘west’; the name is descriptive of the board’s location within SA. The region spans more than a quarter of a million square kilometres, extending from the borders of the Northern Territory and Western Australia down to the Great Australian Bight Marine Park. As of 2025, it has a population of approximately 4000 people spread across remote Aboriginal communities.⁵ Alinytjara Wiluṟara Landscape Board, Landscape Plan 2021-2026, 2, [link]

The population is largely of Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra descent, collectively they are referred to as Aṉangu.⁶ Alinytjara Wiluṟara Landscape Board, Our Communities, accessed April 2025, [link] The three areas of Aṉangu -owned lands within the region include Yalata, Maralinga and Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands (APY lands). The Far West Coast people have native title over the national parks in the southern portion of the region.

Throughout the region, Aṉangu hold deep cultural connections to their land and have recognised traditional ownership of Country. The primary land tenure is formally recognised Aboriginal Lands and Government Reserves. Aboriginal lands include Freehold, Native Title lands, Indigenous Protected Areas and Pastoral Lease areas within the APY lands.⁷ Alinytjara Wiluṟara Landscape Board, Landscape plan 21-26,3, [link]

Water availability is a significant challenge across the region, which is highly dependent on sporadic heavy rainfall. Prior to the arrival of Europeans, populations moved across the landscape based on the availability of water. Family groups gathered around larger rockholes and water sources. Aboriginal transport routes were largely influenced by the availability and positioning of rockholes, with paths radiating outward from these key locations across different areas.⁸ Harvey Johnston, 1941 in Alinytjara Wiluṟara Landscape Board in Alinytjara Wiluṟara Landscape Board, Water affecting activities control policy, 2, accessed April 2025.

Cultural connection to water remains deeply significant for the Aṉangu people of the region. Water sources often hold totemic importance, playing a crucial role in Aboriginal ceremonies and social life. This connection to Country is rooted in ‘Tjukurpa’, which underpins Aṉangu law and culture.⁹ Tjukurpa has no definition in English language. It encompasses Aṉangu law, stories, beliefs; Alinytjara Wiluṟara Landscape Board, Our Region, accessed April 2025, [link]

The AW Landscape Board exists as a statutory board and operates under the legislation of the Landscape South Australia Act 2019. It previously operated under the Natural Resources Management Act 2004 and is the only entirely Indigenous statutory board within the natural resource management sector in Australia.

As a statutory board, the AW Landscape Board adheres to high governmental standards within the audit office of the South Australian (SA) Government to keep governance, financial and human resources systems in place. Board meetings involve the contribution of the audit and risk management committee, which includes an independent member, board members, and the General and Business Managers. The committee ensures the board is accountable through rigorous governance assessments.¹⁰ Kim Krebs, General Manager, Alinytjara Wiluṟara Landscape Board, interviewed by Ana Maria Parada, Australian Indigenous Governance Institute, online, March 26, 2025.

The nine landscape boards of SA each consist of up to nine members, including a chairperson. While the boards operate independently from each other, they work collaboratively to address issues that affect the entire SA region. Chairs from each Landscape Board meet three times a year. There is also a Landscape Forum every two years involving board members and key staff. Agendas for these meetings cover all kinds of topics from strategic to operational matters. Additionally, the General Managers of each board get together on a regular basis to share ideas as land management priorities can spread over various regions.¹¹Kim Krebs, General Manager, Alinytjara Wiluṟara Landscape Board, interviewed by Ana Maria Parada, Australian Indigenous Governance Institute, online, March 26, 2025.

Unlike the other landscape boards, the AW Landscape Board receives no revenue from water or land levies given that Traditional Owners are not charged these taxes. To fund their governance activities, the AW Landscape Board receives a small allocation of funding from the SA Government which accounts for approximately 30% of their total income. This income is placed to cover costs of holding board meetings four to five times a year, including the transport of two representatives from each of the land holding authorities to attend meetings. These funds are also placed to maintain premises for staff to work from and logistic costs to get around Country and run projects.¹³ Kim Krebs, General Manager, Alinytjara Wiluṟara Landscape Board, interviewed by Ana Maria Parada, Australian Indigenous Governance Institute, online, March 26, 2025.

The AW Landscape Board sources the rest of their income through external grants and philanthropic funding and have started exploring the carbon and emerging biodiversity markets. They also work with the Department for Environment and Water (DEW) on joint projects that protect threatened species.

For the AW Landscape Board, effective governance is centred in culture, now and into the future. The board created a Statement of Commitment that recognises the traditional knowledge and cultural heritage that informs Aṉangu stewardship of Country. It outlines a strong commitment to foster meaningful and respectful partnerships with Aṉangu communities and to facilitate cultural awareness within the organisation and among project partners.

When external subcontractors such as weed sprayers, technical specialists or soil scientists are required to work on Country, their entry requires the authorisation of landholding authorities. Workers are also taken through an induction that has clearly outlined expectations, appropriate conduct and performance indicators.

The AW Landscape Board works with external parties such as the National Parks and Wildlife Service, a division of DEW, to co-manage the state’s conservation and public reserves within the AW region. Such collaborative practices involve representatives of the relevant landholding authorities. To foster cultural safety, department representatives are invited to meet with community for open conversations about what constitutes cultural integrity when working on Country and are invited to explain about their own ways of land management; this ensures education and better outcomes on their shared land management priorities.¹⁶Kim Krebs, General Manager, Alinytjara Wiluṟara Landscape Board, interviewed by Ana Maria Parada, Australian Indigenous Governance Institute, online, March 26, 2025.

The AW Landscape Board functions at the intersection of landscape management and the practice of caring for Country, two different approaches that share a common goal of protecting the land for the benefit of people and the environment. For the AW Landscape Board, effective governance requires a balance between traditional authority and government authority. To secure this, the board works in collaboration with Aṉangu peoples, integrating contemporary land management methods with traditional care practices while ensuring sound governance regarding the board and its initiatives.

Their Landscape Plan 2021-2026 is a five-year strategy that supports and allows the continuation of the on-Country work undertaken by the region’s landholders over many years. It sets out the regional targets of building board and community leadership, keeping healthy soils, managing pest plant and animal control, keeping Country healthy for land and sea biodiversity, and having in place effective water management practices.²³ Alinytjara Wiluṟara Landscape Board, Landscape Plan 2021-2026, 2, [link]

The current Landscape Plan builds on the Alinytjara Wiluṟara Regional NRM Plan 2011 and is based on extensive consultation with Aṉangu and regional ecologists. It is also aligned with the Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation, a set of international standards developed by global conservation leaders and increasingly adopted by Indigenous communities worldwide.²⁴ Conservation Standards, Why use The Conservation Standards?, accessed April 2025, [link] The AW Landscape Board were involved in all stages of the development of the plan, including setting regional targets, threats and priorities which are endorsed by the board.

The plan establishes key targets and risks identified by Alinytjara Wiluṟara communities to require protection and maintenance. These set the direction of their governance in their region and include social attributes such as traditional, cultural and ecological knowledge and leadership. Environmental attributes include healthy plants and animals.²⁵ Alinytjara Wiluṟara Landscape Board, Landscape Plan 2021-2026, 8, [link]

The AW Landscape Board works with the community and industries in the region to deliver programs and projects that aim to achieve these targets. All work on Country needs to be endorsed by the community and follows a process of listening to what is important for community, then the board consolidates it into two-ways of working.²⁶Kim Krebs, General Manager, Alinytjara Wiluṟara Landscape Board, interviewed by Ana Maria Parada, Australian Indigenous Governance Institute, online, March 26, 2025.

“As an all-Aboriginal board we feel the close connection and deep responsibility of our ancestors for ensuring our land and sea, and all that lives there is cared for now and for the many generations to come. We have over a decade’s experience working together and building strong relationships with community and partner organisations protecting this vast region’s biodiversity through informed, and culturally appropriate management of water, soil and invasive species.”
– The AW Landscape Board²⁷Alinytjara Wiluṟara Landscape Board, Landscape Plan 2021-2026, 1, [link]

The warru, also known as the black-flanked rock-wallaby, is the most endangered mammal in South Australia (SA). This remarkable species has faced the brink of extinction, experiencing a significant decline over the past eighty years. Currently, the surviving populations are found in the Aboriginal-owned and managed APY lands. Their loss has been attributed to feral predators like foxes and cats.

In 2007 the steering committee for the Warru Recovery Team (WRT) was formed to recover the warru populations in SA and provide training and employment opportunities for Aṉangu, Traditional Owners, landholders and community members of the APY lands.

The WRT is Aṉangu-led and functions as a collaborative team with five main stakeholder groups; each contributes with unique and complimentary roles and experiences. The team includes Traditional Owners, Aṉangu Warru Rangers, APY Land Management, the broader Aṉangu community, the AW Landscape Board, Zoos SA and independent scientists. The committee holds Annual General Meetings in APY Lands and has active participation from all stakeholders who hold meetings typically two to six times a year to discuss updates, strategy or specific projects.³¹Warru Recovery Team, Warru Recovery Team Summary Report 2007-2022: Recovery of Petrogale Lateralis MacDonnell Rangers Race in South Australia, 2023, 3,[link]

The WRT shares different roles and responsibilities across the stakeholder groups. Aṉangu take primary responsibility for Tjukurpa (Aṉangu law and culture) and access to Country. The APY Land Management (APYLM) bring funding and coordinate ranger activities, and complete the bulk of the on-ground work. The AW Landscape Board’s contribution includes provision of an ecologist and project staff for fauna surveys and translocations, as well as funding for expansion of the Pintji, a fenced, predator-proof area where warru breed. A bigger Pintji will enhance the recovery of warru populations and facilitate the recovery of other threated species on the APY Lands. Zoos SA support with collaboration, training and awareness opportunities and independent scientists play a key role in research and corporate knowledge and training.³²Warru Recovery Team, Warru Recovery Team Summary Report 2007-2022: Recovery of Petrogale Lateralis MacDonnell Rangers Race in South Australia, 2023, 3, [link]

The warru is an important animal in Aṉangu culture. Senior Aṉangu women, known as the Warru Minyma, shape the WRT’s direction in a culturally legitimate way by offering their cultural guidance and asserting their authority.

The WRT includes community objectives that give Aṉangu ownership of key WRT decisions, on-ground actions, employment opportunities and educational outcomes. At least two Traditional Owners are nominated to speak for each warru metapopulation.³³Metapopulation refers to a group of spatially separated populations of the same species which interact at some level. Community meetings are held with relevant communities in the APY Lands to discuss objectives and actions of the WRT plan.

“Warru has been here for a long time, before us, and they should be in our lands because they are Traditional Owners too. Alice Springs are responsible for their warru, we are responsible for ours. We want to see them back in all places where they used to be. And not just warru, we should bring back ninu, mala, tjuwalpi and wayuta too. All of them.”
– Frank Young, APY Lands³⁵Federal Government, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Alinytjara Wiluṟara Natural Resources Board, Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunyitjatjara, Conservation Ark and Ecological Horizons, Warru Recovery Plan: Recovery of Petrogale lateralis MacDonnell Ranges race in South Australia 2010-2020, 1, [link]

Since 2007 the warru project has been successful at generating permanent and casual rangers, casual minyma and pampa (senior women) and coordinator opportunities to oversee the project. Rangers receive training, upskilling and qualifications that strengthen their work on Country.³⁶Warru Recovery Team, Warru Recovery Team Summary Report 2007-2022: Recovery of Petrogale Lateralis MacDonnell Rangers Race in South Australia, 2023, 32, [link] Warru Rangers also share awareness about the warru in different spaces including schools and conservation and Indigenous ranger conferences. The WRT has been successful at reintroducing warru into the wild and fostering the growth of populations. Surveys from 2024 confirm the warru are persisting.³⁷Alinytjara Wiluṟara Landscape Board, Our Communities, accessed April 2025. [link]

• Alinytjara Wiluṟara Landscape Board South Australia, Landscape Plan 2021-2026. [link]
• Alinytjara Wiluṟara Landscape Board, Landscape Management, accessed April 2025. [link]
• Alinytjara Wiluṟara Landscape Board, Our Communities, accessed April 2025. [link]
• Alinytjara Wiluṟara Landscape Board in Alinytjara Wiluṟara Landscape Board, Water affecting activities control policy, accessed April 2025.
• Conservation Standards, Why use The Conservation Standards?, accessed April 2025. [link]
• Kim Krebs, General Manager, Alinytjara Wiluṟara Landscape Board, interviewed by Ana Maria Parada, Australian Indigenous Governance Institute, online, March 26, 2025.
• Warru Recovery Team, Warru Recovery Team Summary Report 2007-2022: Recovery of Petrogale Lateralis MacDonnell Rangers Race in South Australia, 2023, [link]