Financial sustainability at the AW Landscape Board

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). 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.² 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.