The Karajarri people just became guardians of their own sea country
On the Kimberley coast of Western Australia, the Karajarri people have cared for land and sea as one country for thousands of years: the beaches, the reefs, the wetlands and the desert edge, all held together through law, memory and obligation. In March, that care gained formal recognition. The Karajarri dedicated Karajarri Jurarr Ngurra, Australia's first Sea Country Indigenous Protected Area, covering 237,489 hectares of coast and ocean, including part of Malumpurr, their name for the great sweep of Eighty Mile Beach.
It is a remarkable place to hold in trust. Flatback turtles nest along the shore, migratory birds crowd the wetlands, and sawfish move through the shallows. Indigenous Protected Areas now make up more than half of Australia's progress toward protecting 30 percent of its lands and waters by 2030, and this first sea country dedication points the way for many more. The rangers who patrol it are working for their grandparents and their grandchildren at once.
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