8. Aboriginal people — guardians of a heritage

Abstract

In 1979 land rights were granted to Aboriginal people in the Alligator Rivers Region of Northern Australia. The Aboriginal people leased an area of about 6000 km2 to the Director of National Parks and Wildlife to be managed as a National Park on behalf of all Australians, a gesture without precedent in Australia. Kakadu National Park has a wide variety of landscape, vegetation and wildlife types not found elsewhere in the world. It has many attractive scenic features and a rich collection of Aboriginal art sites. The Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service is working closely with local Aboriginals in protecting this rich heritage, the first Australian area to be included on the World Heritage List.