December 20, 2024
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Purungunya Conservation Estate
The beginning of a historic chapter for Nyamal Country was announced in August 2024, with the WA Government’s creation of Purungunya National Park and Conservation Park. This was the first new conservation estate created in the Pilbara for more than 10 years and protects more than 200,000 hectares of Nyamal Country, 91 threatened species and a world-best example of fossilised stromatolites — formations that were involved in processes that transformed Earth’s atmosphere 2.72 billion years ago, enabling complex life to evolve.
The park is jointly managed by Nyamal Traditional Owners and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation, and Attractions (DBCA). Through joint-management, Nyamal people make decisions with DBCA about how their Country is managed. Nyamal Traditional Owners are engaged in a variety of positions across the new parks, including in management and as rangers. This is the first step towards Nyamal Traditional Owners embedding their unique perspective in the management of these areas. Nyamal people’s cultural views will inform the protection of plants, animals, and water as well as historic and cultural sites, and the land itself.
On the day the agreement was signed, Country celebrated the Park’s beginning with a downpour of rain – a powerful sign that our ancestors and the land itself embrace and welcome this new chapter.
Read more about the 3.5 billion-year-old stromatolite fossils at Purungunya National Park and Conservation Park.
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