Indigenous Protected Areas (IPA) Program Evaluation Final Evaluation Report
Little, Rod, Lyons, Ilisapeci, Woodward, Emma, Jarvis, Diane, Abbott, Tammy, Hill, Rosemary, Maloney, Keryn, Braedon, Peta, Pert, Petina, Reeve, Rod, and Bubb, Andy (2023) Indigenous Protected Areas (IPA) Program Evaluation Final Evaluation Report. Report. National Indigenous Australian Agency, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
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Abstract
The National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) contracted an Indigenous-led consortium to conduct an evaluation of the Indigenous Protected Areas (IPA) Program, which has operated for over 25 years with strong bipartisan government support. The IPA Program, developed by the Australian Government in collaboration with Traditional Owner groups, supports Indigenous communities to voluntarily dedicate their land or sea Country as IPAs (NIAA 2021). Multi-year funding agreements between the organisations supporting Traditional Owners and the Australian Government support a consultation stage regarding the establishment of the IPA, and then a dedication stage once the IPA has been established. Here we use the term ‘IPA project’ to refer to an Australian Government-funded, dedicated IPA project. These IPA projects, and the IPA Program more broadly, are the focus of this evaluation. The IPA Program has the following objectives:
• to protect and conserve Australia’s biodiversity • to assist Indigenous Australians to deliver sustainable environmental, cultural, social and economic outcomes through the effective and sustainable management of their land and sea • to build the extent and condition of the National Reserve System (NRS) (NIAA 2021).
The evaluation asks 4 questions: 1. To what extent has the IPA Program achieved biodiversity conservation outcomes, including those at a landscape scale? 2. To what extent has the IPA Program worked to strengthen Indigenous peoples’ connections to Country and culture and create social and economic benefits? 3. What are the key contexts/factors that affect the achievement of IPA Program objectives, and how can they be used to strengthen impacts through future program design? 4. To what extent are IPA Program objectives still relevant and appropriate to meet the needs of IPA providers and the Australian Government? The evaluation was undertaken in 2 phases, from October 2021 to July 2023. Phase One involved an analysis of existing data, via a literature review and desktop analysis, to identify knowledge gaps. This research and synthesis was documented in the Phase One report. A detailed Evaluation Plan was developed in consultation with NIAA and the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW). Phase Two engaged directly with representatives of IPA provider organisations and Traditional Owners to collect data through culturally appropriate participatory processes using a Yarning approach. Underpinning the key recommendations of the IPA evaluation are the site-based yarns (and voices) from Indigenous peoples delivering IPA projects in 10 case study sites across the nation. This evaluation revealed that while there is a clear shared interest in the outcomes of the IPA Program, partners come to the program with different goals and seek diverse outcomes.
While the IPA Program has evolved to recognise the importance of delivering to multiple goals (including biodiversity, social and economic), this evaluation has identified the need for further discussion between partners to ensure a shared vision and objectives that reflect the priorities of both partners. Discussing these evaluation findings and recommendations with all IPA providers will ensure a fuller picture of the IPA program given the complexity, remoteness, size and operating environment of all IPAs.
The IPA Program, due to the commitment and dedication of IPA partners, holds significant potential to deliver biodiversity, economic, social and wellbeing outcomes at scale. The Closing the Gap strategy provides a conduit to realise greater agency of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in determining how those outcomes might best be realised. Stronger Indigenous leadership of the IPA Program will be critical to realising the overarching vision of delivering better life outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, simultaneously delivering impact in support of government’s policy goals in Indigenous affairs.
It is important to note that this was one of the first major evaluations to be led by Indigenous evaluators/consultants and an Indigenous company since the release of the Productivity Commission’s Indigenous Evaluation Strategy in October 2020. The Yarning approach yielded meaningful and valuable engagements between the evaluators and the IPA Traditional Owners and stakeholders. These engagements strongly respected place-based culture, which in turn generated rich information. This Indigenous-led evaluation was aligned with the Indigenous Advancement Strategy and Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) ethics approval guidelines.
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