Grounding biodiversity management in Indigenous practices and Culture

Indigenous Country and Biodiversity Alliance
The Indigenous Country and Biodiversity Alliance (ICBA) aims to ground biodiversity management in Indigenous practices and Culture to ensure the best outcomes for Country, our people and the world. 

Made up of North Australian Indigenous Land & Sea Management Alliance, Indigenous Desert Alliance, Kimberley Land Council, and the Aboriginal Carbon Foundation, the ICBA aims to change the mainstream paradigm of how biodiversity is managed as the new Nature Repair Market comes into being, and ensure Indigenous people are involved in every step of its development, implementation and accessibility to maximise the biodiversity, cultural and financial core benefits of the market. 

ICBA is funded through a significant philanthropic investment aimed at supporting a national partnership with Indigenous organisations to establish Indigenous-led biodiversity methods at pilot sites around Australia, not just the Country covered by ICBA's founding members.

We acknowledge that all of ICBA's members operate on unceded Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land.
We pay our respects to Elders past and present and acknowledge the unending care for the environment they have passed on to us over milennia.

Founding Members

NAILSMA

The North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance Ltd (NAILSMA) is an Indigenous led not-for-profit company operating across north Australia. We work to assist Indigenous people manage their country sustainably for future generations. We use partnerships to build resilience and prosperity across a diverse range of issues affecting Indigenous land and sea managers.

Learn More

Indigenous Desert Alliance

The Indigenous Desert Alliance (IDA) is an Indigenous controlled, member based organisation that plays a vital role in 'Keeping the Desert Connected'. We are focused on working with our members and partners to ensure that Indigenous people are enabled to collaboratively manage Australia’s desert country and through this, to realise their social, cultural, environmental and economic aspirations.

Learn More

Kimberley Land Council

The Kimberley Land Council was formed in 1978 by Kimberley Aboriginal people as a political land rights organisation. Today, we have grown to become the peak Indigenous body in the Kimberley region working with Aboriginal people to secure native title, conduct conservation and land management activities and develop cultural business enterprises.

Learn More

Aboriginal Carbon Foundation

The Aboriginal Carbon Foundation is an Aboriginal owned not-for-profit established in 2010 to create economic independence for First Nations. We empower Traditional Owners and other First Nations groups while building capacity through implementing carbon projects that demonstrate environmental, social, and cultural benefits.

Learn More

Importance of ICBA

How much Indigenous land is involved in Australian and global biodiversity?

80% of the world's biodiversity is found on the lands of Indigenous Peoples.
10% of that global biodiversity located in Australia.
The majority of Australia's biodiversity exists on land, seas and in waters that is cared for by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Country that we have deep connections to beyond just the physical.

What is different about the Indigenous approach to biodiversity?

As Indigenous peoples we think about biodiversity in a more holistic way than the mainstream.
The mainstream approach to biodiversity only focuses on plants and animals in the landscape. These approaches don't acknowledge or honour how our people live and move around the landscape. The people are missing, and we are critical to this. We're the ones who have been caring for Country for millennia, who have the deep spiritual and cultural connections along with ancient knowledge.
We want to emphasise that looking after Country from a cultural perspective has positive biodiversity outcomes. It's an opportunity to meld Traditional Knowledge systems with western science.

Why is Indigenous involvement in biodiversity management so critical?

For a long time Indigenous Peoples have been viewed as, at best, partners and far too often just a footnote by mainstream organisations working in the environmental space. 
The time for this tokenism to end is now. We have the people, the experience and the deep connection and obligation to Country to ensure positive outcomes for everyone for the entire planet, not just our people.

Where does ICBA's funding come from?

ICBA is funded through a significant philanthropic investment aimed at supporting a national partnership with Indigenous organisations to establish Indigenous-led biodiversity methods at pilot sites around Australia, not just the Country covered by ICBA's founding members. 
Our investor recognises the importance of Indigenous people leading the way on biodiversity in Australia, and the need for integrity and empowerment at every step.
Our Country and people have been exploited for too long; the deficit model needs to be overcome and the mainstream paradigm flipped to appreciating that we should be the ones defining and measuring our success, including in biodiversity, and not just using Western measures.

Media Release

New Indigenous Alliance Changing the Way Biodiversity is Managed

The newly formed Indigenous Country and Biodiversity Alliance (ICBA) aims to ground biodiversity management in Indigenous practices and Culture to ensure the best outcomes for Country, our people and the world.

Read More

Contact

*
*