Wunambal Gaambera Aboriginal Corporation

Uungu Coast, Northern Kimberly Region

Registered with the Office of the Registrar of Aboriginal Corporations on 8 June 1998, Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations.

The Wunambal Gaambera Aboriginal Corporation (WGAC) represents the Wunambal Gaambera people.

Wunambal Gaambera Country (Uungu) is located in the far north Kimberley region and covers 2.5 million hectares of land and sea. (Wunambalgaambera.org.au: About Us, accessed 23 March 2022).

WGAC's aims to fulfill the Wunambal Gaambera Vision of "[o]ur communal need and common goal ... to build our wealth, resources, and capacity to live on, enjoy and be secure on our Country and keep our Country and culture healthy to pass on to future generations".

The Wunambal Gaambera Healthy Country Plan

The WGAC works to achieve its aims through its Healthy Country Plan.

The Wunambal Gaambera people approved the Healthy Country Plan 2010-2020, and the WGAC has accordingly established routine operations, resources, and the capacity to look after and monitor the health of Wunambal Gaambera Country.

The extension of the Healthy Country Plan for a further ten years allows the WCAC to guide the focus and design of the ten Healthy Country targets and operations in accordance with the Wunambal Gaambera Vision.

See the Wunambal Gaambera website via the URL link above for further information about the WGAC's Healthy County targets.

WGAC Operations

[At] the front-line of the Healthy Country team is the WGAC's Uunguu Rangers who conduct a range of operations on Country including:

• animal and weed pest control;
• visitor management;
• cultural site management;
• monitoring [the] health of land, plants animals and habitats;
• preservation and sharing of culture and heritage; and
• fire management practices (right way fire).

Right Way Fire

Fire is considered by WGAC to be one of the most important tools to look after and keep Uungu healthy. Through the Right Way Fire program,  Uungu Rangers use traditional and modern ground and aerial burning techniques to help achieve the goals of their Healthy Country Plan.

Fire has an important spiritual purpose in Wunambal Gaambera culture, and the Right Way Fire program also aims to help Uunguu Rangers and Traditional Owners to teach younger generations how to burn "the right way" and connect with their ancestors and culture.

Through conducting early dry season managed burns, Uunguu Rangers have reduced the portion of dangerous late season wildfires occurring within the management area from 26% (2000 - 2009 unmanaged wildfire baseline average) to less than 10%. (Wunambalgaambera.org.au: Right Way Fire and Carbon Offsets, accessed 23 March 2022)

WGAC is also a member of the Indigenous Fire Carbon Industry Network (ICIN) and trades carbon credits as part of its Right Way Fire Program.

See the Wunambal Gaambera website via the URL link above for further information about WGAC operations.

Wunambal Gaambera Native Title

The native title rights and interests of the Wunambal Gaambera people were recognised in Goonack v State of Western Australia [2011] FCA 516, and are held in trust by the Wanjina-Wunggurr (Native Title) Aboriginal Corporation Registered Native Title Prescribed Body Corporate.

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