Dambimangari Partnership

The Partnership Area

Dambimangari Partnership Area is an area of international significance for conservation. Covering 800,000 hectares, the landscape features more than 3,000 kilometres of Australia’s most spectacular coastline, from dramatic sandstone cliffs that plunge into the ocean, to low sandy beaches that host important sea turtle populations.

Pristine creeks and rivers, freshwater wetlands and rolling savanna woodlands interrupted by rainforest patches provide a diverse mix of habitats. It is a landscape of immense cultural significance to Worrorra People who have lived here since time immemorial.

Wildlife on the Dambimangari Partnership Area

The Kimberley region is of international conservation significance, being the only area of mainland Australia to have not suffered any known animal extinctions since European settlement. Sitting within the North Kimberley bioregion, Dambimangari Country is a stronghold for threatened and endemic wildlife. The Partnership Area is a refuge for several species of mammals that have disappeared from the rest of Northern Australia, such as Wungkarnbanja (Golden-backed Tree-rat) and Karimba (Golden Bandicoot), as well as species undergoing current widespread declines like Wijingarra (Northern Quoll).

Other Threatened species on the Dambimangari Partnership Area include the seldom-seen Black-footed Tree-rat, Yoowa (Northern Masked Owl), Barbarngurny (Western Partridge Pigeon), the brightly coloured Woorrurru (Gouldian Finch), the elusive Kimberley Brush-tailed Phascogale and Manjanj or Nabarlek, one of Australia’s smallest rock-wallaby species (weighing about a kilogram).

Dambimangari Country also supports a suite of endemic species found only in the Kimberley, such as Yilangal (Scaly-tailed Possum), Monjon (another small rock-wallaby species), Black Grasswren, Chattering Rock Frog and Western Giant Cave Gecko.

Field Programs on the Dambimangari Partnership Area

Dambimangari Rangers and AWC field staff are working together to carry out conservation and land management programs across the Dambimangari partnership Area. Activities conducted under the Partnership include biodiversity surveys, conservation of threatened and culturally important species, right-way fire, weed control and feral animal management. Together, we aim to apply management for conservation and culture, develop and implement monitoring and evaluation programs, increase the capacity and expertise of the Dambimangari Rangers, and knowledge of Dambimangari Country in a culturally appropriate way. In turn, AWC staff learn from Dambimangari Rangers and Traditional Owners about traditional land management practices and wildlife.

Fire management involves an early dry season burn program, which aims to use right-way fire to reduce the incidence and extent of large, late-season wildfires across the Dambimangari Partnership Area. This management also generates income for Dambimangari People through carbon credits. On-the-job training will help build the capacity and expertise of Dambimangari Rangers.

While the Dambimangari Partnership Area is relatively free of weeds and feral animals, they are still present in some places. We are working together to control these threats to help maintain a healthy Dambimangari Country.

The substantial science program involves inventory surveys, finding out which species occur and where across the Dambimangari Partnership Area, targeted surveys for threatened and culturally significant species and collaborative development of ongoing monitoring programs to help us understand the longer-term health of Dambimangari Country.