Healthy Country
Mayala Baaliboor: Mayala Country
Our Country is rich, alive and healthy.
Our Country is an extensive network of hundreds of islands, interconnecting sea, reefs, submerged lands, sandbars, seabeds and saltwater in the Buccaneer Archipelago and King Sound off the West Kimberley coast: an area recognised as being biologically diverse and culturally significant.
All parts of Country – whether it be reef, seabed, water, tides, plants, freshwater or animals, along with Mayalayoon (Mayala Peoples), are undivided. We have sacred sites and stories on land and in the sea that is evidence of our long association with Country through the rise and fall of sea levels over tens of thousands of years.
Mayala People carry the responsibilities of our ancestors to manage our Country as they did, so that it always remains alive, healthy and rich. This is based in our unique cultural knowledge of Country, especially the complex tides and currents – the loo and noomoorr.
Management Plans
Mayala Country was dedicated as an Indigenous Protected Area in 2024. We are also joint management partners with DBCA for the Mayala Marine Park which covers our state waters.
Please see our management plans for further information on how we and our partners look after Mayala Country: