What’s happening?
The Queensland Indigenous Land Conservation Project (QILCP), running from 2019 to 2025, is celebrating its impact. The multi-year partnership supported the Barada Barna People, Yuwi People and Woorabinda community through 29 land restoration initiatives, including cultural burns and gully rehabilitation.
Why it matters
The project combined land rehabilitation with co-designed economic opportunities, allowing First Nations communities to lead. It improved environmental outcomes and supported local training and employment.
Heather Campbell, CEO of Greening Australia, said: “We are really proud of the achievements of the QILCP, but especially the extra steps taken to ensure First Nations groups were making decisions about capacity building in areas that worked for them, and about financial mechanisms and enterprises they wanted to explore to keep working on Country well beyond the lifetime of the QILCP.”
Sonia Winter, General Manager, Planning Technical and Environment at BHP Mitsubishi Alliance, said: “The project has created sustainable outcomes by bringing together Elders, Traditional Owners, Greening Australia and their expertise. It has co-designed pathways to First Nations-led employment and enterprise by healing Country and improving water quality into the Great Barrier Reef.”
Local Impact
Community members reflected on the changes.
A Yuwi representative said: “With this partnership, it feels like our Elders and our rangers are leading the way and putting forward what they want, so that’s been really important.”
A Woorabinda Project Reference Group member said: “The Woorabinda Ranger Project is the most important program introduced to the Community in the 23 years I have been living here.”
Another member said: “When I drive around Country now and see the changes, you know the Old People are happy and the community is happy… the Old People are putting good people in our pathway (like our rangers) to make the changes and have pride.”
By the numbers
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29 restoration projects delivered between 2019 and 2025
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11 tonnes of sediment are stopped each year from reaching the Great Barrier Reef
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63 First Nations people employed, and 53 completed training
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$3.08 million in additional investment secured
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375 hectares of land rehabilitated
Zoom In
The Woorabinda Project Reference Group secured funding for five full-time ranger roles through their Healthy Country Plan. The plan now informs work plans and monitoring.
Cultural burning workshops led to the formation of the Barada Barna Fire Team. The team restored a culturally significant wetland and secured contracts in neighbouring areas.
The Yuwi Blue Carbon Wetland Restoration Project is assessing coastal sites with Greening Australia to develop a pipeline of blue carbon projects.
Zoom Out
Richard Sporne, Manager of First Nations Engagement at Greening Australia, said: “The sustainability of this project was very important; we didn’t want to be a fly-in, fly-out project that came and developed a plan and then just had those plans sit on a shelf.”
“That’s why we established culturally endorsed Project Reference Groups with each First Nations group involved – to oversee the management and strategic plans developed using the Healthy Country planning process, the creation of appropriate on-ground training, and exploration of environmental market opportunities like blue carbon projects.”
What to look for next?
Sporne said: “The results from co-designed evaluation with the First Nations groups found that the project had supported these communities to have greater authority in decision-making about Country, to be able to apply Traditional Knowledges to caring for Country and to have the knowledge and lived experience of Elders respected and acknowledged, and to inspire youth and increase opportunities for young people to learn about Country.”
The Queensland Indigenous Land Conservation Project was jointly funded by BHP Mitsubishi Alliance and Greening Australia’s Reef Aid program.
