Access to some tourist spots in the Flinders Ranges is to be restricted, and different campground arrangements put in place as changes are made to the way in which the South Australian national park is run.
An agreement has been reached that will to give traditional owners, the Adyamathdanha people, a greater management role.
South Australian Environment Minister Paul Caica told the ABC that some areas could face restrictions, but thinks it could also bring more tourists to the northern region.
“What it does offer in the contrary to that really is a great opportunity for what is a broadening respect for non-Indigenous Australians to learn more about the first Australians, their cultural heritage and actually that should in turn attract more people to parks for that experience,” he said.
Adnyamathanha Traditional Lands Association chairman Vince Coulthard says the agreement will let them use more traditional techniques to manage the national park.
“You would close certain camp grounds for a period of time and reopen them and allow for some regeneration in the area but when you close one, you open another,” he said. “So you’d have an equal amount of camp areas but you’re just rotating the use and the impact on those camp grounds.”
A management plan will now be developed for the 900 square kilometres involved.
Hundreds of people have attended a smoking ceremony at Wilpena Pound to celebrate the agreement.
