The NSW Koala Strategy values the koala as an important cultural feature of the New South Wales landscape and recognises the importance of embedding Aboriginal cultural knowledge in all aspects of koala conservation and management.
The NSW Koala Strategy empowers Aboriginal communities to take the lead in cultural land management, supporting their ambitions and using traditional ecological knowledge to guide local koala conservation efforts. This includes:
- partnering with Aboriginal organisations
- providing opportunities to design and deliver community-led projects
- ensuring that cultural perspectives inform how we care for Koala Country across the state.
The Koala Aboriginal Advisory Panel provides cultural guidance, offering expertise and advice to ensure Aboriginal people’s knowledge and perspectives inform the program.
Acknowledgment of Country on which koalas occur
The NSW Government acknowledges and respects past, present and emerging Traditional Owners and Elders, across all lands on which koalas occur.
To honour this continued connection to Country and ongoing custodianship of the koala, the NSW Koala Strategy was gifted an Acknowledgement of Country video from Aboriginal communities across New South Wales. This gift celebrates the NSW Koala Strategy’s meaningful engagement and partnership with Aboriginal people.
Involving Aboriginal Traditional Owners caring for koala Country across the state, the video highlights the important role Aboriginal communities play in conserving koalas and their habitat.
Content for the Acknowledgement of Country video was written by Dhanggati Traditional Owner Nancy Pattinson and endorsed by the statewide Koala Aboriginal Advisory Panel.