Press

Feral predators are being removed from a desert, helping to revive a population of marsupials that hasn't thrived in the area since the 1960s.

BHP also supports Indigenous-led partnerships focused on regional capability and employment, including work with the Indigenous Desert Alliance (IDA), aimed at strengthening community-led approaches to land management, jobs and local economic development across remote regions.

Yilka/Ngaanyatjarra/Narrunga woman Jade Bromilow, from the Indigenous Desert Alliance, explains that for Australia’s First Nations people, country is more than just land—it's family and part of their identity. "Country holds our stories, our dreaming, our ancestors, and these responsibilities are really important to carry on. We have the obligations to look after the plants and animals the right way."

As bilbies retreat into small desert pockets, Indigenous rangers are managing fire, predators and monitoring to help secure their future. “Bibies have disappeared from most of their former distribution,” says Rachel Paltridge, senior ecologist with the Indigenous Desert Alliance (IDA). “Now, 80 per cent of bilby country is on Aboriginal land. So Aboriginal people are managing the majority of wild bilby populations.”

Buffel grass is considered a considered a cornerstone of the country’s pastoral industry particularly in some of the more rugged parts of Australia. The Federal government is reviewing a nomination to list it as a ‘Weed of National Significance’.

Feral cats, introduced during early European invasion and settlement, are posing a growing threat to desert ecosystems — and Indigenous rangers are using artificial intelligence to fight back.

Protecting a biome like grasslands can't happen in isolation but must come about through goals shared by the various U.N. bodies. The United Nations has declared 2026 to be the 'International Year for Rangelands and Pastoralists.'

An Indigenous Desert Alliance delegation is standing tall at the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference in Belem, Brazil. The IDA COP30 team hosted a panel session in the Australian Pavilion at the Conference on Tuesday under the title Cultural Resilience = Climate Resilience. The session entailed a facilitated conversation with Indigenous Desert Alliance chief executive Sam Murray and staff to showcase the desert climate story as it relates to Indigenous perspectives, including impacts on culture, community and Country, and how investing in cultural resilience is key to supporting climate resilience.