Publication Name: The Cooper & Eromanga Basins Australia
Authors: N. Newland
Date Published: June 1989
Number of Pages: 20
Reference Type: Book Section
Abstract:
Many people in the community believe that mineral exploration and exploitation and conservation of natureon the same land are mutually exclusive. The South Australian Government has challenged this assumption by
recent amendments to the State's National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972, which created the State's first multiple
land use reserve, the Innamincka Regional Reserve. This reserve classification provides for the conservation of wildlife and of the natural features of the land and, at the same time, allows the utilisation of natural resources under agreed conditions.
Other legislation, including the Petroleum Act, the Cooper Basin (Ratification) Act and Pastoral Act, have
added to the complexity of constituting the regional reserve. The South Australian Departments of Mines and
Energy, and of Environment and Planning, Delhi Petroleum, SANTOS and the Innamincka Pastoral Company have all played important roles in negotiating agreements and leases which recognise their existing rights within the intent and provisos of the regional reserve concept. Ongoing management needs and consultation on aspects of resource utilisation are provided for by a plan of management and through consultative groups involving interested parties. This multiple land use model is the first of its kind in South Australia and is likely to set a precedent for subsequent models elsewhere.