WA Govt considers joint management of national parks The Western Australian Government is investigating new ways in which conservation lands can be owned by indigenous groups and managed as national parks.

Premier Geoff Gallop says joint management of conservation lands and waters with traditional owners will be incorporated into relevant legislation.

He says such arrangements have the potential to provide enormous benefits for biodiversity conservation, enabling lands to be managed according to traditional practices.

Earlier today, Dr Gallop presented living area leases for two Aboriginal groups in the Purnululu National Park, in the Kimberley.

The Premier says it is the first time that traditional owners in Western Australia have been given full legal entitlement to live on their traditional lands in a conservation reserve.

Dr Gallop says it is an historic occasion and the beginning of a new era for the involvement of Aboriginal people in natural land management.