Djulda-wawa Badja

A project to strengthen and protect the Guuranda - Yorke Peninsula’s coast and improve biodiversity through practical on-ground action

The Guuranda - Yorke Peninsula coastline supports diverse and unique ecosystems and is home to many plants and animals that are threatened and declining within the Northern and Yorke region or in other parts of Australia. Its gulfs and sheltered bays are critical environments for South Australia’s marine diversity, and are globally significant for the conservation of migratory shorebirds which visit from the northern hemisphere via the East Asia Flyway.

Yorke Peninsula is also renowned for its fishing, surfing, camping, bushwalking and family-friendly holidays. In 2023, tourism visitor expenditure was $384 million and one in 12 jobs were related to tourism.

Building the resilience of the coastline is critical to ensure the natural environment can withstand the pressures of a changing climate and the increasing popularity of the area’s coastal lifestyle.

Protecting the coast

Djulda-wawa Badja means 'resilient coast' in Narungga language and was chosen to honour the Yorke Peninsula’s Traditional Custodians, the Narungga people.

Together, the Djulda-wawa Badja project partners aim to enhance the resilience of Yorke Peninsula’s coastal ecosystems through:

Coastal revegetation, protective fencing, interpretive signage and weed control
Partnering with Yorke Peninsula Council to deliver priority actions from the YP Coastal Management Strategy
Supporting community groups to deliver the Yorke Peninsula Eastern Osprey Recovery Program
Supporting the Yorketown Bushfire Recovery effort to revegetate burnt areas
Developing a Coastal Access Strategy to minimise the negative impacts of off-road vehicles on beaches.
Undertake campground improvements and dune restoration to make coastal camping more sustainable.

First Nations communities are key to the development and delivery of project activities with members of the Narungga Aboriginal community involved in project planning, oversight and delivery. The project employs a Narungga project officer and First Nations contractors for on-ground environmental work.