Protected areas of South Australia consists of protected areas located within South Australia and its immediate onshore waters and which are managed by South Australian Government agencies. As of March 2018, South Australia contains 359 separate protected areas declared under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972, the Crown Land Management Act 2009 and the Wilderness Protection Act 1992 which have a total land area of 211,387.48 km2 (81,617.16 sq mi) or 21.5% of the state's area.
Encounter Bay is a bay in the Australian state of South Australia located on the state's south central coast about 100 kilometres (62 mi) south of the state capital of Adelaide. It was named by Matthew Flinders after his encounter on 8 April 1802 with Nicolas Baudin, the commander of the Baudin expedition of 1800–03. It is the site of both the mouth of the River Murray and the regional city of Victor Harbor. It is one of four "historic bays" located on the South Australian coast.
Cape Gantheaume Conservation Park, formerly the Cape Gantheaume National Park, is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located on the south coast of Kangaroo Island. Attractions include Murray Lagoon and D'Estrees Bay. It also includes Pelorus Islet located about 7 kilometres southeast of Cape Gantheaume.
Danggali Conservation Park is a protected area located about 65 kilometres north of Renmark in South Australia. The conservation park was proclaimed under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 in 1976. In 2009, a portion of the conservation park was excised to create the Danggali Wilderness Protection Area. The conservation park is classified as an IUCN Category Ia protected area.
Innamincka Regional Reserve is a protected area located in the north-east of South Australia which includes the town of Innamincka. The regional reserve was proclaimed on 22 December 1988 under National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 over a parcel of land previously part of the Innamincka Pastoral Lease to recognise it as "a place of major conservation importance" whilst permitting ongoing mining and agricultural activity. It was the first "multiple use reserve to be administered by a nature conservation agency" to be declared in South Australia under the category of regional reserve provided for in the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972. It is partly located on land that was included on the List of Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention under the name Coongie Lakes in 1987. In 2005, a parcel of land was excised from the regional reserve to create the national park now known as Malkumba-Coongie Lakes National Park. It also includes the Innamincka/Cooper Creek state heritage area. The regional reserve is classified as an IUCN Category VI protected area.
Busby Islet Conservation Park is a protected area located on Busby Islet in Nepean Bay on the north coast of Kangaroo Island in South Australia. The conservation park is located about 2 kilometres north of the town of Kingscote and occupies an area of 17 hectares on Busby Islet. It was dedicated in 1967 for 'the conservation of wildlife habitat' replacing previous statutory protection dating back to 1909. A management philosophy for the park published in 1987 supports the need to 'ensure the conservation, in perpetuity, of the natural environment, in particular the breeding habitat for birds of the ocean and seashore'. The conservation park is reported as supporting breeding populations of Australian pelicans, black-faced and pied cormorants, pied and sooty oystercatchers, and silver and Pacific gulls, serving as a roost site for migratory waders and being a place visited by Rock parrots and little grassbirds. The conservation park was declared as a 'no entry' area in October 2014. The conservation park is classified as an IUCN Category Ia protected area.
Lesueur Conservation Park, formerly the Cape Hart Conservation Park and the Cape Hart National Park, is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located on the Dudley Peninsula on Kangaroo Island.
Jussieu Peninsula is a peninsula located at the south east end of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by Proper Bay and Spalding Cove within the natural harbour known as Port Lincoln to the north, Spencer Gulf to the east and the Great Australian Bight to the south. While it was first explored and mapped by Matthew Flinders during February 1802, Flinders did not name it. In 1913, the name proposed by François Péron and Louis de Freycinet from Baudin's expedition when it visited later in 1802 was declared as the peninsula's official name by the Government of South Australia. Jussieu refers to the French botanist, Antoine Laurent de Jussieu. While parts of its surface have been cleared and used for agricultural purposes in the past, it is currently occupied by two protected areas: the Lincoln National Park and the Memory Cove Wilderness Protection Area.
Neptune Islands Conservation Park is a protected area occupying most of the Neptune Islands in South Australia about 55 km (34 mi) south-south east of Port Lincoln. It was established in 1967 principally to protect a New Zealand fur seal breeding colony. The conservation park was subsequently expanded to include the adjoining waters in order to control and manage berleying activities used to attract great white sharks. As of 2002, the conservation park is the only place in Australia where shark cage diving to view great white sharks is legally permitted.
Giles Conservation Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located approximately 10 km (6.2 mi) east of the state capital of Adelaide. It was declared in 2007 and has an area of 109 ha. Previously, the land was the eastern portion of the Horsnell Gully Conservation Park. It was named after the family of Charles Giles who is reported as being a pioneer in the fields of horticulture and floriculture in South Australia.
Lacepede Bay is a bay in the Australian state of South Australia located on the state's south-east coast about 140 kilometres northwest of Mount Gambier and about 240 kilometres southeast of Adelaide. It was named in 1802 by the Baudin expedition of 1800-03 after Bernard Germain de Lacépède, the French naturalist. It is one of four ‘historic bays’ located on the South Australian coast.
Baudin Rocks Conservation Park is a protected area occupying Baudin Rocks on the south east coast of South Australia about 8.3 kilometres North-northwest of Robe. In 1965, the island was declared as a Fauna Reserve under the Fauna Conservation Act 1964 following a request from the Kingston Branch of the National Trust of South Australia to declare ‘a reserve to afford protection to the wildlife population’. The protected area status was retained following the enactment of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 in 1972 when it was renamed as the Baudin Rocks Conservation Park.
Point Labatt Conservation Park is a protected area occupying Point Labatt on the west coast of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia about 39 kilometres South by east of Streaky Bay. The conservation park was proclaimed in July 1973 under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 for the purpose of protecting what is considered to be ‘the largest colony of Australian sea lions on mainland Australia’. The conservation park was formed on land donated in 1972 by Ron, Myra and Ellen Freeman who were concerned that ‘illegal shooting was threatening these once endangered animals.’ The Point Labatt Aquatic Reserve, an associated protected area, was proclaimed in October 1988 under the Fisheries Act 1982 for the purpose of protecting an area of adjoining ocean used by the colony as a feeding ground. The conservation park is classified as an IUCN Category III protected area.
Nicolas Baudin Island Conservation Park is a protected area associated with Nicolas Baudin Island which is located off Cape Blanche on the west coast of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia about 30 kilometres south of Streaky Bay. The conservation park was proclaimed in 2003 under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 to ‘protect a significant breeding location for the Australian sea lion.’
Lashmar Conservation Park is a protected area located on the north coast of Dudley Peninsula on Kangaroo Island in South Australia about 40 kilometres south east of Penneshaw. It was proclaimed under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 in 1993. The Lashmar Lagoon which is considered to be a significant wetland is located within the boundaries of the conservation park. The conservation park is classified as an IUCN Category III protected area.
Venus Bay Conservation Park is a protected area located on the west coast of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia immediately west of the town of Venus Bay. It consists of land on the Weyland Peninsula on the south side of Venus Bay, land on the north west side of the bay to the west of the town of Port Kenny and the seven islands located within the bay. The conservation park was originally proclaimed to protect ‘important feeding and breeding grounds for many native birds’. The conservation park is classified as an IUCN Category VI protected area.
A Regional Reserve is a type of protected area used in South Australia that allows the use of natural resources in conjunction with the protected area's conservation function. This class of protected area was first used in 1988 for the Innamincka Regional Reserve and as of 2015, there are seven regional reserves that cover an area of 93,400 square kilometres (36,062 sq mi) or 9.5% of South Australia's land area.
Ironstone is a locality in the Australian state of South Australia located on the north coast of Dudley Peninsula on Kangaroo Island overlooking Backstairs Passage about 107 kilometres south of the state capital of Adelaide and about 3 kilometres east of Penneshaw.
Corrobinnie Hill Conservation Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located on the Eyre Peninsula in the gazetted locality of Pinkawillinie about 24 kilometres (15 mi) west of the town centre in Kyancutta.
Dingley Dell Conservation Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located in the state's south east in the gazetted locality of Port MacDonnell about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) north-west of the town centre of Port MacDonnell and about 26 kilometres (16 mi) south of the city centre in Mount Gambier.
