Jeffrey Lee facts for kids

Jeffrey Lee AM (born 1971) is an important Indigenous Australian man. He is a member of the Djok clan and the senior custodian of a special area called Koongarra in Australia's Northern Territory. This land is very important to his people and is also believed to have a lot of uranium.

Who is Jeffrey Lee?

Jeffrey Lee is a custodian of the Koongarra region. This means he is responsible for looking after this land and its traditions for his people, the Djok clan. The Koongarra area is huge, covering about 12,028 hectares. That's like 12,000 football fields! It's surrounded by the famous Kakadu National Park.

Protecting His Ancestral Land

Jeffrey Lee became well-known because he refused to sell his clan's land. This land is believed to hold a large amount of uranium, a valuable mineral. A French energy company called Areva wanted to buy the land to dig up about 14,000 tonnes of uranium. This amount of uranium could be worth more than $5 billion! However, Jeffrey Lee chose to protect his ancestral land instead of selling it for money.

Koongarra Becomes a World Heritage Site

Because of Jeffrey Lee's efforts to protect Koongarra, an important decision was made in June 2011. UNESCO, which is the United Nations' organization for education, science, and culture, decided to make Koongarra a World Heritage Site. This means the area is considered to have outstanding universal value and should be protected for everyone. After this decision, the process began to include Koongarra into the Kakadu National Park. This helps ensure the land and its cultural importance are preserved for future generations.