More than 5 million hectares of Aboriginal land in Central Australia has been declared an Indigenous Protected Area, for traditional owners to manage and protect.

Location of the Katiti Petermann IPA with the community of Kaltukatjara (Docker River) far left. ( Supplied: CAAMA/Google )

The vast swathe of Aboriginal freehold land ranges across the south-west corner of the Northern Territory, surrounding Kata Tjuta National Park and the small community of Kaltukatjara, also known as Docker River.

It will be known as the Katiti Petermann Indigenous Protected Area (IPA).

Local people believe the new declaration will "keep things strong" for future declarations. ( ABC News: Grenville Turner )

Judy Trigger, a traditional owner from nearby Mutitjulu, said the declaration of the area as an IPA would help "keep things strong" for future generations.

"I'm looking to the future for our children and grandchildren. We need to leave behind a plan so there's work for them," she said.

What is the Katiti Petermann IPA? Over 5 million hectares of land near the junction of WA, SA and the NT

Over 5 million hectares of land near the junction of WA, SA and the NT The traditional land of the Pitjantjatjara people and surrounds the small community of Kaltukatjara (aka Docker River)

The traditional land of the Pitjantjatjara people and surrounds the small community of Kaltukatjara (aka Docker River) The country has rugged quartzite and granite ranges and gently undulating spinifex sandplains

The country has rugged quartzite and granite ranges and gently undulating spinifex sandplains Will be managed by local Indigenous people

Will be managed by local Indigenous people Offers "huge potential for significant biodiversity and cultural management outcomes on a broad scale Source: CLC

"So when they grow up they can see the good things recorded and left by their grandparents.

"I'm thinking hard about the IPA so we can keep things strong, managing and working ourselves."

An IPA is Aboriginal land environmentally managed and run by the traditional owners, including Indigenous rangers.

Katiti Petermann is now the 70th IPA in Australia, with the total of all IPAs in Australia approximately 63 million hectares.

Kaltukatjara ranger Benji Kenny said the Commonwealth-recognised tenure will lead to more resources to manage the land and jobs.

"I'm hoping it'll open up more jobs for the young people," Mr Kenny said.

The Katiti Petermann IPA will be the fourth biggest and includes the spectacular Petermann Ranges, running 320 kilometres between WA and the NT and Lake Amadeus, a massive salt lake north of Uluru.

Local people travelled from their surrounding communities to witness the historic signing of the Katiti Petermann Indigenous Protected Area (IPA). ( ABC News: Grenville Turner )

Traditional owner Sandra Armstrong at the ceremony to mark the creation of the IPA. ( ABC: Grenville Turner )

The agreement was reached after five years of planning and development between the Central Land Council (CLC) and the Commonwealth's IPA program.

"It's a time consuming process, particularly when you're talking about collective land," the CLC's Sam Rando said.

"It's not like a pastoral lease ... we're talking about many hundreds of owners that live from Adelaide, across the Alice Springs to WA."

Traditional owner Sandra Armstrong was part another Red Centre IPA, at Angus Downs, and said good things could come of the special tenure, such as an animal sanctuary she helped set up.

"The Docker River area, this is the country of my father and my grandmothers, so I am a custodian along with my two sisters and brother," Ms Armstrong said.

"With the first IPA for this area I was really happy to establish an animal sanctuary and I taught two of my granddaughters about animals.

"My desire [at the new IPA] is for those family members to run those projects themselves," she said.

Mr Rando said the songline of the rugged landscape was crisscrossed with many stories and sacred sites. A songline is a trail of creation stories, told in song, of the path taken by the ancestors of Aboriginal people.

People in the small community of Tjitjingati celebrate the signing of the IPA with a cake. ( ABC: Grenville Turner )

"For the Anangu people, anything that assists them in maintaining their culture and passing on their knowledge is very worthwhile," Mr Rando said.

The Anangu traditional owners hope the declaration of their land as an IPA will allow them greater control over land and feral animal management, through the CLC rangers.

Decades of introduced pests like camels, feral dogs and cats have depleted the land and led to rapid native animal extinction.

Dancers perform 'inma' (ceremony) to remember a young man who passed away, at the launch of the IPA at Tjitjingati. ( ABC News: Grenville Turner )

The area covered by the Katiti Petermann IPA is home to eight threatened species including the Black-footed Rock Wallaby, a Brushtail Possum and Great Desert Skink.

A committee of Anangu owners will receive advice from government departments, the nearby Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park and the CLC, but will practice a combination of Western and traditional land management.

A ceremony at Tjitjingati, 240 kilometres west of Yulara, marked the signing of the declaration with inma (traditional song and dance).

The site is part of a songline known as "the children who got taken away" and included a ceremony by several senior men and women.

For people wishing to visit the area, the situation remains the same as before, with pre-arranged permits needed for access.

Patrick O'Leary, the conservation partnerships manager, personally called on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to increase support to the IPA program.

"Indigenous Protected Areas and Indigenous Rangers in Australia are considered world leading models and they are protecting internationally important landscapes," he said.

"We are calling on the Federal Government now to develop a plan for doubling the amount of jobs and funding for Indigenous Protected Areas and Indigenous Rangers, this would be a great way for the new Prime Minister to get behind an initiative all Australians can be proud of.

"We need long-term security of funding and we should be expanding the jobs available. It's a fantastic investment for the environment, for jobs and for closing the gap."