In 2023, Traditional Owners from across 20,000 square kilometres of the Roper river catchment travelled to the Australian Parliament to ask for protection of the river from threats posed by new water intensive industries in the catchment and to be at the forefront of decision-making for the river.
Representatives presented a 13-metre hand-painted cultural map and associated statement signed by hundreds of remote community residents.
In May 2025, First Nations clan members from across the Roper River catchment gathered for a groundbreaking forum to discuss the future of the Roper River.
They formed the Ropa Woda Governance Council: Living Spirit, Living Water, and made a declaration that called for a ban on all future water extraction licences and surface water harvesting in the Roper catchment and the inclusion of the Ropa Woda Governance Council in all water decision-making from now on.