The East Gippsland Catchment Management Authority (CMA) covers 22,000 km² of land, lakes and coastal waters in the easternmost part of Victoria. About 80% of the land of the region is in public ownership, mainly as State Forests and National Parks. With 40,000 residents, the current population is about 10 times that of the original Aboriginal population of the Kurnai-Gunai, Bidawal and Ngarigo peoples.