Natural Resource Management Facilitator Network
Australian Government, March 2005
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About this document
Traditional Aboriginal land owners of the Northern Tanami Desert, the Warlpiri people have managed their land for more than 25,000 years.
In 2001 they became part of a special program, the Wulaign Rangers, helping deal with the land management problems of the 21st century.
The Rangers work in an area covering around 50,000 square kilometres, important for both biodiversity and cultural heritage.
They survey wildlife and native plants, carry out controlled burns and help manage weeds and feral animals around outstations. A mining company benefits from their assistance with a five year biodiversity monitoring project and the Rangers also contribute to outdoor classes run by a local school.
The Wulaign Homelands Association and the Central Land Council began the Ranger program in 2001, at Lajamanu, nearly 600 kilometres south west of Katherine. They aim to use Aboriginal land, as well as cultural knowledge and skills, to boost local economies and provide local employment.
The Australian Government’s Natural Heritage Trust has provided $170,000 for the project to date, under its Indigenous Protected Area Programme. Part of this funding has contributed to employing a full-time coordinator.
The Ranger initiative is based on a simple plan; to employ and train some eight local men and women and equip them with a vehicle, tools and the safety gear needed for natural and cultural resource management tasks across the vast land trusts surrounding Lajamanu.
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