Indigenous Rangers Protecting Nature
Since 2007, Indigenous rangers in Australia have been working to protect native plants, animals, reduce wildfires, maintain tourism and cultural sites, control savage animals, rid the land of invasive weeds, and more. In addition to taking care of land sites, the rangers also manage coastline and sea areas, which involves collecting discarded nets and other debris, marine patrols, and turtle monitoring.
About 45% (67m hectares) of Australia’s national parks and reserves are made up of Indigenous protected areas (IPAs), most of which hold the most biodiverse regions in the country and some of the oldest, most significant cultural sights in the world.
IPAs are cared for by traditional landowners, who have voluntary agreements with the Australian government to protect biodiversity and to conserve the cultural resources on their land. Some of these lands are rich with native animals and plants, including threatened species, and need regular care to survive. That’s where the indigenous rangers come into play, as they work on these lands and beyond to combat environmental and cultural threats.
In 2017, The World Future Council awarded the Indigenous Rangers and the IPA programs with the Bronze Future Policy Award: Desertification. The award recognizes that both of these programs are among the world’s best policies for combating desertification and land degradation.
Well-Deserved Funding
Australia’s environment minister, Sussan Ley, recently announced that the federal government has committed to funding $102m to support Indigenous rangers who are on the frontline of conservation. The funds will be given to the rangers throughout seven years, starting from 2021. “Indigenous rangers are adding to the overall resilience of Australia’s environment,” Ley explained.
An association of over forty Indigenous land and sea management groups across Australia, called Country Needs People, has saluted the announcement.
Patrick O’Leary, a Country Needs People spokesperson said:
It will help to get better results for the environment and help support families by creating more secure jobs where they are needed most in remote and regional Australia. We need them, and we need their jobs and operational funding to be secure. This announcement is a major contribution to that.
Currently, the federal government supports roughly 840 full-time ranger jobs, which offers thousands of people work, spread across part-time, full-time, and casual roles. “We are in this for the long haul. It’s not a temporary project or a passing commitment,” O’Leary added.
According to O’Leary, countries as far as Canada have noticed the work of Australia’s Indigenous rangers and are inspired by it.
Ken Wyatt, the minister of the Indigenous Australians, said:
In recent times, there has been increased interest in how Indigenous Australians have cared for this land for 65,000 years.
How Can You Become An Indigenous Ranger?
If you want to work as an Indigenous ranger too, there are several ways that you can achieve work. The NRM Jobs website sometimes posts job ads on Indigenous-held land, in local government or national parks, and other kinds of land and sea work.
