Big win for indigenous conservation rangers

Carpentaria Land Council and The Wilderness Society people prior to meeting with the Queensland government officials on the Wild Rivers legislation.

In a big win for Indigenous conservation the recently re-elected Queensland Government has agreed to fund the creation of up to 100 Indigenous wild river ranger positions. The positions will support the ongoing management and protection of wild rivers throughout Queensland.

The announcement was made during the recent Queensland election campaign after intensive lobbying by Wilderness Society campaigners to set up and fund the positions. The commitment includes the employment of 20 new Aboriginal rangers in the Gulf of Carpentaria to protect wild river values in the Gregory, Staaten, Morning Inlet and Settlement wild rivers.

Lyndon Schneiders, Queensland Campaign Manager said “This is a great initiative that addresses the dual needs of providing ongoing and practical protection for wild rivers and creating badly needed jobs in remote Aboriginal communities.”

The initiative followed strong and persistent efforts for two years by The Wilderness Society in Queensland to back up protection of rivers with long term land management jobs for local Indigenous people.

More than 20% of Australia is now under Indigenous freehold ownership. This includes some of the most beautiful and spectacular landscapes on the continent. Regions such as the east coast of Cape York Peninsula, the stone country of Arnhem Land and the Kimberley coast.

However, Indigenous owners are often left struggling to deal with feral pests, noxious weeds, illegal fishers, and other current conservation management problems. There is substantial public investment in conservation, and traditional owners should have access to this to look after these lands, rivers and seas for the benefit for all Australians.

The Wilderness Society believes that more Government support is needed to support conservation work on Indigenous lands. All Australians will get the benefits if we can support Indigenous land and sea managers to look after some our best national environmental assets.