First Nations stewardship: revitalising Country and Culture
Investment required:
$27.9 million over four years
For tens of thousands of years, First Nations people have worked on Country, acquiring knowledge through intimate connections with land and sea. Respecting and integrating this Traditional Ecological Knowledge and providing more opportunities for Indigenous Australians to work on Country is critical to protecting our natural assets for thousands of years to come.
Empowering Indigenous communities and building capacity in environmental stewardship reaffirms all of our Cultural heritage. We’re proposing nine projects valued at $27.9 million which are specifically focussed on building the capacity of First Nations organisations and engaging Indigenous people to participate in NRM planning and action on-the-ground while valuing Traditional Knowledge and supporting and growing Indigenous Ranger programs in key locations across the state.
Queensland’s regional NRM organisations have decades of experience in working collaboratively with Indigenous people and First Nations organisations. Our nine projects deliver co-benefits for Culture and Country, for biodiversity and climate, for sustainable agriculture and for the economy.
What we’re proposing
26 Indigenous people working on Country
64 First Nations groups engaged
Our Actions
- Support an Alliance of 17 Traditional Owner groups in the Fitzroy Basin and leverage western science alongside Traditional Knowledge to support everyone caring for land, water and sea Country.
- Establish a formal network of 15 First Nations groups to engage in NRM in the Northern Gulf along with a pool of funds for Healthy Country planning and on-ground action.
- Develop 16 Resilient Country Management Plans, including Cultural fire and bushfire migitation practices alongside Indigenous people, farmers and rural communities, across the greater Burdekin.
- Coordinate delivery efforts of four Land & Sea Ranger Groups and establish and build capacity of a regional ranger network to address lack of opportunity in the region for Traditional Owners to access and connect with Country.
- Create 11 Indigenous traineeships across Queensland’s regional NRM organisations along with a mentoring network for all First Nations staff in the sector – irrespective of role.
- Empower the seven First Nations of Mackay to walk Country and conduct Traditional Ecological Knowledge-based practices: such as flora and fauna surveys and on-ground activities to restore health to Country.
- Catalyse a regional Aboriginal Advisory Group for the Southern Gulf of Carpentaria, developing Caring for Country Plans and facilitate Cultural assessments of on-ground NRM works.
- Strengthen the capacity and governance of 10 Aboriginal Corporations and Land Trusts in Cape York Peninsula to manage and protect Traditional lands, which make up 60% of land across the Cape.
- Support researchers develop carbon and biodiversity markets to remove feral-ungulate animals from wetlands alongside training for 15 newly created Indigenous ranger positions on Cape York.