On country
I have had the pleasure of attending several indigenous gatherings
across northern Australia in recent months, topics ranged from fire
management to water planning. The value of these events cannot be
overstated.
Many people in northern Australia are isolated by distance and
technology, so camping together on country for a few days
strengthens our collective efforts to manage country. We come away
equipped with new contacts, support systems and ways of
working.
I would like to acknowledge and thank all those who have done the
long hours to prepare these meetings. I was particularly inspired
by the Kowanyama Land & Natural Resource Management Office, and
the generous way in which they shared their knowledge and
experiences with us. A lot of us have heard good things about this
community and their office and we weren’t let down. In
addition, time spent on country with Rangers on Gibb River Station
with Tom Vigilante was also inspirational to see the practitioners
growing their capacity to work with scientist to develop local
management.
Joe
Morrison CEO
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IEK $5,000 grants now available -
Quick Response
A new initiative for quick response grants of $5,000 or less is now
available.
For example, a recent application from the Wanga Djakamirr rangers
of Ramingining in Arnhem land outlined that rangers are conducting
a back to country camp at a coastal area known as Dhipirri and all
they needed was fuel for the boats, extra food and payments for the
traditional owners and knowledge holders. In 5 working days the
application was received, reviewed, rewritten, approvals given and
funding contract offered and signed - all applications may not go
this smoothly but it is possible!
Go to the Grants and
Funding pages of the NAILSMA website for application
details.
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NAILSMA's Talking Culture on Country
Program
This program, that supports Indigenous Ecological Knowledge being
transferred between generations, is now in its final stages with
<5% funds remaining. Even though the program concludes at the
end of this calendar year, there is still time and funds for one or
two projects up to $20,000 - but applicants should be quick!
Some statistics: There were 32 successful applications, of which 28
have been contracted and funded, of these, 13 projects have been
completed while 15 are underway.
Go to the Grants and
Funding pages of the NAILSMA website for application
details.
David
Wise - IEK Project Coodinator
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Torres Strait Community-based Turtle
and Dugong Management Planning Workshop
Saltwater People Network coordinator Shane Stevens attended the
Torres Strait community-based turtle and dugong management planning
workshop which was held on Thursday Island, Torres Strait in
June.
The workshop was coordinated by the Torres Strait
Regional Authority Land and Sea Management Unit and was
aimed at finalising and reaching agreements between community
representatives and agencies about the content of the final seven
(of fifteen) Community-based Dugong and Marine Turtle Management
Plans; and to ensure these plans reflect a workable and achievable
balance of Traditional Owner and agency priorities, aspirations and
perspectives.
NAILSMA was invited to attend the workshop as a stakeholder and
Shane's contribution built on the achievements TSRA and NAILSMA
made under the Dugong and Marine Turtle Project. Shane also had
the opportunity to provide input into the seven draft Indigenous
community Dugong and Marine Turtle Management Plans (Poruma, Ugar,
Masig, Warraber, Dauan, Saibai and Kubin).
To find our more about the workshop, download the Outcomes and
Outputs Report.
Photo: Myrtle the turtle released off Mer Island after having
satellite tracker attached as part of the Dugong and Turtle
Project.
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Kimberley Saltwater Country Steering
Committee and Advisory Group Meeting
In July, Saltwater People Network coordinator Shane Stevens was
invited to attend the Kimberley Land
Council Saltwater Country Steering Committee and Advisory
Group Meeting.
The meeting was hosted by the Steering Committee members of the
North Kimberley Saltwater Country Project and the Kimberley Land
Council to foster dialogue between Traditional Owners and
representatives of government departments and non-governmental
organisations; and to address issues raised by Traditional Owners
along the north Kimberley coast.
Shane introduced participants to the NAILSMA Saltwater People
Network and identified the Network’s objectives and services,
such as the I-Tracker project, as a tool available for Indigenous
sea managers in the Kimberley.
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Saltwater People Network Ranger
Exchanges
The Saltwater People Network (SPN) is pleased to announce a Ranger
Exchange program designed to support knowledge and skills exchanges
between SPN participating communities and ranger programs.
Ranger exchanges were a feature of the Dugong and Marine Project
and many participants rated them as a highlight of the project. Sea
ranger groups should contact
the SPN for more information or to apply.
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I-Tracker Computer Skills Workshop
(NT)
Photo: On course… Victor Rostron and Wayne Campion from
Djelk Rangers.
Indigenous sea rangers and ranger coordinators from the NT
descended on NAILSMA headquarters in Darwin last month to attend an
intensive I-Tracker computer skills workshop. The workshop was
designed to skill-up the participants on the use of the I-Tracker
Saltwater Country Patrol Application and computer-based
aspects of CyberTracker
software, including data management and storage, creating reports
and maps, and developing applications.
The Djelk
Rangers—key contributors to the development of
CyberTracker-based monitoring in north Australia and the I-Tracker
Saltwater Country Patrol Application—sent Ranger Victor
Rostron and Consultant Wayne Campion to the workshop. Victor
Rostron explained why he felt it was important for him to attend
the workshop.
“I need to take this training back to my community and
show my ranger group.
“We’ve being doing it for a while… we used to
take it [hand-held computer used with CyberTracker] back to our
coordinator. Our coordinator would plug him in with the USB
cord… and send [reports] in email to Customs, AQIS. Our
coordinator is really good and busy, so we need someone to
learn—like this course—and then do it
ourselves.”
The workshop was coordinated by NAILSMA with assistance from
GhostNets
Australia, and the Northern Land
Council.
Visit the I-tracker
page to learn more.
The Saltwater People Network and I-Tracker project are supported by
NAILSMA, through funding from the Australian Government’s
Caring for our
Country program.
Shane
Stevens - Saltwater People Network Coordinator
Micha
Jackson - Tracker Project Development Officer
Joshua
Kitchens - Communication and Network Officer
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Speech makes Indigenous Water Rights
clear
Anne Poelina's speech to launch the Indigenous Water Policy
Statement clarifies many of the complex issues about Water
Reform and Indigenous Water Rights. You can view a video of her
speech on the NAILSMA IWPG
web page.
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Indigenous Water Policy Group
secures next round of funding
NAILSMA has successfully secured the next round of funding for the
Indigenous Water Policy Group (IWPG). Originally funded in 2006 by
Land & Water Australia, the IWPG just completed a three year
funding arrangement with the National Water Commission (NWC).
The past achievements and relevant significance of the IWPG
project to national water reform has warranted another round of
funding from the NWC. The NWC has pledged $1.228m over the next 2
years.
‘The IWPG has grown great momentum over its four years of
operation. Its greatest achievement to date has been consolidating
a statement on Indigenous water rights in the north. The next two
years will be pivotal for working with relevant government agencies
in addressing Indigenous interests in relation to state and
territory water reform agendas’, says Joe Ross, Chair of
the IWPG.
‘NAILSMA is grateful to the NWC not only for providing the
opportunity to continue the important work of the IWPG, but also
for recognising the relevance of including an Indigenous voice in
the national water reform process’ says Joe Morrison, CEO
NAILSMA.
Indigenous people make up nearly 50% of the population and hold a
significant amount of land holdings as recognised under Native
Title in the north, yet are still on the margins of any real
research and policy decision making. NAILSMA endeavours to reduce
this gap through the IWPG processes in water resource management.
The IWPG aims to work closely with state and territory water
agencies in providing representation and advice on determining and
defining Indigenous water interests as they relate to regional
water planning.
Photo: Joe Ross, Indigenous Water Policy Statement launch, March
2010, Parliament House, Darwin
Lorrae
McArthur - Indigenous
Water Policy Group Coordinator
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Water Facilitators' Camp - Kowanyama
Qld – July 2010
Water Facilitators camped beside Magnificent Creek, just outside
the Kowanyama Community to talk about the Indigenous Community
Water Facilitator Network, its past and future achievements, and to
work through anticipated challenges.
The core aim of the workshop was to enhance the capabilities and
personal development of Water Facilitators, and look at ways to
promote the Indigenous facilitation model for water management and
planning by identifying and understanding the lessons learned from
the ICWFN.
The following workshop components were delivered through a flexible
agenda:
- The Kowanyama land and sea management story – lessons
learnt over 25 years
- Water Facilitators’ case stories, scenarios and
feedback
- Management skills, planning and problem solving
- Presentations from each Water Facilitator, including local
challenges for discussion and feedback
- Planning the final eleven months activities, outputs and
outcomes
- Communication - advice, needs and story reporting skills
At the end of the four days, the Water Facilitators all agreed
that this was the most useful workshop to date, because of the
wonderful location and hospitality shown by Kowanyama, because the
workshop focused on work programs with experts were there to
give advice and assistance ie Joe Morrison, Viv Sinnamon
(Manager, Kowanyama Aboriginal Land and Natural Resource Management
Office), John Mackenzie (Griffith University) Michael Storrs (now
with National Water Commission) and Paul Josif.
Photo: Getting down to budgets - the team reviews budget
projections
Hugh
Wallace-Smith is the Coordinator of the Indigenous Water
Facilitator Network
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Michael Yam's Kowanyama Water
Story
Communication was the focus of the last day of the Water
Facilitator Kowanyama camp.
Water Facilitators reviewed existing communication materials, and
then took out their voice recorders and cameras to collect the
material to make story reports. That evening files were transferred
to laptops and story reports started to emerge. Tonya Murray
created a story report featuring Michael Yam, Traditional Owner,
Kowanyama. It’s a beauty – see it on the NAILSMA ICWFN
Water Story web page.
If you want to put together a story report, find out how on the
NAILSMA
publications web page.
Robin
MacGillivray - Communications Officer - Water Program
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NAILSMA Water Program presented in
Canberra
Hugh Wallace Smith, Coordinator of the Indigenous Community Water
Facilitator Network (ICWFN) project, presented a summary of the
NAILSMA Indigenous Water Resource Management Program and ICWFN
activities at the National Water Commission Seminar Series in
Canberra on the 26 August 2010.
View his presentation on the ICWFN pages on
the NAILSMA website.
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Carbon Project News
This dry has seen a lot of field action relating to fire management
across the north - from the Kimberley to Cape York. The next Kantri
Laif will touch on a few of these trips. See how to subscribe in
the article below.
Find out more about the Carbon
Project and the Carbon Team (Joe
Morrison, Glenn James,
Donna
Bush and Max Bowden
Kerr) from the NAILSMA website.
Photo: Ashton Nandoo (Gibb River Ranger field trip/workshop
organised by KLC)
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New NITV Climate Change
Documentary
Heat Waves the new documentary by NITV on climate
change focuses on the Torres Strait Islands and the potentially
devasting effects climate change will and is having on remote
Indigenous communities.
It is an interesting doco that also touches on fire management and
Indigenous rangers doing their bit to address and manage changes
that could displace them and their families. It includes an
interview with NAILSMA's CEO Joe Morrison. See it on the NAILSMA Carbon
Program web page.
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Online Forum - Indigenous Ecological
Knowledge
A major partner in the IEK program, the Natural Resource
Management Board of the NT, has launched an online discussion forum
for Indigenous Ecological Knowledge. This forum aims to promote
constructive and robust dialog on issues relating to the retention,
recording, storage and use of Australian Indigenous Knowledge of
the environment in its various forms and to explore its historic
and current relationship to natural resource management. Find
the site here:http://knowcountry.cecc.com.au/
.
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Kantri Laif Issue 6 OUT NOW
Another huge 56 page issue covering just a fraction of the unique
and exciting stuff Indigenous rangers and Indigenous land managers
are working on in the northern Australia. There's no other magazine
like it and it won't cost you a cent.
With these links you can:
Max Bowden
Kerr Communications Officer - Carbon Program and KL
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