North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance

Reimagining Conservation 2024 | Day 3 💭🌏 Freshwater On Day 3 of Reimagining Conservation, Allan Dale, Justin Perry, Jim Turnour, Sonia Takau and Yinimala Gumana discussed freshwater. Rivers and waterways are essential to our way of life and that of the complex ecosystems that they sustain. Indigenous peoples have been fulfilling their cultural obligation to care for water and passing this knowledge down for thousands of generations, and have significant and emerging rights and interests in the use and protection of freshwater resources across Australia.  Complex land ownership and decision-making processes can make meaningful engagement on these issues challenging. To enable Traditional Owners to have a much deeper participation in water policy development, the following steps need to be taken: • The processes of cultural values and flow assessments must be strengthened and more culturally-assured • Approaches to mobilising Indigenous Water Reserves must become more equitable and standardised • The level of Traditional Owner involvement in new water resource development processes and water plan review processes must meet stronger standards • There must be significant investment in appropriate regional and jurisdictional Indigenous governance systems Invasive species, climate change, agriculture, mining, oil and gas production, and changes in consumption patterns are just some of the mounting pressures on our crucial freshwater supplies. It's clear that policy conversation must start by centring Traditional Owners as the stewards and guardians of water. If we don’t have water, we don’t have life.

NAILSMA commends the Australian Government on the announcement of 1000 new Indigenous Ranger Positions, and congratulates Senator the Hon Malarndirri McCarthy, Minister for Indigenous Australians, on the increased investment over the next four years to expand the program. CEO Barry J Hunter particularly welcomes the focus on increasing female Ranger positions and building the sustainability of Indigenous Land and Sea Ranger operations as key aspects of the announcement. “NAILSMA advocates for direct investment such as this so that communities are empowered to make critical decisions based on their aspirations to manage Country and increase female rangers to play a key role. This is critical timing as we continue to see further focus on biodiversity and climate change as key issues that these new Ranger positions will be addressing” Barry adds that “While we welcome this announcement, we are cautious that there is still a need for greater industry development and support mechanisms to be implemented to address some of the key findings of the Indigenous Ranger Sector Strategy consultations. For example, the Ranger workforce still does not have a recognised award wage structure and human resources support, or specific capacity building for Ranger career advancement from junior positions to coordination and management positions in Ranger Operations. As an organisation, NAILSMA will continue to advocate for this progression.” #IndigenousRangers #CaringForCountry #NAILSMA

Great insights from Barry J Hunter on how to be culturally aware when working in and investing in biodiversity. “Put the empowerment into the groups on the ground and the work that they're doing and go in and support them, rather than going in and trying to do for, you know, do with.” Catch more insights on the Nature Positive Summit by watching our webinar, or read answers from the webinar Q&A and additional resources. https://lnkd.in/g22erxFb

“There’s a courageousness required from funders to invest directly in Indigenous communities… Indigenous peoples are ready and waiting — we just need funders to be brave enough to meet us there." Erica McCreedy, NAILSMA COO This week, NAILSMA COO and Australian Committee for IUCN Board member Erica McCreedy participated in the Roundtable Dialogue "Building the Future of Nature Finance Together" as part of 2024 UN Biodiversity Conference (COP16) in Cali, Colombia. Read more about Erica’s call for direct investment into Indigenous communities, along with other key takeaways from this important discussion in this insightful article by Kirsty Galloway McLean. #COP16Colombia #NAILSMA #LookingAfterCountry #IndigenousKnowledge #IndigenousPeople #FirstNationsKnowledge

NAILSMA CEO Barry J Hunter spoke in the opening plenary of the world’s first Global Nature Positive Summit 2024, held on Gadigal Country earlier this month. In his address, Barry was very clear that what really needs to happen - is action. Listen to Barry expand on what taking real action looks like in this episode of Mongabay Newscast: 'Australia’s Global ‘Nature Positive’ Summit features Indigenous voices, but little government action.' “We’ve got a whole lot of different strategies that speak to action, but none of them are any good unless people are out there actually doing the work.” Hear the full episode here ➡🔗 https://bit.ly/4hcmcTj #GlobalNaturePositiveSummit #NAILSMA #LookingAfterCountry #AustralianConservation #IndigenousKnowledge #IndigenousPeoples #FirstNationsKnowledge

Protecting Country Against Invasive Species Program Update | Feral herbivore management in the Great Sandy Desert🚫🐪 Sometimes protecting Country means soaring to great heights - literally! 🚁 That’s what a group of Karajarri Rangers and Elders along with Environs Kimberley did in Western Australia recently while assessing the environmental and cultural health of important desert wetland sites. Supported by NAILSMA staff and funded through the Protecting Country Against Invasive Species Program, this data gathering exercise was undertaken to help better understand the impact that large feral herbivores are having on freshwater places. And the biggest culprit? Feral camels. The current feral camel population in Australia is estimated to be approximately one million, with this number increasing at a rate of around 8% per year. The vast regional spread of camel populations (which includes the arid regions of WA, SA, the NT, and parts of Qld) has made it challenging to measure the effectiveness of control methods. That’s why following this initial assessment, the project will also fund feral camel control work and ongoing wetland monitoring - making it possible to better measure the impact of feral camel control activities on Country. NAILSMA are proudly partnered with Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry to deliver the Protecting Country Against Invasive Species Program. #LookingAfterCountry #AustralianConservation #NAILSMA #IndigenousKnowledge #IndigenousPeople #FirstNationsKnowledge

Reimagining Conservation 2024 | Day 3 💭🌏 Land Restoration 🌳 On the fourth day of Reimagining Conservation 2024, Andrew Picone, Richard Swain, Teagan Shields and Phil Rist spoke on a Land Restoration panel, facilitated by NAILSMA CEO Barry J Hunter and Australian Committee for IUCN Executive Director Sarah Terkes. The focus of this session was Indigenous perspectives on how to heal Country, and Indigenous perspectives on how non-indigenous people, organisations and the government can better work with Indigenous peoples when it comes to land restoration. Some of the key points that were raised throughout the panel discussion include: · The importance of taking input from young people · The issue of ecologically irresponsible reporting in the news · The need for policy and legislative redesign that gives Indigenous peoples more agency · That we must find a way to encourage non-Indigenous people to fulfill their own obligations to Country · The importance of ensuring that the principals of free, prior and informed consent are embedded into the ways that NGOs operate at a fundamental level This discussion was followed by a workshop during which participants were asked to consider what factors would they like to see taken into account when restoring an area, and how non-indigenous people, organisations and the government can better work with Indigenous peoples in the land restoration space. The responses developed throughout this workshop were diverse, considered, thought-provoking, and above all will go on to actively shape the future of land restoration in this country, with feedback from this session having been presented at the Ecosystem Restoration Workshop in Canberra. #LookingAfterCountry #AustralianConservation #NAILSMA #IndigenousKnowledge #IndigenousPeople #FirstNationsKnowledge

Protecting Country Against Invasive Species Program Update | Feral pig management 🚫🐗 International connections and knowledge sharing 🌏🔁 Did you know that a significant part of the Protecting Country Against Invasive Species Program is dedicated to building capacity within Indigenous ranger teams and sharing knowledge about caring for Country? NAILSMA’s Protecting Country Against Invasive Species Team just returned from Cape York Peninsula, where Gunggandji Rangers from Yarrabah were welcomed onto the Traditional Lands of the Juunjuwarra people for a ranger exchange program, hosted by Juunjuwarra Aboriginal Corporation. Over two days, ranger teams not only shared knowledge on how to care for Country, prioritise cultural values and build capacity amongst ranger teams with shared interests – they also delved deep into feral pig management skills, including best practices for setting up cage and camera traps for control and monitoring 📸 with both teams excited to continue to work together into the future. On the final day of the trip, the ranger teams were joined by an international delegation from Samoa which included representatives from the Scientific Research Organisation of Samoa, the Samoan Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, farmers, exporters and local councils, and the Australian and New Zealand-Government funded Market Development Facility. The delegation was hosted by the National Feral Pig Action Plan, and have been travelling across northern Queensland with National Feral Pig Management Coordinator Dr. Heather Channon, to learn from Indigenous Ranger Groups and farmers about how to implement a variety of control methods to address the feral pigs that are impacting their taro crops and community gardens. Outside of discussing practical control methods, the ranger teams and delegates from Samoa also connected over the importance of culture in land management.  This trip was supported by the Protecting Country Against Invasive Species Program, National Environmental Science Program Marine and Coastal Hub (Project 4.5), Juunjuwarra Aboriginal Corporation, Gunggandi Rangers and the National Feral Pig Action Plan.    NAILSMA are proudly partnered with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry to deliver the Protecting Country Against Invasive Species Program. #LookingAfterCountry #AustralianConservation #NAILSMA #IndigenousKnowledge #IndigenousPeople #FirstNationsKnowledge  

It’s been an incredible couple of days at the first ever Global Nature Positive Summit 2024 on Gadigal Country in Sydney, with NAILSMA represented by our leadership team in Barry J Hunter, Erica McCreedy, Dr Justin Perry and Dr Leah Talbot. On the final day, NAILSMA Research Manager, Dr Justin Perry, joined conservation scientists and technology experts to present on how science metrics can be done differently and capture positive outcomes that may otherwise be ignored. Speaking of a recent trip to Cape York working with Juunjuwarra Corporation, Justin explained “The monitoring there was established so that all of the work can be done by the Traditional Owners, which maximises time on Country and pays for as many jobs as possible. We deliberately didn’t go for the lowest cost methods or the most efficient ones. We developed methods that best met the goals of the many hands-on deck and giving as much time on Country as possible in places that were important to people.” In this context, it is an opportunity to identify the metrics at a national and international scale that are meaningful, trusted and easy to access so that people can focus on the things that need to get done at the local scale and highlight not only the aggregated biodiversity but value who does the work, how it is done and how it is governed. Intensive social, cultural and environmental impact can be elevated through Indigenous led projects. The Summit brought together Leaders from Indigenous Peoples, government, corporate sectors, research, and environmental organisations around the world to explore effective ways to realise global commitments under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The event aimed to build understanding of changes required to systems and settings to value nature and address biodiversity loss. Through the Indigenous Country and Biodiversity Alliance and the important work of everyone involved, we look forward to grounding biodiversity management in Indigenous practices and Culture to ensure the best outcomes for Country, our people and the world.

At the Global Nature Positive Summit 2024 Nature Positive Action – Networks and Innovation for Change session, NAILSMA COO, Erica McCreedy, shared an overview of our 23-year history and impact at the local, regional and global level. She emphasised the benefits of global partnerships and the need for governments and private industry to elevate the work being done on the ground by Indigenous land and sea managers through direct investment while “ensuring that Traditional Knowledge and Culture are never deprioritised.”   NAILSMA is the only Australian Indigenous peoples’ organisation (IPO) Member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Through our involvement in the Podong Initiative, a partnership between IUCN, IUCN IPOs and the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB), we have highlighted the shared challenges Indigenous peoples face globally, while revealing the opportunities that exist to identify and access global resources and expertise outside of Australia.   Find out about becoming an IUCN Indigenous peoples’ organisation Member here ➡🔗https://bit.ly/4eXmFa0 #GlobalNaturePositiveSummit #NAILSMA #IUCN #IndigenousKnowledge #FirstNationsKnowledge