EQUALITY
RANGERS RAISING WEEVILS TO FIGHT INVASIVE WEEDS
KAKADU, NORTHERN TERRITORY, AUSTRALIA
Understanding and respecting the heritage and rights of Indigenous peoples is top of mind for many travelers. The Djurrubu Rangers in Australia’s Northern Territory honor and involve traditional landowners to care for areas around and in a national park, including efforts to remove invasive species.
What's
changing
Many national parks and cultural heritage sites are located on lands historically inhabited by Indigenous peoples. Management of these locations by predominantly white individuals can perpetuate a colonial legacy, where the original inhabitants' knowledge and connection to the land are not fully recognized or respected. Programs to bring traditional owners back into the conversation about conservation are taking shape across the globe.
What's already
possible
The Kakadu region of Australia’s Northern Territory has been home to Aboriginal people for at least 60,000 years. The Djurrubu Ranger Program, operating under the Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation, uses land management training to provide employment opportunities for young community members as the local economy transitions from uranium mining.
Seizing
the opportunity
The Djurrubu Ranger Program brings together local men and women interested in land management to carry out tasks like maintenance, plant and feral animal management, patrolling, conservation and monitoring. By participating in the program and its training courses, they earn conservation and land management certificates through Charles Darwin University. When they complete the program, rangers work within Djurrubu or Kakadu National Park, or go on to other land management education or employment. The program promotes connection to the land and informs conservation efforts with traditional knowledge, including preparing rangers who are not from the area to take their new skills back to their traditional territories.
Standout
tactic
The rangers have seen huge success in fighting the invasive Salvinia molesta weed that is taking over freshwater sources in the Top End, a tropical region along the north central coast of Australia. The spread of the South American weed has affected fishing, hunting and other traditional ways of life. Insects play a key role in killing the weed. The salvinia weevil (Cyrtobagous salviniae) breeding program releases the insects at a pace needed to reduce the spread.
How
it helps
In 2021, 14 rangers earned a Certificate II in Conservation and Land Management, and the number of graduates continues to grow. Djurrubu Rangers have started a training program about protecting cultural heritage with a goal of having all culturally sensitive work being done by the Mirarr people, who are the traditional Aboriginal owners of the land in the north of the Northern Territory. The group’s first commercial contract is with EDL Energy to relocate wildlife for construction of the Jabiru Hybrid Renewable Power Station. It also conducts bird research and conservation through a grant from Birdlife Australia.
Diving
deeper
How can a place transitioning from an extractive industry to tourism ensure its economy is not solely dependent on what can be a fluctuating source of revenue, while also averting overtourism and the prevalence of hospitality jobs with only low or seasonal pay?
Increasing
impact
This kind of program could support greater economic diversity by encouraging program graduates and local residents to open small businesses.
Traveling
better
Travel is inherently carbon intensive. Whether you are taking a mini-break or an annual vacation, consider ways to minimize your impact by staying longer in one place, reconsidering how you travel to the destination, and supporting businesses that are working to make their community and the world a better place.
