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        • Hub Steering Committee
    • Synthesis Website
  • Research
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      • Theme 1: Impacts and Pressures
      • Theme 2: Resilience to Climate Change and Reducing Pressures
      • Theme 3: NRM Improvements
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Indigenous-Led Management
of Land & Sea
Enabling Traditional Owners to care for their country

Close collaboration between Traditional Owners and NESP TWQ science has resulted in better co-management of country and improved water quality. The NESP TWQ Hub recognises the importance of meaningful engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the sustainable cultural and environmental management of the Great Barrier Reef and its catchments. Addressing targets of the Reef 2050 Plan, the aspirations of Traditional Owners and building capacity is fundamental to land and sea country management and governance.

Together with scientists, Traditional Owners have actioned cultural site clearance and preliminary assessments, gained new skills in wetland rehabilitation, feral pest management, land and sea country mapping, grass seed collection, gully remediation construction, estuary and mangrove management, salinity monitoring, water quality sampling, equipment maintenance, weed management and general site management. Training in jellyfish stinger collection and identification, shoreline video assessment, coral identification and restoration techniques are just some of the skills that have been passed on for future management.

The skills and knowledge gained by Sea Country Traditional Owners supported by the Hub to attend the 2019 Reef Leadership and Restoration Workshop at Orpheus Island have since commenced or begun planning activities on their country in Indigenous tourism and inshore coral monitoring.

A partnership between Hub scientists, Cape York Natural Resource Management staff and Indigenous graziers has reduced sediment run-off from one of the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation’s (ILSC) Crocodile-Welcome Station gullies by 85%. This success has spurred on the expansion of gully remediation activities. With the support of the Australian Government’s Reef Trust, the ILSC have now purchased an excavator and employed a crew of local Traditional Owners to continue the works, with good ongoing results.

Jacob Cassady showing visitors healthy restored wetlands during a tour. Photo: Mungalla Aboriginal Tours

“We do tours through this area and we can show customers how an area like this can be brought back to its natural state.”

Mr Jacob Cassady, Mungalla Aboriginal Corporation director

“The Gidarjil Sea Rangers who attended the Reef Leadership and Restoration Workshop found it beneficial in a number of ways. The workshop definitely contributed to the Sea Ranger’s coral species, fish and macroinvertebrate identification skills and also their experience and confidence in the water. The planning and restoration techniques they learnt will also set us in good stead to identify any of our inshore reefs that could benefit from restoration.”

Saranne Giudice, Gidarjil Sea Ranger Coordinator

Related Projects

Indigenous capacity building and increased participation in management of Queensland sea country - Project 3.9

Identifying the water quality and ecosystem health threats to the high diversity Torres Strait and far northern GBR from runoff from the Fly River - Project 2.2.1

Impacts of mine derived pollution on Torres Strait environments and communities - Project 2.2.2

Early warning systems to minimize the risk of box jellyfish stings by empowering stakeholders - Project 2.2.3

Building Indigenous livelihood and comanagement opportunities in the northern GBR-ecosystem services and conservation governance for water quality - Project 2.3.3

Working with Traditional Owners and local citizens to better manage GBR estuarine wetlands - Project 2.3.4

Reducing sediment loads to the Great Barrier Reef: developing optimal approaches for treating alluvial gully erosion - Project 3.1.7

Science evaluation of coastal wetland systems repair projects across GBR catchments - Project 3.3.2

Best practice coral restoration for the Great Barrier Reef - Project 4.3

Assessing the Gulf of Carpentaria mangrove dieback - Project 4.13

Identifying the water quality and ecosystem health threats to the Torres Strait from the Fly River runoff - Project 5.14

Close collaboration between Traditional Owners and NESP TWQ science has resulted in better co-management of country and improved water quality. The NESP TWQ Hub recognises the importance of meaningful engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the sustainable cultural and environmental management of the Great Barrier Reef and its catchments. Addressing targets of the Reef 2050 Plan, the aspirations of Traditional Owners and building capacity is fundamental to land and sea country management and governance.

Together with scientists, Traditional Owners have actioned cultural site clearance and preliminary assessments, gained new skills in wetland rehabilitation, feral pest management, land and sea country mapping, grass seed collection, gully remediation construction, estuary and mangrove management, salinity monitoring, water quality sampling, equipment maintenance, weed management and general site management. Training in jellyfish stinger collection and identification, shoreline video assessment, coral identification and restoration techniques are just some of the skills that have been passed on for future management.

The skills and knowledge gained by Sea Country Traditional Owners supported by the Hub to attend the 2019 Reef Leadership and Restoration Workshop at Orpheus Island have since commenced or begun planning activities on their country in Indigenous tourism and inshore coral monitoring.

A partnership between Hub scientists, Cape York Natural Resource Management staff and Indigenous graziers has reduced sediment run-off from one of the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation’s (ILSC) Crocodile-Welcome Station gullies by 85%. This success has spurred on the expansion of gully remediation activities. With the support of the Australian Government’s Reef Trust, the ILSC have now purchased an excavator and employed a crew of local Traditional Owners to continue the works, with good ongoing results.

“The Gidarjil Sea Rangers who attended the Reef Leadership and Restoration Workshop found it beneficial in a number of ways. The workshop definitely contributed to the Sea Ranger’s coral species, fish and macroinvertebrate identification skills and also their experience and confidence in the water. The planning and restoration techniques they learnt will also set us in good stead to identify any of our inshore reefs that could benefit from restoration.”

Saranne Giudice, Gidarjil Sea Ranger Coordinator

Jacob Cassady showing visitors healthy restored wetlands during a tour. Photo: Mungalla Aboriginal Tours

“We do tours through this area and we can show customers how an area like this can be brought back to its natural state.”

Mr Jacob Cassady, Mungalla Aboriginal Corporation director

Related Projects

Indigenous capacity building and increased participation in management of Queensland sea country - Project 3.9

Identifying the water quality and ecosystem health threats to the high diversity Torres Strait and far northern GBR from runoff from the Fly River - Project 2.2.1

Impacts of mine derived pollution on Torres Strait environments and communities - Project 2.2.2

Early warning systems to minimize the risk of box jellyfish stings by empowering stakeholders - Project 2.2.3

Building Indigenous livelihood and comanagement opportunities in the northern GBR-ecosystem services and conservation governance for water quality - Project 2.3.3

Working with Traditional Owners and local citizens to better manage GBR estuarine wetlands - Project 2.3.4

Reducing sediment loads to the Great Barrier Reef: developing optimal approaches for treating alluvial gully erosion - Project 3.1.7

Science evaluation of coastal wetland systems repair projects across GBR catchments - Project 3.3.2

Best practice coral restoration for the Great Barrier Reef - Project 4.3

Assessing the Gulf of Carpentaria mangrove dieback - Project 4.13

Identifying the water quality and ecosystem health threats to the Torres Strait from the Fly River runoff - Project 5.14

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E: enquiries@rrrc.org.au

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