EXCLUSIVE: NT government backs vital work of Aboriginal rangers with more than $1.6million in grants

Giovanni Torre
Giovanni Torre Published March 23, 2023 at 10.10am (AWST)

The Northern Territory government is set to announce the latest round of Aboriginal Ranger Grants this Saturday.

It's the sixth round of the grant program which provides support to Aboriginal ranger groups and land and sea managers, helping them undertake land and sea management, conservation and cultural maintenance projects.

The Territory's Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security and the Aboriginal Land Management Advisory Group have assessed all applications for both the Land and Sea Management Fund and the Ichthys LNG's Coastal Management Offset grants.

The NT government said it is committed to supporting the "incredible work" of Aboriginal rangers. More than $1.6 million has been awarded to ranger groups with projects across the Territory.

These include Tiwi Resources effective weed management on the Tiwi Islands, the Northern Land Council Bulgul Rangers Feral Pig Management activities, and the Crocodile Island Rangers biodiversity surveys of the Crocodile Islands.

The Territory government is working in partnership with the Ichthys LNG Coastal Offset Strategy program, which focusses on the conservation management of dugongs, cetaceans and threatened marine matters of national environmental significance in the Top End.

Minister for Parks and Wildlife Nicole Manison said Aboriginal rangers play an vital role in protecting wild life, marine animals and "our land and sea, for generations to come".

"I'm proud of the incredible job the Aboriginal rangers do right across the Territory," she said.

"This program has already increased employment opportunities on country and built strong Aboriginal leadership and organisational governance, and these grants will see these opportunities and jobs grow."

INPEX General Manager NT Stuart Knowles said the company has worked with the NT Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security in relation to the Aboriginal Ranger Grants Program over the past two years and it "has proven to be an excellent framework to deliver the Ichthys Joint Venture's coastal management offset program".

"We are very proud to support this $24 million initiative for conservation management of turtles, dugongs, cetaceans and matters of environmental significance in the Top End," he said.

"This program funding is part of a much bigger voluntary commitment by Ichthys LNG which includes $91 million of environmental and social offsets over the anticipated 40-year life span of our energy development."

For more details, check here.

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