Land and sea management history

In 2000 traditional owners of the Garawa ALT held a meeting to develop a land management plan for the land trust. Initial funding for implementation of the plan was secured from the Natural Heritage Trust (NHT) and held by the Mungoorbada Aboriginal Corporation (The Robinson River Community Council). The NHT grant was for two years and was to support work focussed on fire management, weed control and revegetation around the community. At the time traditional owners received little support in managing the grant from Mungoorbada Aboriginal Corporation based at Robertson River and no further funding was received, which led to the program becoming dormant.

In 2004 traditional owners again requested help to undertaken land management work on the land trust. The Northern Land Council (NLC) with Bushfires NT funded a land management planning meeting. The meeting was attended by senior traditional owners for the land trust who set out their long-term vision for Garawa people and their land and sea country. Their primary aim included returning the land trust to a an environmentally sustainably managed pastoral station, creating employment for people living on country and managing the biodiversity of the country. At this meeting traditional owners decided to re-establish a land management group (the Garawa Rangers) to work on caring for country projects on the land trust and eventually across all Garawa estates (NLC 2005).

At this meeting traditional owners were able to view satellite imagery of their country for the first time, which showed fire scars over a 10-year period. After viewing these maps it was evident to traditional owners that their country was being burnt too often with late hot season fires. Late season burning was being undertaken to aid mustering on the land trust. However, such repetitive use of late hot fires was damaging biodiversity. Many of the senior women at the meeting reported a decline in bush tucker, especially emu. The fires also destroy the fruit producing plants that emu feed on, making the habitat no longer suitable for emu.

In re-establishing the land management program Garawa traditional owners worked closely with the traditional owners of the Waanyi/Garawa ALT and the Northern Land Council's (NLC) Caring for Country Unit (CFCU) to secure an NHT land management grant administered by the NLC CFCU, for a period of two years. This funding was to pay for a land management coordinator, operational costs and 'top-up' of CDEP wages for fire management on the Garawa and Waanyi/Garawa ALTs. The land management coordinator position was won by a senior Garawa man, Mr Jack Green. A second NHT grant was secured in 2007. However, this grant was only for one year making it difficult to undertake longer-term planning for land management work on the Garawa ALT.

Recently, with the support of the NLC's CFCU, the Garawa Rangers were successful in receiving funding from the Department of Environment, Heritage, Water and the Arts' (DEHWA) Working on Country (WoC) Program. This will mean that four Garawa rangers will now be employed full time to work on land management on the Garawa ALT.

Despite the success of the WoC program funding the Garawa Rangers have limited funds to undertake broader cultural and natural resource management work across their country. It was envisaged that operational costs would come from the Healthy People Healthy Country Bilateral Schedule. However, five years after the signing of the HCHP schedule significant funds are yet to flow.