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Project documents

Collecting plants in the Warddeken IPA

'Collecting plants in the Warddeken IPA' by Mary Kalkiwarra, Seraine Namundja, Victor Garlngarr, Barbara Gurawalwal, Carissa Gurawalwal, Serena Namarnyilk, Jenny Nadjamerrek, Driscilla, Simone, Emilie Ens, Gill Towler, and Georgia Vallance. Field Report, February 2010.

"We have been collecting plants in the Warddeken IPA to document what plants are at different places at different times of the year.... We also want to write down the Balanda and Bininj names for the plants and whether they can be be used for bush tucker or other purposes e.g. bush medicines."

Communiqué to the Prime Minister on Homelands/Outstations

On 27 and 28 October 2009 the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) and the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR) hosted a forum on homelands/outstations and similar small remote Aboriginal communities across Australia. This national forum brought together experts from peak Aboriginal organisations and homeland resource agencies, along with leading education and medical researchers and social scientists. At the conclusion of the Forum, a Communiqué on homelands and outstations policy was drafted to present to to The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd.

ASSA and CAEPR undertook this task in response to policy currently being implemented by government which:

  • Is not informed by available evidence from research
  • Is not based on the aspirations of residents of homelands/outstations
  • Will not deliver substantive equality 
  • Has the potential to widen the gap in life expectancy, and
  • Is not consistent with Australia's international obligations.

The forum calls on Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to:

  • Recognise the cultural, environmental and strategic importance of nearly 1,000 homelands/outstations located on the Aboriginal estate, including along the northern coastline
  • Recognise the unique significance of homelands/outstations for Aboriginal livelihoods, health, education and well-being and in the provision of environmental services
  • Recognise the importance of homelands/outstations for linguistic diversity and Indigenous Knowledge 
  • Call a moratorium on COAG and other government processes, like the reform of CDEP, that are undermining the positive contributions made by homelands/outstations to Closing the Gap
  • Assess the compatibility of current policy on homelands/outstations with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which your government endorsed earlier this year, and
  • Refer the issue of homelands/outstations to a parliamentary inquiry such as the Senate Select Committee on Regional and Remote Indigenous Communities.

The Communique is available below as a PDF document.

Cybertracker Sequence Development Guide

'Cybertracker® sequence development guide for the Yirralka Rangers' by Emile Ens.

Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation Annual Report 2010-11

Annual Report from Dhimurru detailing the Corporation's activities in Managing Country in 2010, including the multiple-award winning Bawa'mirri Galkal (Yellow Crazy Ant) Management Program.

Djelk Rangers Annual Report 2009-2010

2009-2010 Annual Report from the Djelk Rangers, covering organisation and staff, partners and collaborators, the Djelk Indigenous Protected Area, land management, carbon abatement, future directions and other aspects of the organisation's activities.

Feral Animals and Billabong Health

Freshwater billabong monitoring and protection from feral animals by Emilie Ens. This field report details a project by Yugul Mangi Land and Sea Rangers to fence off areas of three billabongs around Ngukurr in order to protect these areas from feral animal damage, and to demonstrate the damage that feral animals have on country by comparing the health of fenced off areas to non-fenced areas.
[15 pages]

Garawa Rangers Partner Summary

A detailed description of the Garawa rangers and their activities.

How to make and use a Womens Land Use CyberTracker sequence

'How to make and use a Womens Land Use CyberTracker sequence'

CyberTracker skill sharing workshop
Run by Emilie Ens (CAEPR, ANU) and the Manwurrk Rangers
Indigenous Women’s Land and Sea Management Forum, 1-3 June 2010, Ross River, Northern Territory, Australia

Dr. Emilie Ens and the Manwurrk Rangers are research partners in the People on Country Project. The People on Country Project is run through the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research at The Australian National University and funded by the Sidney Myer Foundation. The Manwurrk Rangers are employed through Warddeken Land Management Limited, an Aboriginal land management Corporation based in a remote outstation, Kabulwarnamyo, on the West Arnhem Land Plateau, Northern Territory, Australia.

This manual was developed for a CyberTracker Skill sharing workshop run by Emilie Ens and the female Manwurrk Rangers (Seraine Namundja, Barbara Gurwalwal, Carol Pamkal, Jenny Nadjamerrek and Georgia Vallance) at the Indigenous Women’s Land and Sea Management Forum, held at Ross River, Northern Territory, June 1-3, 2010. It was intended as a beginners User Guide to sequence development for Indigenous Australians.

Indigenous Freshwater Rights Topic Guide

Now updated, the Indigenous Freshwater Rights Topic Guide by Hannah Bulloch. A resource on Indigenous interests in freshwater in Australia, providing an introductory guide to relevant literature, and dealing with issues including inland waters, groundwater, water in rivers and billabongs and water-dependent terrestrial ecosystems.
[21 pages, 2.5 Meg PDF file]

Indigenous Interests in land and water

People on Country project staff have contributed to a chapter entitled 'Indigenous interests in land and water', available in the recently released Northern Australia Land and Water Science Review.

The Northern Australia Land and Water Taskforce was set up in June 2007 to establish a better understanding of opportunities for new sustainable economic development of the north, based on water resource availability. Key priorities were to report on the potential impact of new developments on water balance and quality, the environment, existing water users and the broader community.

The chapter written by CAEPR staff focused on the need for greater clarity of water rights in northern Australia to improve Indigenous people's access to water and commercial opportunities. It also highlighted the need for better drinking water supplies for remote Indigenous communities and the importance of including the needs and aspirations of Indigenous people in future developments in northern Australia. Of the ten recommendations that were put forward to the Prime Minister based on the Science Review, three were influenced by the research in this chapter.

The 'Indigenous interests in land and water' chapter is available for download.

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Updated:  4 December 2017/Responsible Officer:  Centre Director/Page Contact:  CASS Marketing & Communications