Western Science and
Indigenous Knowledge...
A good team
The Kimberley has a long history of indigenous custodianship. Aboriginal people have lived intertwined with the land for tens of thousands of years; culture is strong and traditional practices thrive 'on country' today. Across the Kimberley, Traditional Owners manage their ancestral homelands according to the ideology, responsibilities and traditions of their unique cultural groups. Collectively, these cultural groups and their associated ranger teams form an extensive land management network throughout the Kimberley.
Embedded within local land management practices are skills, knowledge and perspective that only local Traditional Owners possess. The combination of western science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge and practice is, therefore, a formidable team in ecological research and this union has been pivotal to the success of this strategy to date.
For many indigenous groups in the Kimberley, the Cane toad invasion will impact traditional practices by removing culturally important species from the landscape (eg. goannas). The Cane Toad Coalition engages with, works alongside and is directed by Traditional Owners and cultural groups to mitigate Cane toad impacts on the ground.
Indigenous Rangers - protecting nature, transforming lives
All around the country indigenous rangers are working to conserve the natural environment for future generations. It is important that funding and programs support this work to continue.
Country Needs People is an initiative dedicated to showcasing indigenous ranger programs all over the country, and lobbying for more funding to support them. These programs are hugely beneficial, socially, environmentally, scientifically.
Indigenous ranger groups throughout the Kimberley are on the frontline with The Cane Toad Coalition.
VIDEO: Promotional video for Indigenous Ranger programs across Australia
(Source: Country Needs People)
Indigenous perspective on Cane toads
Indigenous groups across northern Australia are particularly concerned about the impact Cane toads have on culturally important species. Because of their connection to, and knowledge of ecology on country, Indigenous Traditional Owners are the key to a successful Cane Toad mitigation strategy.
The Kimberley Indigenous Ranger Network
The Ranger network does amazing things all across the Kimberley - click the link below to find out more about the ranger groups, where they are located and what they do.
