Media release

From: Indigenous Desert Alliance

Australia enjoyed its best Olympic performance in Paris this year and now this week another team of talented Aussies are headed for the world stage in France – Indigenous desert rangers.

My community of Papunya, roughly 240 kilometres northwest of Alice Springs is a world away from the French town of Hyères on the Mediterranean coast where the 10^th World Ranger Congress is being held, but even so, our delegation of Indigenous desert rangers will be making the long journey as flagbearers of Australian cultural and environmental leadership.

Rangers and land guardians throughout the world go by many names with an array of responsibilities but all are united in caring for the health of our planet and all living things. Globally, rangers are a vital part of achieving internationally agreed plans to protect 30% of the land and oceans by 2030.

Here in Australia, Indigenous rangers are already making significant contributions to restoring habitat and achieving healthy ecosystems. We are following in the footsteps of our old people who have been looking after country for thousands of years. 90 million hectares, more than half of Australia’s national reserve system, is currently managed through Indigenous Protected Areas. Indigenous-led conservation is now being recognised globally as the best form of conservation because it is collaborative and Aboriginal people have always worked this way. Indigenous rangers are highly skilled and expert land managers, we hold both traditional and local knowledge and when we combine this with the latest and greatest in western science and technology, we strengthen our land management practice that benefits everyone.

As one of the last great environmentally and culturally connected landscapes on the planet, the Australian desert, one-third of the Australian continent, is globally important to the shared health of humanity. But right now, our desert home faces some big challenges. We are on the frontlines of climate change – the desert is getting hotter, drier and seasons are changing. Indigenous people globally have often been ignored or devalued as the global economy has developed, and now we are facing the first wave of impacts from the changed climate. It is a global responsibility to assist these communities in adapting to the extremes of climate and weather, our communities cannot do this alone.

When Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris was burning in 2019, almost $1 billion in donations was quickly raised. If only the world valued our desert home, the heart of Australia, in the same way and invested in our climate resilience with the same generosity. If only more Australians admired Indigenous rangers with the same enthusiasm as we did for our athletes at the Paris Olympics.

Here in the Australian desert, there are more than 70 threatened species including iconic Australian animals like the Bilby, Great Desert Skink, Central Rock Rat and Night Parrot. If we want to protect these animals for future generations then the only way to do this is by investing in people. The more we invest in Australia’s Indigenous ranger programs who are responsible for looking after these special creatures, the better chance these endangered animals have of survival. The Night Parrot was once thought extinct in Australia but news last week of a new Night Parrot population being re-discovered on Ngururrpa Indigenous Protect Area is a great example of what is possible when Indigenous rangers are leading the way.

Our Indigenous ranger story has lessons for people the world over. Care for your homelands, listen to your Elders, connect with Country and keep your cultural traditional knowledge strong. Our delegation of desert rangers will take this message to the World Ranger Congress. Global leaders must deal urgently with the enormous challenges of our time. This includes climate change, biodiversity loss and upholding the human rights of Indigenous communities the world over.

Australia’s Indigenous ranger programs are a national success story that all Australian’s can be proud of and grateful for. From my community in the Warumpi Honey Ant Hills of the Central Desert to the spinifex sandplains way out west on Ngurrara Country in the Great Sandy Desert, our delegation will take this ranger story for the world to hear. But we need every Aussie cheering back home, together we can achieve great things for the Australian desert and beyond.

Boyd Elston is an Anmatyere man from the Central desert. Boyd is Chairperson of the Indigenous Desert Alliance and a leader in the Regional Land Management team at the Central Land Council. He has previously coordinated the Aṉangu Luritjiku Rangers who are based out of his home community of Papunya and look after a large area of Country where the Gibson Desert meets the range Country of Central Australia.