Brochure - Karrkad
Transcription
Brochure - Karrkad
Good for country, good for people, good for culture www.kkt.org.au { t} { t} { i} “garr {gut i}gun jee” Pronunciation Karrkad-Kanjdji describes the interconnectedness of the Warddeken and Djelk Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) in West Arnhem Land, like a river with its source in the highlands, connecting all the country as it runs to the sea and brings fresh water to mix with salt. “People living on country will look after country, and we will know the West Arnhem Land songs and the songs will be sung. There will be lots of good animals living on our country. We will talk to the ancestors and our knowledge will be shared between the young and the old.” Djelk ipa 6,732 km2 DARWIN kakadu national park warddeken ipa 13,950 km2 australia Community vision expressed in a country management workshop our country p.6 • Conservation • Reduced threats from wildfire and introduced species • Finer detail land management • Protection of threatened plants, animals and communities • Traditional knowledge and science working together our people p.8 our culture P.10 • Protecting rock art and cultural sites • Maintaining language and traditional knowledge • Allowing traditional environmental knowledge to direct project priorities • Collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians 4 • Career pathways • Prosperity • Health and well-being • Leadership • Enterprise and business • Capacity building Natural and cultural resource management in West Arnhem Land is a success story in Indigenous Australia. More than 3,000 people live on their lands here – one of Australia’s most important and intact environments nurtured by 50,000 years of Indigenous management. Today, natural and cultural resource management work enables people to continue this legacy. The landscape is managed by the people who know it best and there is meaningful employment in remote communities where there are few other options. When local elders wanted to secure this work for their children and grandchildren they joined with non-Indigenous experts to create the Karrkad-Kanjdji Trust. Together they followed the conservation trust fund model used in more than 50 countries worldwide to provide sustainable finance for conservation, community well-being and economic development. The Karrkad-Kanjdji Trust provides a secure underpinning for natural and cultural resource management work. It significantly increases available resources and allows Traditional Owners to lead project priorities, many of which are multi-generational and landscape scale. And, it delivers outcomes in the national interest: • Finer detail management for a landscape of global conservation significance • Increased local employment for Indigenous people, leading to improved prosperity, health and well-being • Greater financial independence from the public sector We invite you to join this world class initiative. 5 Our country The Karrkad-Kanjdji Trust will increase resources for the management of this landscape and the rich biodiversity it supports. Some projects being discussed locally include: •Close monitoring of native animals in high priority places for 5 years. Cost estimate approximately $25,000 per year. •Addressing the impact of feral cats in priority areas over the long term. Cost estimate approximately $30,000 per year. Every $1 million in the Karrkad-Kanjdji Trust delivers $30,000 – $50,000 annually for projects like these. 6 An international conservation treasure. The Karrkad-Kanjdji Trust is dedicated to the Warddeken and Djelk Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) in West Arnhem Land - 2 million hectares located alongside Kakadu National Park. The land on which the Warddeken and Djelk IPAs are situated is of global conservation significance – extending from the sandstone gorges of the Arnhem Land Plateau through monsoon forests to tropical savannas and woodlands and across seasonal floodplains to mangrove fringed rivers, coasts, reefs and islands. This vast landscape supports enormous biodiversity because it is connected, intact and effectively managed. It is home to dozens of threatened plants, animals and communities: • sandstone heathlands and anbinik (Allosyncarpia ternata) rainforests • the black wallaroo, northern quoll and Arnhem Land rock rat • sawfish, dugong and marine turtles • Leichhardt’s grasshopper, the Oenpelli python and one of the world’s richest diversities of reptiles • the whitethroated grasswren The sandstone plateau of West Arnhem Land is a major centre of endemism in Australia: • Approximately 200 plant, 20 vertebrate and very many invertebrate species are restricted to it • Many of these are of remarkably old lineages the warddeken and djelk rangers are highly respected locally and known internationally for their outstanding land management work. They focus on prescribed burning, introduced species control, weed management, biodiversity monitoring and cultural site protection. They use traditional principles and methods where appropriate, while recognising that some issues require science and technology to solve — the result is a “two toolbox” approach and a unique and robust management partnership between ‘Bininj’ (Indigenous people) and ‘Balanda’ (non-Indigenous people). 7 Our people The Karrkad-Kanjdji Trust will strengthen communities in West Arnhem Land. Some local priorities under discussion include: •Increasing jobs so that people can find productive work where they live on their country. Annual salary for a part-time ranger $35,000. •Building enterprise opportunities that will increase employment and prosperity in this remote area, such as encouraging women to develop crocodile enterprises in the skin and art markets. Costs variable. Every $1 million in the Karrkad-Kanjdji Trust delivers $30,000 – $50,000 annually for projects like these. 8 “This work is action.” There are many benefits associated with a working life on the country to which people have strong attachment. In remote regions like West Arnhem Land where there are few employment opportunities, natural and cultural resource management work and innovative enterprises provide jobs and reduce dependence on social security. Improved health, higher self-esteem, greater social cohesion, staying in touch with an ancestral past and seeing a brighter future for children are just some of the benefits associated with natural and cultural resource management work. Related education and training opportunities increase capacity across a number of areas. Rangers are role models for children, and schools use natural science to encourage attendance and teach literacy and numeracy. Local enterprises already contribute 20% of natural and cultural resource management costs. For example, Warddeken and Djelk rangers developed and implemented a methodology for abating greenhouse gases through an adaptation of customary fire management that uses modern technology combined with ancient knowledge. The West Arnhem Land Fire Abatement (WALFA) Project has led the way for savanna burning projects across Australia. The WALFA partners were awarded a Eureka Prize in 2007 for innovative approaches to climate solutions and a Banksia award in 2011. In its first five years WALFA achieved 140% of abatement targets. 9 Our culture The Karrkad-Kanjdji Trust will help maintain rock art, cultural sites, language and traditional knowledge and will support project approaches to which cultural heritage contributes vitally. Some local priorities include: •Fine scale burning over 10 years to protect the thousands of painted images in caves and rock shelters in priority areas from wild fires. Cost estimate approximately $40,000 per year. •A 10-year program for a community to teach and record the deep and irreplaceable traditional knowledge that is being lost at an alarming rate with the passing of elders. Cost estimate approximately $20,000 per year. Every $1 million in the Karrkad-Kanjdji Trust delivers $30,000 – $50,000 annually for projects like these. “We want our children to work with Bininj (Indigenous) and western 10 knowledge, build them up strong and proud of their culture.” This is a living culture of immense significance. The Warddeken and Djelk IPAs are home to more than 100 clans and an extensive linguistic diversity. Twelve Indigenous languages, each with a number of dialects, remain in everyday use. Ceremonies celebrating a sentient landscape in which ancestral spirits and creative beings remain strong elements are part of cultural life while, at the same time, culture is organic and responds to change and people engage with the modern economy and broader Australian culture. The music, dance and visual arts from the region are appreciated locally, nationally and internationally. The work of rangers includes caring for important cultural sites and Indigenous custom guides their management practice on a daily basis. Ensuring that customary land management knowledge continues to be used and is passed from generation to generation is at the heart of their work. the Warddeken and Djelk ipas contain an extraordinary number of rock art galleries, rivalling in number, antiquity and beauty any other area in the world. This stunning visual record of human presence in the landscape, changing climates and the rise and fall of sea levels extends from 50,000 years ago to the present. The presence of the creation being the rainbow serpent through this entire period is testament to the oldest continuing spiritual tradition in the world. Amongst the most fragile imagery are impressions of early contacts between Indigenous people and explorers. Locating, documenting and caring for the many thousands of rock art sites is an important part of the work of the Warddeken and Djelk Rangers. 11 vision Current and future generations of Bininj (Indigenous people) and Balanda (non-Indigenous people) will continue to find inspiration in the environment, culture and community of West Arnhem Land. mission Create a sustainable finance mechanism that supports Indigenous communities to protect and manage the natural and cultural environment of West Arnhem Land. values Collaboration, transparency and accountability. 12 The Karrkad-Kanjdji Trust has been formed by Bininj and Balanda to secure natural and cultural resource management in West Arnhem Land. It will ensure • Financial stability • Increased independence • Funding for long-term projects • Support for enterprise and new revenue streams • Leverage to encourage co-financing • Sophisticated project management • Response to changing needs and emergencies The Karrkad-Kanjdji Trust is building an intial $10 million corpus, with a long term goal of $30 million, to generate consistent annual returns. It will be selfsustaining within 15 years. Annual funds for the management of the Warddeken and Djelk IPAs Current Including the Karrkad-Kanjdji Trust Approximately $4 million Approximately $6 million Karrkad-Kanjdji Trust Government Government Local Enterprise Local Enterprise Karrkad-Kanjdji Trust Government Government Local Enterprise Local Enterprise There are approximately 55 conservation trust funds operating internationally. Many provide security for some of the world’s poorest people who manage some of its highest value landscapes. Assuming 5-7% investment return with 2% reinvested each year to maintain the real value of the Trust. 13 board The Karrkad-Kanjdji Trust operates independently from locally based Indigenous organisations. It is led by Indigenous and non-Indigenous Directors, including experts in natural and cultural resource management, finance and economic development. The Directors maintain a strong focus on succession planning and they are supported by advisory committees with special expertise in ecological knowledge and finance 14 and investments. Guy Fitzhardinge AM (Chair) has extensive land management, business and philanthropic experience. In addition to managing his pastoral enterprise, he is a governor of WWF Australia and a director of the Northern Australia Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance. He has previously been a director of Bush Heritage Australia, Meat and Livestock Australia, the Meat Research Corporation and Chairman of the Beef Genetics Cooperative Research Centre. Jessie Alderson has strong connections to lands within the Warddeken Indigenous Protected Area and brings a wealth of land management experience to the Board. She is a member of the Kakadu National Park Board of Management and has also served as a director of the Gagudju Association. Jon Altman is a global leader among scholars looking to explore alternate futures for Indigenous Australians linking conservation economies with poverty alleviation. He was foundation director (1990-2010) of the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR) at the Australian National University where he is a research professor in economics/anthropology. Victor Rostron is a senior Djelk Ranger with an extraordinary range of Indigenous and scientific land management knowledge and experience. He is a traditional owner of country within the Djelk Indigenous Protected Area. Robert Hill AC is well known nationally and internationally, having been a member of the Australian Senate for almost 25 years, Leader of the Government in the Senate, Minister for the Environment, Minister for Defence and Australia’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations. He is Chancellor of the University of Adelaide. Joe Morrison is the Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Australia Indigenous Land and Sea Alliance and has worked with Indigenous communities to develop local action to care for their country across northern Australia for more than 15 years. Robyn Clubb is a Chartered Accountant and a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australia. She has extensive merchant banking and finance experience having held senior executive roles with Hambros Australia, Prudential Group, Citibank Australia Limited and AMP Group, both in Australia and in the UK, China and New Zealand. Rosemary Nabulwad is a traditional owner of country within the Warddeken Indigenous Protected Area and she has been a director of Warddeken Land Management Limited and other local community organisations. Matthew Ryan is a traditional owner from the Djelk Indigenous Protected Area. He has served on the Northern Land Council, as a Councillor of West Arnhem Shire, as chairman of the Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation and as a representative of the Parks and Wildlife Advisory Council. “Working with our Balanda friends will help us continue in our Bininj way.” 15 we welcome your collaboration The Karrkad-Kanjdji Trust encourages gifts of cash and securities, bequests, matching gift challenges and gifts in kind. Gifts are fully tax deductible as prescribed by the Australian Taxation Office. 16 The Karrkad-Kanjdji Trust fosters collaborative, long-term relationships with supporters, and Traditional Owners enjoy inviting special guests to visit the Warddeken and Djelk IPAs. The Karrkad-Kanjdji Trust provides newsletters and annual The Nature Conservancy and The Pew Environment Group have provided the foundational support to allow the Karrkad-Kanjdji Trust to begin its work. your Gift to the Karrkad-Kanjdji Trust will • leave a legacy • remain intact • generate many times its initial value • provide ongoing support for West Arnhem Land your Gift may be directed to one of 4 sub-funds: 1. Country – Caring for the rich biodiversity of West Arnhem Land 2. People - Supporting capacity, employment, enterprise and healthy lifestyles 3. Culture - Maintaining rock art, cultural sites, language and traditional knowledge • work holistically with the gifts of others 4. Unrestricted - Resourcing the areas of greatest need • be invested prudently and managed with a high duty of care Named funds for particular purposes are considered in conjunction with exceptional gifts. Gifts in support of karrkad-kanjdji operations will reports and is pleased to recognise • enable the Karrkad-Kanjdji Trust to continue towards its $30 million target the generosity of supporters in • meet immediate operational needs, including governance support, communications and staffing communications and at events. • deliver a very high return on investment • be necessary only during the establishment phase 17 Stuart Cowell Chief Executive Officer 0427 508 308 [email protected] Images © Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation, Sam Bently, David Hancock Photography Darwin, National Geographic, and Warddeken Land Management Ltd. Quotations from Warddeken and Djelk Rangers taken from: Altman, J. and S. Kerens (2012) People on Country Vital Landscapes Indigenous Futures, Federation Press, Leichhardt; Warddeken Land Management Ltd (2012) Dolkebulhbulh (Ngulkwardde) & Nabelan (Kordwalewale) Draft Healthy Country Plan 2012-2013, Warddeken Land Management Ltd, Kabulwarnamyo; Warddeken Land Management Ltd (2010) Warddeken Land Management Limited Annual Report 2009-2010, Warddeken Land Management Ltd, Kabulwarnamyo; personal communications. Sophie Davidson Director of Development 0488 425 325 [email protected] [email protected] PO Box 420 Lenah Valley, Tasmania, Australia 7008 www.kkt.org.au