sam rando: 'building capacity: aboriginal people and camel management'. reducing feral...
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To see Sam delivering this presentation, go to our Youtube channel here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSv-F0oCngsTRANSCRIPT
Reducing feral camel impacts across remote Australia:
Australian Feral Camel Management Project
21st November 2013, Parliament House Theatre, Canberra
Session Three: Achievements and Outcomes Speakers: Mark Lethbridge, Ecoknowledge Jayne Brim Box, Northern Territory Government Sam Rando, Central Land Council Karl Hampton, Ninti One Lyndee Severin, Curtin Springs Station Jan Ferguson, Ninti One
Building Capacity: Aboriginal People & Camel Management Sam Rando
• Statutory Authority under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976
• 417,318 km² is Aboriginal
Freehold Land
• For over 35 years the CLC has been assisting Traditional Owners to acquire & manage their land
Central Land Council
Camel Densities within the CLC Region
Before the Australian Feral Camel Management Project
• In 2009, CLC employed a Feral Animal Education Officer (camels) to work with Aboriginal people in Central Australia
• There was very little awareness of the environmental damage caused by camels
• Collisions causing car accidents including fatalities • Scared to go bush for fear of camels • Concerned about camels coming into community
Cultural Issues
• Feral animals were not viewed differently to native animals
• Culling / “shoot to waste” was not culturally acceptable
• Religious connections to camels (Bible story)
• Western scientific approach to land management
Building Capacity
Assisting Traditional Owners
to make informed decisions
about Camel Management on Aboriginal Land
Building skills amongst indigenous
ranger groups to perform camel management
on Aboriginal Land
Traditional Owner Consultation & Education • Country visits for Traditional Owners to see ‘first
hand’ the camel-related damage for themselves • Innumerable informal meetings with families and
individuals • Use of education tools • More than 30 community meetings held
Changes in Attitudes • Feral camels – from benign
animal to pest animal
• Traditional Owners granted consent for camel management across the vast majority of Aboriginal Freehold Land.
• Most of those consents included a full range of camel management activities
Camel Management Activities Aerial Culling Ground-Based Culling Commercial Harvest Watering Points Mustering / Trapping Water Monitoring
Aerial Culling • Cull maps produced for individual Aboriginal Land
Trusts • These incorporated “No shoot” areas to comply with
the wishes of Traditional owners and protect environmentally and culturally significant areas
Since start of the AFCMP
• 23 culls completed on Aboriginal Land
• 63,782 camels culled
on Aboriginal Land
Ground Based Shooting
Firearms Training • To enable rangers to participate in ground based
culling • 17 rangers trained • Skills applied in camel control, hunting, horse /
cattle musters – wounded stock
Ground-Based Culling • Local control activity - Low numbers • Participation by aboriginal people
Butchery
Commercial Harvest
• 15 companies approached CLC with commercial harvest proposals
• Only 4 commercial operators reached the contract stage – none proceeded to harvest
Watering Points • Installation of ‘low flow’ solar pumps,
tanks and troughs on existing bores • Installed at targeted sites to relieve
pressure from camels on - Communities - Outstations - Natural waters • Water points have increased CLC
mustering / trapping capability
Mustering / Trapping
• Future local enterprises for aboriginal people
• To learn about costs, efforts & risks
• To reduce camel numbers in “no cull” areas
‘CLC Camel Muster’ (April 2012)
To see this film of mustering, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSv-F0oCngs, from 11:40 to 14:07
• 5 musters completed by rangers • 697 camels sold (Peterborough &
Caboolture) • Rangers gained camel handling skills
and mustering experience • Engaged indigenous mentor
Water Monitoring
• Water monitoring booklet developed
• Rangers were trained in water monitoring techniques
• Rangers have had an ongoing role with water monitoring
Docker River Camel Incursion January 2013
• 1500 camels congregating in the community of Docker River during the heat of summer 2013.
• Damage to fire hydrants,
taps, pipes due to camels seeking water
• Dead camels in the
community
CLC Response • Rangers and camel project
staff water trapped camels • Healthy animals trucked
away / unhealthy animals put down
• Eased pressure from camels on the community
The AFCMP has assisted in… • Changing Traditional Owners’ perceptions and
attitudes towards camel management • Gaining Traditional Owner consent for camel
management activities • Building the capacity of indigenous ranger groups to
continue camel management • Removing 63,782 camels from Aboriginal Land • Protecting cultural and environmental assets by
reducing the feral camel population • Improving safety on roads and in communities
• In NT, camel management now just a standard part of looking after country
• Widespread Traditional Owner support • Without ongoing funding camel numbers will
quickly increase
• Journey has begun – still a long way to go
Looking forward…
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