It's the sixth round of the grant program which provides support to Aboriginal ranger groups and land and sea managers, helping them undertake land and sea management, conservation and cultural maintenance projects.
The Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security and the Aboriginal Land Management Advisory Group have assessed all applications for both the Land and Sea Management Fund and the Ichthys LNG's Coastal Management Offset grants.
More than $1.6 million has been awarded, to various ranger groups with projects across the Northern Territory.
These include Tiwi Resources effective weed management on the Tiwi Islands, the Northern Land Council Bulgul Rangers Feral Pig Management activities, and the Crocodile Island Rangers biodiversity surveys of the Crocodile Islands.
The Northern Territory Government continues to work in partnership with the Ichthys LNG Coastal Offset Strategy program, which focusses on the conservation management of dugongs, cetaceans and threatened marine matters of national environmental significance in the Top End.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Parks and Wildlife, Nicole Manison:
"Our Aboriginal rangers play an important role in protecting our wild life, marine animals as well as our land and sea, for generations to come.
I'm proud of the incredible job the Aboriginal rangers do right across the Territory.
This program has already increased employment opportunities on country and built strong Aboriginal leadership and organisational governance, and these grants will see these opportunities and jobs grow."
Quotes attributable to Stuart Knowles, INPEX General Manager NT:
"For the past two years, our INPEX team has collaborated with the NT Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security in relation to the Aboriginal Ranger Grants Program which has proven to be an excellent framework to deliver the Ichthys Joint Venture's coastal management offset program.
We are very proud to support this $24 million initiative for conservation management of turtles, dugongs, cetaceans and matters of environmental significance in the Top End.
This program funding is part of a much bigger voluntary commitment by Ichthys LNG which includes $91 million of environmental and social offsets over the anticipated 40-year life span of our energy development.
Not only does this program deliver environmental benefits, it also provides opportunities for Aboriginal rangers to work on Country, supporting broader social and economic outcomes for Territorians."
Northern Territory Government
