The Aboriginal Ranger Grants Program will receive an additional $24 million in sponsorship from INPEX as part of a new agreement between the Territory Labor Government and the company.
The funding, which will be delivered over two decades, has been made possible through the company’s Coastal Offsets Strategy.
The newly amended Coastal Offsets Program will help Aboriginal Rangers and sea managers deliver a program for the conservation management of dugongs, cetaceans and threatened marine matters of national environmental significance in the Top End.
As a start, $7.25 million has been committed over the next four years, with latter annual funding determined by project outcomes.
The grants program continues to support around 1,000 Rangers from 47 Ranger groups deliver land and sea management and conservation outcomes on Aboriginal land and ensures ongoing access to resources to protect our pristine environments and wildlife.
Under the program, two types of grants are available through a competitive, merit-based system. These include:
- Capital funding – which has helped Rangers purchase vehicles and trailers, boats, fire and weed spray units, heavy equipment, information technology and communication systems and infrastructure.
- Conservation Land Management funding – which has provided Rangers with assistance for activities including feral animal management, fire and weed management, protection of threatened and ‘iconic’ species, cultural management, and training and skills development.
Last month, the Territory Labor Government delivered on its election commitment of investing almost $12 million in the program over the next four years.
An independent review of the grants program outcomes by Ninti One found that the Territory grants program “has made a considerable and profound contribution to land management across the Northern Territory”.
The next round of grants will open on 24 July, and close on 20 August.
