Indigenous-led feral animal management in northern Australia

Overview

Aboriginal people have legal rights and interests in the management of 52% of Australia and over 80% of the conservation estate. Northern Australia is vast and remote with limited access. Among the primary threats to its biodiversity, biosecurity, and cultural values are feral animals. There is currently no coordinated approach to feral animal management in northern Australia. State, territory and federal governments have identified the importance of regional coordination in managing feral animal impacts. Given the dominance of Indigenous interests in northern Australia, the Indigenous land and sea management sector should be a significant stakeholder in the development and delivery of regional feral animal management models. To date, there has not been an effective mechanism to support participation and leadership from Indigenous organisations in regional planning for feral animal management. To effectively support leadership in feral animal management by Indigenous organisations in Northern Australia’s land and sea management sector, it’s important to understand cultural obligations, organisational structures, local capacity, legal rights and interests and environmental constraints that shape their operational contexts.

In this project, we worked with Indigenous land and sea management organisations across northern Australia to provide a high-level conceptual understanding of Indigenous-led feral animal management. We used three case studies (one in the Northern Territory and two in northern Queensland) to describe the critical elements required for effective management. This included decision-making in the context of cultural requirements and social contexts, as well as capability, infrastructure and funding gaps. In addition, we conducted an online survey with northern Australia Indigenous land and sea managers that included higher-level questions on capability, resourcing and training.