Across South Australia, traditional owners work to care for Country by looking after heritage sites, protecting threatened species and managing environmental threats like destructive wildfires, feral animals and invasive weeds.
The work of Indigenous land and sea management programs like Indigenous rangers are well-known for having huge social, economic and environmental benefits, particularly for remote and regional communities. They are successful because they are aligned strongly with Indigenous people’s cultural aspirations and obligations to look after Country.
Despite this, and unlike other states including Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory, South Australia does not fund Aboriginal ranger teams directly or have any program that solely supports Indigenous land and sea management.