Indigenous rangers share environmental knowledge

Indigenous rangers in the Torres Straits have been sharing their expertise with colleagues in the Solomon Islands.

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Rangers from the Torres Strait are visiting their neighbours in the Solomon Islands to share conservation techniques.

"The knowledge exchange we have with techniques, methods, projects, how we can do the projects better" is an invaluable commodity for both parties, says Ranger Don Whap.

According to the Torres Strait rangers, their Arnavon counterparts are especially dedicated to their job, staying away from their families for a month while they protect the local ecosystem.

"They have not much technology they don't have the better boats that our rangers have... but the men take to their work because they know they're doing a benefit to their country, to their land and seas," Ranger Joseph Elu told NITV.

"They really want to protect the area they've been given to protect".

And while the neighbours have much to learn from each other, the rangers are also united in their fight against environmental threats like climate change.

"We've got all the same problems, the global warming, tidal rises, and that's going to effect us all. But it's the way that people react to it - that's going to be what I want to see," says Elu.

The Australian government has announced it's investing $320 million over five yearsfor coastal protection, which will see nearly 700 Indigenous rangers employed nationwide.



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Published 29 April 2013 5:32pm
Updated 26 August 2013 10:48am
By Jeremy Geia
Source: SBS

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