The Federal Government is highlighting the importance of indigenous fire and land management practices with the opening of a $2 million grants round to strengthen and share traditional knowledge and practices. Source: Timberbiz
As part of the Government’s $200 million Wildlife and Bushfire Habitat Recovery fund, indigenous organisations and traditional owner groups can now apply for grant funding to run workshops, build understanding and share knowledge of indigenous fire and land management practices.
This includes the use of indigenous burning techniques which can mitigate fire risk, reduce fuel loads, control weeds, promote growth in native pastures, strengthen biodiversity outcomes and provide environmental and cultural benefits.
Grants from $20,000 to $200,000 are available for indigenous-led workshops that strengthen knowledge within Indigenous communities and collaboration with public and private land managers.
Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management, David Littleproud, said indigenous fire management had an important role to play in bushfire prevention strategies as the Morrison Government invests more than $2 billion in helping communities, businesses and the environment recover from the devastation caused last summer.
“We are investing in protecting communities and the environment in the face of future challenges and this program underlines the breadth of the strategies we are building and will continue to implement,” he said.
“We want to help empower traditional owners to strengthen and share their knowledge within their communities and build capacity to undertake Indigenous fire and land management across Australia.”
Environment Minister Susan Ley said that there was an increasing recognition of the value traditional knowledge and practices in environmental and bushfire management.
“We want to help traditional owners share that knowledge within their communities and more broadly,” she said.
Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt said that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians had managed the land over tens of thousands of years, and it was more important than ever to learn from their knowledge and practices.
“Traditional culture has a vital role to play alongside modern science and methods,” Mr Wyatt said.
“These workshops will help build and share that knowledge base in ways that will promote greater cultural understanding and better outcomes in managing fuel loads and the environment in general.”
The grants are only open to traditional owner groups, Indigenous organisations and Indigenous enterprises.
Applications are now open and close on 10 December 2020. Grant guidelines and a sample application are available at business.gov.au/IFLM
