Country Needs People

Country Needs People

Country Needs People

Protecting country and culture through Indigenous land management

TOTAL GRANTED

$170,000

Safeguarding our Environment

Impact AreaSafeguarding our Environment

Year First Supported 2017

 Country Needs People Organisation Country Needs People

The Country Needs People campaign is a growing group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians calling on decision-makers to: (1) double the number of Indigenous rangers; (2) create a fund for ranger training, capacity building, networking and capital costs; (3) double the funding for the Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) program; and (4) ensure equal employment opportunities for women rangers by 2030.

Protecting country and culture through Indigenous land management

The Country Needs People (CNP) campaign is a growing group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians calling on decision-makers to:

  1. Double the number of Indigenous rangers.
  2. Create a fund for ranger training, capacity building, networking and capital costs.
  3. Double the funding for the Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) program. 
  4. Ensure equal employment opportunities for women rangers by 2030. 

CNIP is a growing alliance of over 41 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land and sea management organisations, Country Needs People Ltd and over 100,000 Australians.

Issue

Traditional land management practices on Country reinforce communities’ connection to land and culture, contribute to individual and community wellbeing, provide a source of employment, and promote landscape health and sustainability. While Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) were introduced nearly 25 years ago, the lack of a coherent policy or funding framework meant communities long struggled to secure enough long-term funding to support land and sea management. 

Response

CNP has worked to build cross-partisan support to maintain and increase funding for Indigenous land and sea management. Furthermore, CNP has undertaken research to demonstrate the environmental and community benefit associated with traditional land management, and supported communities to apply for the protection of traditional lands under IPAs.

Progress update

UPDATED MARCH 2022
  • Over $800 million in government funding secured to support 80 Indigenous ranger groups, including a commitment from the Federal Government of $102 million indexed annually between 2021 and 2028, and commitments from state governments in Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
  • Model being adapted internationally: The Land Needs Guardians movement in Canada is pursuing the same recognition of the benefits of traditional land management for both Country and people.

What the Impact Fund’s support means

“Impact Funders have helped us grow from a campaign to an independent organisation, delivering significant dividends for our environment and Indigenous wellbeing.” – Patrick O’Leary, Executive Director, CNP

Read case study in Making Change Together: Five years of the Impact Fund

Grants

  • 2017 Large Grants round: $170,000 for core funding (over three years)

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Contact Us
Level 6, 126 Wellington Parade, East Melbourne VIC 3002

We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we live, learn and work. We pay our respects to Elders past and present.

Australian Communities Foundation is a proudly inclusive organisation and an ally of LGBTQIA+ communities and the movement toward equality.