Image: Ronderson Tommy, Jarrah Sinnamon, Anzac Frank, Brayden Collins
Kowanyama Rangers and Councillors travelled to Darwin, Larrakia country, recently to represent at this year’s Savanna Fire Forum.
The Forum is presented by the Indigenous Carbon Industry Network (ICIN). This is the third year that Kowanyama people have attended the Forum, and it was the best year ever.
Over 500 Rangers, scientists, fire experts, politicians, and business people came together from Australia and internationally for three days to talk about carbon, culture, and country.
Indigenous people have the right to be involved in carbon projects across nearly 70% of Australia, and it is ICIN’s mission to ensure that there are plenty of opportunities for Indigenous leadership in this fast-developing industry.
Mayor Territa Dick was selected to MC the first Ranger Report-back session. “I am really excited about carbon: this is a sector we can really benefit from, and we can get paid to fix up our land at the same time.”
The Mayor introduced six Ranger groups from across the country, saving the Kowanyama Rangers for the final session. Acting Senior Ranger Ronderson Tommy introduced the 2024 Annual Review of Oriners-Sefton Carbon project. This was followed by presentations from Rangers Jarrah Sinnamon, Anzac Frank, and Brayden Collins. The Mayor said that our Rangers did a great job on stage and she was very proud of their work.
“The Oriners-Sefton Carbon project is managed by Council and it benefits everyone in Kowanyama and the TOs for that country. This is a really good project and I’m very happy that we are earning income that provides community amenity and services that we couldn’t afford otherwise.”
Deputy Mayor Teddy Bernard is a Director of the ICIN, so he has a front-row seat to how the industry is developing. He cautions: “There are no guarantees when it comes to carbon. Some years we do really well, and some years we lose a lot of carbon credits. It all depends on how we manage fire. Council has to be very conservative.”
Jarrah and Anzac said they were very impressed with how other groups had so much experience on country. Anzac says: “We saw these other Ranger groups spending a lot of time on their land, and bringing TOs and family out there too. This is how we want to see people at Oriners-Sefton. We want to see people finding their culture again.”
Ronderson and Brayden were blown away by the technology on display. Ronderson notes: “The online fire maps are really good and there’s a new version of NAFI coming out (North Australia Fire Information). We also saw the latest generation of fire-lighting drones being used. We think there’s a future for these drones as our Ranger team starts to take over more of the aerial burning work. It’s really exciting!”
The trip wasn’t all work. The team enjoyed a visit to the Wharf one night and they let Cr Bernard “show them how it’s done” at the seafood buffet!
Special praise was given to the Mayor for her contribution of energy on-stage. Both her and Deputy Mayor have been invited back next year to facilitate panel sessions. And our Kowanyama Rangers are planning an even better presentation (and video) to showcase our success at Oriners-Sefton. Stay tuned!
Image: Anzac Frank, Deputy Mayor, Selena Uibo, Leader of the Opposition, Northern Territory Government of Australia, Jarrah Sinnamon, Ronderson Tommy, Brayden Collins
Image: Deputy Mayor, ICIN Co-Chair Cissy Gore-Burke and Hon Joshua WIlson, Asst Minister for Climate Change and Energy