What is Working on Country and is funding available in the 2010-11 business plan?
Working on Country is the element of Caring for our Country that provides Indigenous people with jobs to do environmental work and care for country. The Australian Government has committed $90 million in Caring for our Country funds over five years to employ and train up to 300 Indigenous rangers to manage and conserve the natural and cultural features of Indigenous lands and waters, including Indigenous Protected Areas. Indigenous rangers are involved in a range of environmental activities across Australia such as fire management, threatened species survey and management, weed and feral animal control, water quality monitoring, transfer of traditional ecological knowledge and cultural heritage management. No funding for new Working on Country projects is available under the 2010-11 Caring for our Country business plan. Funding currently available for the 2010-11 financial year has already been allocated to approved multi-year projects.
