..... there is some comfort in knowing that there are still some Australian communities trying to come together to care for country.
Githabul Tribe and
Conservation Groups Reach Historic Agreement
The Githabul Tribe,
Githabul Nation Aboriginal Corporation, Githabul Elders and representatives of
conservation groups today launched their Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for
the management of Githabul Native Title Lands in the upper Clarence and
Richmond Rivers.
On 29 November 2007 the
Federal Court of Australia made a consent determination recognising the
Githabul People’s Native Title rights and interests over 1120 sq km in 9
National Parks and 13 State Forests.
The MoU proposes:
· Transferring
care and control of 29,700ha State Forests for which Githabul Native Title
rights are recognised, from the NSW government to the Githabul Tribe.
· Preparing
a comprehensive Plan of Management to safeguard conservation and cultural
values and prioritise rehabilitation works.
· Achieving
an adequately funded comprehensive 15 year rehabilitation plan to arrest and
repair forest dieback as part of a Githabul caring for country program.
· Creating
more NPWS positions and training for Githabul Working on Country in National
Parks in the Kyogle area.
· Transferring
the care and control of Crown lands around the Tooloom Falls Aboriginal Place
to the Githabul Tribe.
· Promoting
the establishment of a Cultural and Tourism Centre at Roseberry Creek.
· Obtaining
World Heritage Listing for the National Parks in the region.
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30 August 2018 |
Githabul spokesperson
Rob Williams said:
It is important to
understand and acknowledge that the health of the Githabul people in general is
directly related to the health of the surrounding country and vice versa.
This philosophy
underpins the Githabul wish to immediately arrest what is seen as a decline in
the health of the forests and waterways over many decades now.
Such is our connection
to country that we all suffer - along with the plants and animals. We still
feel we have a direct responsibility to maintain the natural balance between
all inter- related species including ourselves, as was done for millennia
before the colonial invasion.
North East Forest Alliance
spokesperson Dailan Pugh said:
The Forestry Corporation
has already abandoned 11,000 hectares of these State Forests for timber
production because of the chronic dieback they are suffering from past logging,
and the balance of the Githabul lands are in an equally parlous state.
Already the Government
is proposing that 5,600 ha of State Forests around Mount Lindesay be
transferred to the management of NPWS as a Koala reserve, but without the
massive funding needed to rehabilitate the forests.
The Githabul have a
proven track-record in rehabilitating dieback areas and we are excited by the
prospect of supporting their native title rights while helping to obtain the
funding needed to scale up their rehabilitation works to stop the ongoing
degradation and begin to restore the health of these internationally
significant forests.
National Parks
Association CEO Alix Goodwin said:
NPA is committed to
protecting NSW public native forests for their biodiversity conservation values
for future generations. Working with the Githabul to rehabilitate and restore
almost 30,000 hectares on the north coast is a great start to achieving this
vision.
The MOU also marks an
important milestone in achieving the protection of important koala habitat in
the Western Border Ranges, the connection of seven existing World Heritage
properties and a recognised biodiversity hotspot under the stewardship of the
local Aboriginal community.
We look forward to
working with the Githabul to implement this MOU, the first NPA agreement with an
Aboriginal community in over a decade.
Nature Conservation
Council CEO Kate Smolksi said:
We believe that
effective nature conservation and land justice for Indigenous Australians go
hand in hand.
We welcome today’s
announcement and hope this proves to be a successful model that can be adopted
in other areas.
The MoU is an agreement
between the Githabul Nation Aboriginal Corporation and Githabul Elders, and the
North East Forest Alliance, North Coast Environment Council, National Parks
Association, Nature Conservation Council, Nimbin Environment Centre, Lismore
Environment Centre and Casino Environment Centre.