This was confirmed on a recent Sunday when the WWF Panda got out amongst the people. For all the important conservation work WWF is doing behind the scenes in southwest Australia, sometimes it’s just as important to get out into the community. And so on this Sunday Panda, with a trusty pair of panda handlers, attended the City of Mandurah’s Crabfest to compete in the festival’s annual mascot race.

In the clear sun of a recent Sunday Panda exuded goodwill, gathering its strength from some innate optimism that wanted to make this living planet just a bit livelier. It was a bright day, quite hot for large furry beasts to be gallivanting in the sun – and they were just the swarthy, bearded panda handlers. Panda itself was sweltering. Nevertheless, such considerations amount to little when there are people to delight.

And delight Panda did. Arriving early, it strutted around the festival spreading stickers, high fives and panda hugs to all, strewing a trail of delighted smiles in its wake. Children and adults alike mobbed Panda; some posing for photos but most just after a fuzzy embrace. At one point Panda inadvertently stumbled into a miniature dance party where it displayed without hesitation its hitherto unknown B-Bear skills, tearing up the dance floor to the rhythm of the beat and the crowd’s cheers.

After all this fun it was time for the race itself and so Panda made its way to the track to begin its stretching regimen: an intensive series of lunges, star jumps and frolicking. There is little more amusing in life than watching a panda performing sit-ups. Set, ready and raring to go, Panda proceeded to the muster point and gathered with the other mascots – a motley assortment of beasts, machines and, er … miscellaneous.

After a brief, somewhat chaotic time in which the race announcer introduced all competitors while the mascots themselves jostled for starting positions, the contenders were in place, the crowd began cheering their favourites and the starter raised the chequered flag. “And Go!’ They were off.

Did I say that Panda doing sit-ups was amusing? Indeed it is. But a phalanx of wild mascots careening through an obstacle course must rate as one of life’s greatest joys. The haphazard mascot menagerie raced each according to their various abilities, but almost all running blind. Dragon collided with crab, helicopter collided with dog, and an unidentifiable purple thingamabob ricocheted off an inflatable obstacle into the mascot pack. It was a mass frenzy of fur and felt with Panda somewhere in its midst. In the end it was a bipedal coffee cup that tore free from the horde, with Panda finishing somewhere in the middle of the pack. A valiant effort against some formidable opponents.

Of course the true victory is in the delight a single panda can bring and by that measure the day was a victory indeed, as confirmed at day’s end while a weary Panda trudged towards home. In the quiet car-park came a sudden cry of “PANDAAAA!” and a youngster with a WWF sticker worn proudly on her chest threw herself headlong into Panda’s arms, seeking one last hug.

I have to remind myself that things are done differently up here. I get so used to it that I forget it can cause some sort of culture shock for those who come from ‘down south’ or ‘over east’ as we refer to anyone outside of the Kimberley. 

 The languages are different - Kriol sneaks in to everyday English and there are creative definitions for old words: you don’t ’submerge’ something, you ‘drown’ it, and you might get away with ‘yelling’ but you’d probably ’sing out’ instead, unless you’re criticising someone in which case you’d ‘growl’ them. 

‘Liar’ is used for anything fake or imitation, so margarine would be ‘liar butter’ which, when I first heard it, gave me a good laugh.

 Using “deadly” might be understood if you were talking about a king brown track you’ve just picked up in the sand, but it is more likely to be used to describe something awesome: “That music is deadly!” 

 A teacher friend of mine in Halls Creek, new to the Kimberley, once asked her primary students to draw ‘deadly’ animals as part of her lessons on Australian ecology.  There was a snake, a crocodile and even a jellyfish…but there were also quite a few benign creatures.  Picking up the beautifully sketched picture of a cute, furry possum, she asked, “Why did you draw this?”

 The young Aboriginal student replied, “That’s a possum Miss, I like it the most, I reckon it is real deadly, that one!” 

 I asked a close friend of mine one day when he was talking, what does ‘dakarnd’ mean in his language. 

 ”Dakarnd?” he repeated, and looked at me for a minute, then realising my Kriol wasn’t up to scratch, said ‘that kind’. 

 I should have realised, for it’s the same with “thackaway” for “that way” or ‘deejay’ for ‘this way’.

 I heard a man talking to another yesterday. As he walked away he said something in English that my colleague found undecipherable.  I translated for him “Ok then, I’ll keep going”.  It was said all in English but words running into each other. I thought nothing of it but my colleague couldn’t understand one word. 

 It reminded me of when I started my job at WWF eight years ago, and was sent almost immediately out to the remote desert community. I felt like I’d arrived in a new land within my own country I never knew existed, where they spoke a language I’d never heard before.  I remember asking people to repeat themselves so often that in the end I would just nod and smile as much as I could get away with it. 

 It was the heavy accent, and also the mix of Kriol, Walmajarri and Kukatja often thrown in which made it difficult for me to distinguish when they were speaking to me and when they were talking to each other.  But, we persevered - the locals and I both and I can say I’m definitely the better for it. 

 I never tire of the landscape, and I frequently remind myself of how privileged I am to work with such dedicated and accepting people.  The differences that shocked me when I first arrived are still here but I’ve grown so used to them that I often forget they exist. It takes an outsider to remind me, through their questions or perplexed mien, that it’s still another country, with another language.

I was fortunate enough to be part of the group doing Austin Bay, a shallow, stinking, expansive mud flat on the eastern shores of the Peel Inlet. Of even more fortune was that I was part of a group consisting of myself, Bill Rutherford (shorebird guru/ornithologist) and Geoff Barrett (DEC regional ecologist).

We started off well with a shoreline count of over 3000 sharp-tailed sandpipers (internationally significant numbers according to Bill - over 1% of global population).

That was only the beginning. The day just got better and better as it went on with a huge diversity of shorebirds encountered as we journeyed southwards through the mud that fills the bay. We saw red-capped plovers, red necked stints, bar-tailed godwit, eastern curlew, greenshanks and my favourite of the day - a golden pacific plover.

The finale, and far and away the highlight of the count, was seen at the end of our designated area. Feeding in the southeast corner of the bay we found 18,000 plus banded stilts. It was a magnificent sight and was well worth trudging through a kilometre or more of smelly mud and algae.

Despite the sign, this landholder was pleased to let biologists count bird species on his property. Picture: Lisa Wray

We expect the results of the count will come through in the next couple of weeks and we will report on them in the blog at that time.

Fortunately, I was told that the landholder on this particular property was more tolerant of conservationists and birders than he was of off-road vehicle users, illegal campers and crabbers.

A large patch of bushland that still remains in the wheatbelt. Photo: Chris Curnow.

Recently, Chris Curnow travelled with members of WWF’s Healthy Bushland team to visit landholders who are preserving incredible patches of remnant bush in the wheatbelt region. It’s an area he cares about as you can see in this report. However, in addition to being the head honcho of a hands-on team Chris is also a remarkable photographer.

You can see more of his photos from the trip to the wheatbelt here.

Private land conservation continues to get people excited across Southwest Australia and, increasingly, the Australian Government feel it is important too. Landholders across the Western Australian wheatbelt are welcoming the growing advice of biodiversity extension professionals, like those from our own WWF Healthy Bushland team.

Mike Griffiths, Phil Lewis, Helena Mills and Brett Brenchley spend their days knocking on farm gates and striking up conversations with landholders, who are only too happy (when not seeding or harvesting) to show them round their patches of remnant bushlands.

After kicking the dirt and getting down on all fours to admire the intense diversity in the understorey of these rare and surviving woodlands and shrublands, these dedicated WWF staff head back to the kitchen table or the bonnet of the farmer’s ute. Once there they often pore over maps and discuss covenant arrangements and develop ideas for bush management activities that would, with a little bit of public investment, improve the bush’s condition.

While governments of the world try to bring years of climate crisis negotiations to a positive conclusion, Western Australian wheatbelt landholders like Rob and Beth Boase are already doing their bit for the natural world. They see themselves as stewards of the bush and preserve the habitat of rare plants such as the beautiful Hughan’s verticordia (Verticodia hughanii) with its dazzling red flowers on their farm.

Rob and Beth Boase with a rare Hughan's verticordia on their property. Photo Chris Curnow

Listed as Declared Rare Flora, this location hosts probably one of the largest known populations of Hughan’s verticordia remaining. Interestingly its probable location was deduced from air reconnaissance in the 1970s by Western Australian verticordia enthusiasts who had determined the unique soil-plant relationship needed for the plant and took to the air to spot the likely soil types that would host it.

Rob has taken the time to investigate the ages of the plants and by tediously counting growth rings has established some of the older gnarlier impressively prostrate individuals at up to 30-odd years old! Extraordinary!

The Boase’s worked hard to keep their bush and this population of verticordia, even taking time to work off-farm for four years just to get the money to effectively buy their bush back. Beth and Rob have been long time supporters of WWF’s wheatbelt programs.

While on the way to visit the Boase’s incredible bushland, we visited the Quarading Nature Reserve just out of Dowerin. The Shire has recently placed a perpetual Conservation Covenant over its patch of bush.

WWF’s staff, Mike Griffiths and Helena Mills, assisted the community with technical interpretation of the many amazing natural values of the large reserve and interpretive signs that are the result of their work are now in place.

Right now, in December, the reserve has a very healthy population of Christmas spiders and as we walked the narrow pathways through the open York gum woodlands or the denser she oak shrublands, we were constantly ducking and weaving through the hundreds and hundreds of their webs. Many a time we found ourselves inadvertently destroying their ‘Christmas hamper-collecting’ devices, pulling their sticky webs from our faces as we marvelled at prostrate foxtails in full bloom at our feet.

A Christmas spider catches a juicy bush fly. Photo: Chris Curnow

Foxtails still covered the ground at Quiridding Reserve. Photo: Chris Curnow

The brilliance of the foxtails was probably the main reason we were distracted from our web-dodging activities.

Earlier at another property near Quairading, the WWF landholder engagement team visited some barren flat top breakaway country . The conversation there was about the wedge-tailed eagle we’d just seen off the edge of the breakaway behind us. Then, Gene Stone, who owns the land, took us down into a drop-off where we discovered an ochre pit and signs of rare trapdoor spiders.

One thing is for certain, this may be a heavily farmed area but being in a biodiversity hotspot means there is never a dull moment when you visit the Wheatbelt.

On behalf of WWF-Australia and its supporters, I attended the UN climate talks in Copenhagen.

The talks started off with plenty of optimism. WWF had a great international team on the ground with a deep understanding of the issues. We analysed proposals quickly, lobbied for greater ambition and provided support to countries that lacked resources.

But by the end of two weeks negotiations had been taken to the brink of total failure.

Late in the night, leaders agreed to a non-binding Accord that included a goal - first put forward by WWF - to limit global temperature rise to less than 2 degrees. The commitment to 2 degrees is a positive step and WWF will continue to engage in every step of negotiations to ensure world leaders sign-off on a stronger, legally binding plan by the end of 2010

But sadly, the fundamental objectives of the Copenhagen climate talks, for a fair, ambitious and legally binding deal needed to safeguard this planet, were not achieved.

In reality the targets put forward by world leaders add up to at least 3 degrees of warming, not 2. For 1/3rd of the world’s animals, 3 degrees will mean extinction.

While Australia was the first to sign the Copenhagen Accord, our credibility and the success of the deal will hinge on Australia:

• implementing a national pollution law which commits us to a minimum 25% pollution reduction by 2020
• providing long-term finance to assist developing countries reduce their pollution and adapt to climate change

Alarmingly, the Coalition has pulled their support from the Government’s pollution law, the CPRS. WWF are engaging with all political parties to pass the law without further delay.

WWF will continue to work towards the target of a global temperature rise of less than 2 degrees. We will continue to ask you, our supporters, to lend your voice, take action and provide financial support to help us secure action to fight climate change. We are close to meaningful global action and we aren’t going to give up now.

Many thanks,

Greg Bourne

Dr Denis Daunders holds a female Carnaby's black cockatoo chick. Picture: Katherine Howard.

On a baking hot November day WWF-Australia President Dr Denis Saunders returned to Coomallo Creek, Western Australia, where more than 30 years ago he first started investigating the dramatic decline of Carnaby’s black cockatoos.
Coomallo Creek is a known Important Bird Area for Carnaby’s black cockatoos. It is about three hours north of Perth in the global biodiversity hotspot of Southwest Australia. Katherine Howard accompanied the team which included senior DEC staff member Rick Dawson and sent back this report.

The air conditioner barely had time to kick in and provide some blissful relief from the baking heat outside when the 4WD in front of us braked and both vehicles came to a sudden stop. Rick and Denis quickly piled out.

They had spotted an adult Carnaby’s black cockatoo emerging from a tree – which meant they’d found a previously unrecorded nest hollow, not three metres from the well-travelled farm track and less than five minutes drive from the homestead.

Carnaby’s black cockatoos have been nesting in Coomallo Creek for at least the past four decades, and probably hundreds of years before that.

Dr Denis Saunders AM, President of WWF-Australia, member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists and former Chief Scientist of CSIRO, knows (almost!) every hollow tree on this property. It’s possible he knows the bush even better than the owners – after all, he started studying the population of Carnaby’s cockatoos that nest here back in 1969, when the current farmer was just a babe in arms.

In those days, white-tailed black cockatoos were considered pests by the fruit growing and pine industries and there was even a bounty on their beaks.

This deliberate persecution, along with extensive removal of habitat, competition from feral bees, invasive galahs and corellas, road strikes and a certain amount of illegal smuggling, have all contributed to the total population of Carnaby’s black cockatoos crashing by more than 50% in just 45 years.

There have been many regional extinctions and the species has disappeared from over a third of its former range. However, the main reason for this dramatic decline is land clearing. Most vegetation in their spring breeding habitat of the wheatbelt has already gone. Thanks to the urban sprawl of Perth and other coastal settlements, now they are rapidly losing the coastal feeding and roosting trees they rely on during the non-breeding season as well.

Denis monitored the Carnaby’s cockatoos nesting at Coomallo Creek at various intervals from the late sixties to 1996. This year, the WA Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) generously supported two trips to the site, using the same monitoring protocols used in previous years, to check on the number of nesting hollows available today and more importantly, the number of Carnaby’s cockatoos using them.

Thanks to a combination of modern technology and Denis’ hand-marked maps, they were able to locate every hollow tree that Denis had recorded decades ago.

The Carnaby's black cockatoo team band a chick and take its vital statistics. Photo: Katherine Howard.

Sadly, many of the hollow trees had been cleared, collapsed or burnt in the intervening years.

The concern is that in many parts of the wheatbelt there are almost no young trees coming up to replace those that are lost. This landholder has given his patch of bush the best chance of regeneration by fencing it off from his sheep, but it takes anywhere from 120 to 250 years for a tree to form hollows large enough for Carnaby’s cockatoos. For that reason it is important to ensure that there is regeneration of young trees to supply the nest hollows of the future.

But it wasn’t all bad news at this site. The team found 41 active nest hollows, up from only 32 in 1994, but still nowhere near the top known figure of 88 active hollows recorded in 1975.

Denis and the researchers from DEC were cautiously optimistic about this increase.

“This site is an ideal situation for Carnaby’s black cockatoos – you’ve got water here, you’ve got food close by and you’ve got plenty of available nest hollows,” explained Denis.

“But what we’re perceiving as a slight increase in nesting birds here does not necessarily translate across the whole population. These birds, for example, we know are not the ones that we see in Perth; these individuals move between Beermullah and the Arrowsmith River in the non-breeding season. So these are not the individuals who are currently coming under most pressure from urban development as we speak.”

Assisting Denis in the field were Peter Mawson and Rick Dawson, senior staff from DEC; Mark Blythman, also of DEC, working on feral bee control; and Raana Scott, Project Manager for the Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo Recovery Project

The Carnaby cockatoo project is a partnership between Birds Australia, WWF-Australia and other groups and is funded by multiple Natural Resource Management bodies and the Australian Government’s Caring for our Country program.

The team took weight and wing measurements, which can be used to calculate the age of the chicks. Most chicks appeared to be in good health. DNA samples were taken and all chicks were ‘banded’ – that is, a metal ring was fastened around their legs for future identification.

Thanks to the band technique, which has been in use for centuries, Denis was able to identify some of the mother birds as those that he had banded up to 25 years ago. This gives us an idea of the likely life span for this species – we know that some birds are still breeding at 25 years old.

The plight of Carnaby’s cockatoos has been attracting considerable media interest in recent years so we invited the new Environment Reporter for the West Australian newspaper, Michael Bennett and his photographer, John Mokrzycki, out to the site.

We also invited Rob Carroll, former Chief Financial Officer of Woodside Petroleum, member of numerous Boards, keen eco-traveller, wildlife enthusiast and long-term valued supporter of WWF, to come along and see WWF and partners in action in the field.

Acclaimed filmmaker Leighton de Barros was out with the team most of the week, collecting footage for his next documentary which focuses on black cockatoos in Southwest WA.

Despite the heat and hordes of very persistent flies, I think Rob and the journos enjoyed meeting the research team and finding some healthy young Carnaby’s cockatoo chicks – well I know I certainly did! Rob dropped us a lovely email afterwards to show his appreciation.

Rob Caroll gained some hands on experience of Carnaby's conservation on his trip to Coomallo Creek. Photo: Katherine Howard.

“Dear Katherine,

Thank you so much for hosting me for a great day’s experience which gave me an insight into the Carnaby’s Cockatoo recovery project. It was exciting and gratifying to see that there were numerous healthy chicks at the Coomallo Creek breeding site north of Badgingarra in the wheatbelt. This new generation provides hope for the future of the species.

I was impressed with the professionalism and dedication of the team undertaking the mapping and recording of the nest sites and banding of the Carnaby chicks. The enthusiasm shown for this project by your President, Denis Saunders was apparent, particularly since he first kicked off the research in 1969! It was also good to see the strong support you received from the WA Department of Environment and Conservation through the contributions of experienced senior staff such as Peter Mawson and Rick Dawson.

Please send my thanks to Raana Scott and her team.

Regards,

Robert Carroll”

For more information on Carnaby’s black cockatoos, including a copy of Dr Denis Saunders’ PhD thesis “The Biology of the Short-Billed Form of the White-Tailed Black Cockatoo, Calyptorhynchus funereus latirostris Carnaby, 1967” click here.

When I told my friends I’d won a trip on a Coral Sea research expedition with Richard Fitzpatrick, they all said “lucky you”.

But when I told them I’d be swimming with sharks, they weren’t so sure - and I admit I had the occasional doubts as well.

I needn’t have worried. From the moment the Spoilsport set off from Cairns, it was one amazing experience after another.

Just being on the ship was wonderful, seeing a hundred shades of shimmering blue all around me. But once I entered the warm waters of Osprey Reef, I was in a whole new world - a world of shapes, colours and textures like I’d never experienced before. But most excitingly, it was a world crowded with life.

Schools of trevally circled me. Parrot fish and angel fish floated by. Huge cod gave me a glance, then moved on. Shy clown fish even popped out now and then. And then there were the sharks. Lots of them. White tipped reef sharks, grey nurse, and dozens of hammerheads. All - thankfully - just gliding past, taking no interest in me at all.

The other passengers, all avid scuba divers (I stuck to snorkling), had come from all round the world. None were disappointed. Who could be? It was truly a wonder world.

The highlight for everyone was watching Richard Fitzpatrick lassoing sharks and tagging them for research. Between dives, Richard gave talks on his research and his concerns for the future of the reef and the Coral Sea.

The seven days passed like minutes, but the memories will live with me forever. A lifetime of thanks to WWF, Discovery Channel, Richard Fitzpatrick, John Rumney and all the crew for allowing me the privilege of joining them on this never-to-be-forgotten journey.

• Traveston Dam - dam good news
  WWF-Australia welcomes Environment Minister Peter Garrett’s recommendation to block development of the Traveston Dam and is calling on Cabinet to give its full support.
  More on this here in our media release - http://wwf.org.au/news/cabinet-must-back-garretts-proposed-no-on-traveston/

• Grey-headed Albatross - from vulnerable to endangered
  Averil Bones, on behalf of WWF,  has been championing the nomination for this species to take it from vulnerable to endangered for some time. Now, at last, status confirmation of this amazing bird has been sent through from Peter Garrett.

• Coral Sea Win
  The Senate’s support of the Federal Government’s Coral Sea conservation zone is a victory for common sense and paves the way for the protection of one of the planet’s last refuges for sharks and coral reefs.
  “The conservation zone will not affect existing users of the Coral Sea but will ensure this important marine area is not impacted by additional activities while the assessment process is undertaken.”
  The Coral Sea is one of the last places on Earth where healthy populations of sharks and other large ocean fish still exist. It’s also an important refuge for coral reefs at a time when corals are disappearing all over the world.
  “The Coral Sea is an area where coral reefs have their best chance of surviving long into the future, and its health directly affects the health of the Great Barrier Reef,” Mr Leck said. “Now that the conservation zone is in place we must get on with the job of permanently protecting this extraordinary marine jewel.”
  More in our media release here

• MPA declared in Antarctica
  Four years of hard work has paid off in the declaration of a 94,000 square  kilometre Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the Southern Ocean. That’s about one and a half times the size of Tasmania. This first-time high seas MPA eliminates fishing and gives scientists a special opportunity to study the effects of climate change in a region that’s home to more species than the Galapagos Islands.

• Atlantic bluefin tuna
  While cuts have recently been announced to fishing quotas the only real hope is a global trade ban. Read more

• Take action on climate change - The email!
  Thanks to the swift efforts an email was sent to WWF supporters urging them to send a letter to Liberal Senators in their states to take action on climate change. This action had the effect of totally inundating the senatorial offices with literally thousands of emails, some systems even crashed under the weight. Thankyou to everyone who took part!

• Establishing a Global Carbon Budget
  Okay, so it doesn’t have a really catchy name but we’re going to need one of these.
  http://www.panda.org/about_our_earth/all_publications/?181642/Establishing-a-Global-Carbon-Budget

The red-eared slider turtle poses a risk to farmers and the Western Australian environment. Picture courtesy of Department of Economic Development and Innovation, Queensland.

 The Department of Agriculture is calling on Western Australians to remain alert to pest species from overseas and even the eastern states of Australia. These invasive species could cause millions of dollars of damage to farmers and damage the rare and precious environment of WA.

I had a call from Marion Massan at the Department of Agriculture today. It’s funny, I don’t think many people probably are aware of the important links between agriculture and the environment, and the similar aims and concerns of people working in each field.

Marion works on the frontline of the war against pest animals in WA. She is always on guard against new invasive species entering and establishing themselves in this State.

We’ve already got plagues of rabbits, an epidemic of foxes, gangs of pigs, fleets of camels, swarms of feral bees and now an army of cane toads crossing our border in the north (to name just a few). You can find out about a range of pests in Western Australia in the excellent guide Common Seasonal Pests.

These pests have massive impacts on our native wildlife and agriculture. They cost governments, community groups and private landowners millions of dollars in control activities and lost revenue – we really don’t need to add any more to the list!

It’s Marion’s job to track down any new bird species that enter the State. They might, like starlings, fly over themselves from South Australia, or they might hitch a ride on a ship from Asia.

Perhaps even more irritatingly, they might be released by an irresponsible pet owner who has lost interest in their cage birds, or thinks they are doing them a favour by releasing them into the wild. That is how we ended up with massive flocks of rainbow lorikeets in Perth – because back in the 60s just a handful escaped or were released.

Lorikeets are beautiful birds but they belong in the Eastern States - we don’t need them competing with our Western natives, damaging fruit crops, fouling outdoor areas and causing bird-strike risk to aircraft.

Right now, the Department of Ag are pretty worried about some emerging new pest animals – such as Indian ringnecked parakeets, red-eared slider turtles, ferrets, rusa deer, house crows and Indian (or common) myna birds.

Anyone from the Eastern States (or at least 21 other countries worldwide) will tell you how much they dislike Indian mynas. These birds are so aggressive they can completely replace local native birds. I’ve even heard of them preventing other birds from nesting in holes that the mynas aren’t actually using, by filling them with rubbish.

Of course, Marion and the other biosecurity officers can’t be everywhere at once in this big State and they really rely on people calling in and reporting when they see a new bird or animal they think looks out of place.

The tricky part is that a new pest will naturally be in small numbers to start with, and while everyone knows what a rabbit looks like, could you tell an introduced house crow from an Australian raven, or identify a red-eared slider if you’ve never seen one before?

So to raise awareness of these new and emerging threatening species, the Department has developed a series of brochures called National Animal Pest Alerts. These have been designed to educate the public about the risks these emerging pests pose to agriculture, the environment and social values.

There are photos showing these species in the wild in Australia, and advice on how to distinguish them from similar looking native birds and animals. All Pest Alerts can be downloaded here or here. 

Any sightings of unusual animals and birds can be reported to the department’s Pest and Disease Information Service on Freecall 1800 084 881, email info@agric.wa.gov.au or visit the website here.

As Harry Potter’s Professor Mad-Eye Moody would say, “Constant vigilance!”   

The Karajarri people perform a welcome to the land ceremony for the participants in the Indigenous Protected Areas Managers meeting.

Tanya Vernes joined an annual Indigenous Protected Area Managers meeting. The managers came from right across north Australia to meet at the the Nygah Nygah outstation in Karajarri country which includes the red lands south of Broome. Over an incredible few days she got to see how the Indigenous Protected Areas worked,  experienced the hospitality of the the Karajarri and Bardi Jawi rangers and even saw Canberra diplomats dance the hokey pokey with the traditional owners of the land.

A colleague stood with her 12 eggs still in the carton, looking at them in disbelief.

“I left them in the car yesterday, but when I tried to make breakfast this morning every single one of them was hardboiled!” she exclaimed.

We knew it was going to be hot, but we had never had eggs cook in the sun before they had even been taken out of a carton.

We were out in the pindan scrub south of Broome where the brilliant red sandy dunes covered in low acacia scrub gently rise and fall to every horizon like waves across the landscape, eventually merging into desert further south, but here coming up abruptly against the shimmering white and aquamarine of the Kimberley coast.

We had arrived at the little outstation of Nygah Nygah consisting of a couple of buildings joined by a verandah, which had been transformed by the hard work of one family to a meeting place for 100 people from across northern Australia. They were gathered here for a meeting of Indigenous Protected Area managers.

Tents were set up in little clearings surrounded by bush, each with a tarp thoughtfully strung up for shade. There was a huge ‘meeting room’ marquee with tables, chairs, projector and lights for late night work, another marquee for dining and a large clearing prepared for evening entertainment.

Oh, and the highlight: six newly constructed showers complete with shower curtains, towel racks and a chair if you happen to have to wait for your turn. These are the flashiest showers I’ve seen out bush yet.

On the first day we were welcomed traditionally to Karajarri country by two of the elders. They sang out in language as part of the formal introduction between us (the strangers) and the country. It’s an introduction that might be done between any two people because in this culture Country is a living entity, with a “life and will of its own”.

Special leaves had been collected and were set smoking. As each of us walked past, the smoke rose to meet us (including my dog). In doing this we were now ‘known’ by Country and are no longer strangers. This knowing helps keep both the country and the people in it safe, for if the country doesn’t know who you are it could react in a negative way: anything could happen. Through this ritual, we are introduced to each other.

This ritual also gives us permission to be here. It is like someone opening the door to their home and inviting you in - a formal welcome which extends hospitality and goodwill towards guests.

I always think of entering people’s country like I would their home. If you welcome someone to Country (or into your home), they have permission to be there. If you don’t welcome them onto Country (or into your home) they’re either up to no good (like an intruder) or just plain rude.

So I view this ceremony as a very important ritual to be observed on many levels: security, hospitality, politeness, respect and of course a very important part of a living culture that extends back to beyond what we can measure.

Once the meeting began, the temperature under the marquee was well into the 40’s but everyone sweated it out. It was a testament to people’s dedication and commitment, although perhaps to the fact that they were acclimatised to these extreme conditions.

Each day we heard the passion and commitment from each of the people working in the existing Indigenous Protected Areas across northern and central Australia and also from those who were investigating the idea of an IPA for their country.

It was inspiring to hear from people, who are the equivalent of national park managers but with the added complexity of being cultural custodians as well. They have to work to care for cultural and environmental values, because one cannot exist without the other.

There were also workshop sessions on issues in common to the managers, including marine Indigenous Protected Areas, fee-for-service arrangements and developing new research techniques such as i-tracker.

Each afternoon, the Traditional Owners showed us around their country, taking us to some special places and discussing the challenging issues they must deal with to look after them (tourists, erosion, feral cattle and horses to name a few).

For me this was a very important annual event, as one of my roles is as an advisor to the Indigenous Protected Areas Advisory Group which reports to the Indigenous Advisory Committee . This group made up of Indigenous, NGO, state government representatives from across Australia provides advice to the Commonwealth Minister for the Environment, Peter Garrett on the IPA program.

It was an invaluable week where I could hear first-hand how the IPA program was working for people on the ground, what might need changing or tweaking or what new initiatives could help improve the program.

Indigenous Protected Areas have become one of the most successful Cultural and Natural Resource Management programs in Australia, and have increased the size of the national reserve system by over 25%. The main difference between these conservation areas and the usual National Parks is that Indigenous Protected Areas are managed by Aboriginal people - wholely and solely.

They are funded by the Commonwealth (like other reserves) but to a much lesser degree. This is something that needs rectifying as they have much broader outcomes than just conservation, including health, employment, education, governance, cultural knowledge transmission and the less easily measured achievements such as the increased self-esteem and well-being of individuals and communities.

All week the Karajarri and Bardi Jawi rangers looked after us, we always had cool water to drink and fresh fruit from the chiller to keep our attention focused.

After spending all day in the red dust, the Karajarri people took the participants to the place where the sand turns white and meets the sea.

At the end of the day, most of us made the 20 minute drive down the sandy track to the lagoon, where the red pindan sand becomes white pristine beach. It was a perfect way to end the hot dusty day; a refreshing swim in the ocean, a few throws of the handline and the setting sun.

It was great to see the desert mob sitting on the beach at the end of the day, some of them fishing…almost the antipodes for them, although they’d be used to the heat.

Every night there was something happening. On the first night Nyangumarta and Karajarri dancers performed, which was very special for all of us to see these dances and hear these songs in their own country. It was wonderful to see so many young kids take part, knowing the songs and dances of their culture. On the second night we went in a totally different direction with a rock band from Bidyadanga,treating us to their original material with a couple of ‘icebreakers’: I still have that fabulous image of traditional owners and Canberra bureaucrats doing the hokey pokey.

By night the breeze was cool and the temperature dropped enough for us to snuggle into our swags with a blanket. We all got a good night’s sleep ready for the next day.

We were cared for so well by the King family, they really put in a lot of hard work to accommodate us (and feed us such wonderful food!), and we were very grateful for the opportunity to meet together for such an important meeting on their country.