Developing a National Indigenous Land & Sea Managers Network

Australian Indigenous land and sea managers have repeatedly called for an independent national Indigenous land and sea managers network.  Such a network would link top down and bottom up information exchanges,   promoting shared understandings of issues and opportunities.  The network would provide government with a vehicle to both inform and learn from local Indigenous groups, including community rangers, on local, national and international matters of environmental significance.  It also provides an opportunity for Indigenous managers to come together to develop an Indigenous position on existing policy mechanisms to support land and sea management such as the Working on Country and Indigenous Protected Area programs. 

The network would not do business on behalf of people or replicate existing local or regional networks or institutions, but would provide strategic support, coordinate communication and identify opportunities for group to group skills and knowledge exchange. The network aims to provide professional support through a coordinated learning environment that facilitates the identification of effective resources, research, technologies and tools for use by Indigenous land and sea managers within Australia. This workshop invites participants to explore the purpose and scope of a national network including governance, networking and membership.