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Australian Tribe Gets Rights to Parks

By MERAIAH FOLEY

2 January 2006 - (Guardian UK) - An Aboriginal tribe has been granted joint management rights over several state and national parks under a deal that recognizes its traditional ownership of the land, officials said Tuesday.

The Githabul tribe will share control with the New South Wales state government over a 2,315-square-mile area encompassing 19 parks and forests, including several U.N. World Heritage sites, according to the state Department of Environment and Conservation.

Department director Tony Fleming told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio that the pact will create jobs for the Githabul people and give them ``much greater involvement'' in the management of the land.

``I think for a lot of our visitors to national parks, it adds a huge dimension to their experience,'' he said.

`They'll get access to the knowledge of the Githabul people, the interpretation of this part of the state from an Aboriginal perspective, and we as land managers learn a lot from Aboriginal people about how to look after these sorts of places.''

Trevor Close, a member of the Githabul tribe, hailed the agreement.

``This is reconciliation in a practical sense: We have formed a business with the state government,'' The Australian newspaper quoted him as saying.

Australia's Aborigines, many of whom live in poverty, have been battling to reclaim their traditional lands since the early 1990s, when the country's highest court cleared the way for such native title claims.

In September, a federal court ruled that the Noongar people were the traditional owners of a 2,315-square mile area of Western Australia state that includes the capital, Perth, a city of 1.7 million.

The court ruled that the Noongar had, against the odds, maintained their culture and customs since European settlement in 1829 and had native title over the land. But the federal government has appealed the decision, saying it could restrict people's access to parks and other public land.

Source: The Guardian

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