Adam Pennington Planning & Conservation Impact Specialist

Desert rangers rising – Indigenous Desert Alliance conference 2019

Momentum is building in the desert, and it’s building quickly. The Indigenous Desert Alliance (IDA) brought 265 people to the heart of Australia at Uluru in November this year to share knowledge and stories, support and advocate for each other and the industry, and build on existing connections to each other and to country as part of the 3-day Annual IDA Conference 2019.

From the first gathering of 65 desert land managers in Sydney in 2014 to the huge event of November this year, the IDA and its annual conference has grown rapidly. The scale and scope of this year’s conference is representative of the growth of the Indigenous land management sector in the desert over the last 5 years that has seen the voice of desert rangers increasingly amplified nationally and internationally, increased investment in desert Indigenous Protected Areas and Ranger funding and, perhaps most importantly, acknowledgement of Indigenous People’s connection to, knowledge and ownership of country.

The conference itself was a truly spectacular event, held in a spectacular location with spectacular attendees from all over Australia’s desert regions from the Kimberley to the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara, from the Tanami to the Nullarbor Plain and many places and remote communities in-between.

Having worked with many participating Indigenous desert groups and members of the IDA, Conservation Management attended the conference to lend support, maintain relationships with old friends and build relationships with new ones.

Well done to all involved – the future of our desert’s is in the best of hands.

For more information on the IDA, go to www.indigenousdesertalliance.com

2019 IDA Conference group photo.

Keegan Walker (R) of Spinifex Land Management and Adam Pennington (L) of Conservation Management at the 2019 IDA Conference.

Over 350 people attended the 3-day 2019 IDA conference held at Uluru.