Aboriginal rangers co-lead night parrot conservation: background, survey effort and success in Western Australia 2017–2023
Malcolm Lindsay
A * , Rachel Paltridge B , Nicholas Leseberg C D , Nigel Jackett A C D , Stephen Murphy D E , A
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Abstract
Indigenous people and the land they manage are integral to biodiversity conservation worldwide, with threatened species projects in Australia increasingly using a two-way collaborative approach between Indigenous people and scientists. There is increasing interest in the nature of these relationships and how Indigenous culture, people and knowledge can be prioritised better, while increasing conservation outcomes. One example is the recent successful surveys of endangered night parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis) populations by Aboriginal rangers across Australia’s desert areas. This perspective article documents our collaborative effort, between Aboriginal rangers and scientists, to survey night parrot in Western Australia, from 2017 to 2023, the results, and the nature of our two-way scientific relationships. Night parrot working groups and workshops allowed rangers to learn from scientific and ranger experts, to build capacity and plan for surveys on their countries through two-way partnerships with supportive scientific organisations. This resulted in 13 ranger groups from Western Australia leading standardised night parrot acoustic surveys, with recordings analysed for unique calls by scientific experts. Over the 6 years, the rangers conducted 8613 surveys, at 75 sites, with 22 new night parrot sites being found on five different Native Title areas (Ngurra Kayanta, Ngururrpa, Martu, Birriliburu and Kiwirrkurra). As of August 2024, these sites represent an estimated 54% of known night parrot sites in Australia, and 75% of those found outside of Queensland. Our results have greatly expanded our knowledge of night parrot distribution and ecology in Australia. Key to this success was our respectful two-way scientific relationships that prioritised Aboriginal peoples, culture and leadership, regionally building momentum and collaboration through workshops and networks, while ensuring good scientific practice. Our work provides another important example of how respectful two-way science relationships can create significant conservation outcomes while supporting Indigenous knowledge, leadership and cultural practice.
Keywords: biodiversity, conservation, cross-cultural science, endangered species, First Nations, Indigenous led science, threatened birds, threatened species.
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