Managing jila on Ngurrara Country

Date: 24, Nov, 2020
Author(s):   Kevin Tromp, Sarah Legge
Publisher: TSR Hub

Jila and jumu (desert water sources) are critical components of the ecological and cultural fabric of desert ecosystems. After Indigenous people moved out of the deserts, many jila became damaged through lack of cultural maintenance. The Ngurrara Rangers are reopening jila in their traditional lands in the Great Sandy Desert in order to look after country by reinvigorating cultural practices. Reopening jila may benefit native species that depend on water, but it may also support increased activity by feral animals like camels, cats and foxes. The Ngurrara team aims to develop a monitoring program to chart the ecological as well as the cultural outcomes of jila management, so they can respond to changes appropriately.