Media Release – Aboriginal Carbon Fund
Indigenous Australians and Canadians working together to reduce carbon and build communities
The Aboriginal Carbon Fund is proud to announce it has signed a formal Indigenous-to-Indigenous Agreement with the First Nations Energy and Mining Council in British Columbia, Canada, to share information on reducing carbon emissions and helping build communities.
Rowan Foley, General Manager of the Aboriginal Carbon Fund, a national not-for-profit organisation that supports Traditional Owners to build wealth through the trade of carbon credits, said:
“Canada’s First Nations Energy and Mining Council is seeking to establish their own Indigenous Climate Fund modelled on our work in Australia.
“The Aboriginal Carbon Fund is encouraging corporate partners to offset their carbon footprint by buying carbon credits from Indigenous Australians, who are managing their land to reduce carbon, largely through early dry season savanna burning. An investment fund is being established to streamline the buying and selling of Aboriginal carbon credits.
“We’re also working to train up more Indigenous rangers so they are qualified in carbon farming which will support the industry on Aboriginal lands.
“Sustainable Indigenous land management, such as savannah burning, not only reduces carbon emissions but also builds communities by offering meaningful jobs for local Traditional Owners as rangers and an independent income.
“There are similarities between Indigenous land management programs in Queensland and in British Columbia so we have a lot to learn from each other in meeting our shared goals of supporting Aboriginal communities through jobs and enabling investment in the management of Aboriginal lands.
“Our Indigenous to Indigenous agreement also encourages our governments to work more closely together on how to support climate action and Indigenous employment,” Mr Foley said.
Mr Foley travelled to British Columbia to develop the agreement and to share knowledge with British Columbia’s First Nations Energy and Mining Council, which supports the development of climate, energy and mineral resources in ways that protect and sustain the environment forever while enhancing the social, cultural, economic and political well-being of First Nations in British Columbia.
Full agreement can be found at http://aboriginalcarbonfund.com.au/indigenous-to-indigenous-agreement/
Contact – 0419 588 430
