That same year, the concept of the Thin Green Line and the subsequent foundation was formed, aimed at raising awareness of park rangers at the front line of global conservation efforts. Nino Konis Sanatana National Park has an area roughly the size of Cradle Mountain - Lake St Clair National Park and a marine reserve about a third of that size. This thin green line in Timor-Leste is three volunteer-based Community Conservation Groups (CCG) and a government ranger team of 12.
The coastal and ocean side of the park falls under the official jurisdiction of five Coastal Guards, who live in three of the villages of the park. Inland, the seven Forest Guards are dealing with forest encroachment for saleable timber, fuel wood or for slash and burn agriculture; forest fires; overgrazing; invasive species; wildlife poaching and growing illegal trade; and a proliferation of airguns. They need both training and basic equipment - such as motorbikes, uniforms, boots, backpacks, torches, and patrol equipment such as water purification kits and tents – of which they have none.
The NKSNP is formally managed by Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries’ Directorate General of Forestry and Industrial Plants. The government’s budget allocation to the Department for Protected Areas and National Parks for FY20 was $73,000, including salaries. Through Conservation International, the principle NGO supporting the work of the Coastal and Forest Guards in Timor-Leste, we are aiming to raise $25,000. And we are doing that by trekking through our own national parks.
The Tasmanian Rangers Association is the professional body of protected area managers in lutruwita/Tasmania and has organised a relay down the length of the island, the first of its kind in Australia.
Starting on 9 October 2021 and ending a month later, the Ranger Relay will cover 525 kilometres. The route starts at Penguin in the north, and goes on the Penguin Cradle Trail, and the Overland Track into the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. The relay then paddles across Lake Pedder in kayaks, and rows in dinghies on the Port Davey and South Coast Tracks, ending at Cockle Creek in the south.
In their spare time, teams of Tasmanian rangers and field officers will be trekking, cycling and paddling through land that is largely protected under reserves and parks. There will even be bonus walks on Tasmania’s northernmost national park on Deal Island in Bass Strait, and its southernmost national park, on sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island.
All of the funds raised will go, through Conservation International, to the Forest Guards in Timor-Leste, to protect the country’s area of highest biodiversity, and help bolster that thin green line.
To achieve this we need you. We need donations, we need to spread the word, and we need the public to support the work of protected area managers around the world. This is your chance to contribute to our neighbours – barely more than the length of the Ranger Relay from Darwin – and bolster their ability to protect and preserve their National Park. Plus, it will be the perfect vicarious adventure to be following: live tracking and updated progress will be on our website, as the Relay treks through some of the most special parts of the island.
From the Tasmanian Rangers Association, to all our fellow bushwalkers, thank you.
For more information and to follow the Ranger Relay, check out the relay website. This also has donation information.
Bushwalk
