Australia's largest wooded swampland is just part of a 12,000 square kilometre block of land in the Northern Territory that will be managed for the next decade by more than 20 Aboriginal clans under a new management plan.
For centuries, Yolgnu and Bi people have protected and nurtured land around the Arafura Swamp, a hugely spiritual and pristine waterway.
Traditional owners in the Central Arnhem Land region of the Top End say the protection of it is paramount to both their belief systems and economic future.
It is with much pride and relief they have released a 10-year management plan for the Arafura Swamp and Central Arnhem Land region.
It has taken more than two years to develop, and will be the foundation of all work performed by the Arafura Swamp Rangers.
It largely centres around the health and ecology of the swamp, and has been classified as a key biodiversity area in Australia, said Dominic Nichols, CEO of the Arafura Swamp Rangers Aboriginal Corporation (ASRAC).
"It's one of the best hidden ecological assets in Australia it is an incredibly diverse environment it has a huge abundance of species," he said.
The ASRAC group is the amalgamation of six ranger groups working in collaboration with Bush Heritage Australia.
Rangers say the plan is essentially the Indigenous toolbox for looking after country, and will involve lessons from ancestors such as the correct way to burn off scrub, how to survive on the land without taking too much, knowing how to read the country, and prioritising ceremony and kinship law.
'Healthy country also means healthy people'
Paul Bunbunynu has been a ranger for a years and mainly does sea patrols.
"We should be there to look after our country because this country is crying, and we have to be there look after this country is watching us," he said.
Otto Campion is a senior traditional owner and the head ranger, and said the plan would give direction to everyone and ensure the right priorities and spending were happening.
"Healthy country also means healthy people; means like health education, walking and talking on country, we practice it while we on country," he said.
"We can build up that skill in both land management, conservation, and we might be looking at social, cultural, and thinking about how we can move forward to be independent and look after ourselves."
Crocodiles, tourism, carbon credits all business options
In the longer term, the plan also looks to support conservation efforts by growing the crocodile egg and carbon credit businesses, as well as investigating the potential to launch tourism, commercial fishing and buffalo mustering operations.
By 2020 the rangers also want to develop a database of all cultural and natural knowledge, including mapping culturally significant sites in the hope that information will be passed down for generations to come.
It is a sacred responsibility, ranger Marley Djanjirri Dalparri said.
"I will looking after my land for my grandfather and father," she said.
"I will follow their footstep, I will forget, [but the knowledge] stays on forever."
