Indigenous Women of the Great Barrier Reef
2022 Winner
Revive Our
Oceans

Indigenous Women of the Great Barrier Reef

Country:
Australia

The Great Barrier Reef is under constant environmental threat. Now, the Indigenous Women of the Great Barrier Reef are empowering each other to protect critical ecosystems.

Their Story

Faced by a warming planet, the Great Barrier Reef, lying in the Coral Sea off the coast of Queensland, is under constant threat. On land, meanwhile, flora and fauna are ravaged by increasingly regular bushfires.

The region’s indigenous rangers are vital to its defence. Their work brings together ancient knowledge, passed down from generation to generation, with most modern tools, like drones that monitor coral changes, forest fires and land degradation.

Yet in Queensland only 20% of indigenous rangers, are women. That’s where the Queensland Indigenous Women Rangers Network comes in. Over the past four years, the network has helped build the next generation of women rangers.

The programme has trained over 60 women, encouraging new conservation approaches by sharing knowledge and telling stories. Members of the network have gone on to find work as rangers in Queensland or in conservation elsewhere.

Their work is vital. The data they have collected has given us critical insight into one of the most important ecosystems on the planet. As custodians of the land, the rangers have also protected sites of great cultural and spiritual significance.

With greater support, indigenous women rangers could span the planet, helping to repair ecosystems from Hawaii to Nepal and Tanzania.

Connect With Indigenous Women of the Great Barrier Reef

Learn About the Earthshots

Protect
and Restore
Nature
2022/23 PRIORITIES

By 2030, we choose to ensure that, for the first time in human history, the natural world is growing – not shrinking – on our planet. 

This Earthshot focuses on three main areas of interest: 

  1. Protecting and managing natural carbon stores such as peatlands and intact forests
  2. Restoring forests, wetlands, and other damaged ecosystems
  3. Developing and scaling regenerative agriculture
Learn more about this earthshot

Clean Our
Air
2022/23 PRIORITIES

By 2030 we choose to ensure that everyone in the world breathes clean, healthy air – at World Health Organization standard or better. 

This Earthshot focuses on three main areas of interest: 

  1. Engaging citizens in data collection and advocacy
  2. Efforts to stop burning in agriculture and forests
  3. Transitioning to clean personal transportation
Learn more about this earthshot

Revive Our
Oceans
2022/23 PRIORITIES

By 2030, we choose to repair and preserve our oceans for future generations. 

This Earthshot focuses on three main areas of interest: 

  1. Reducing and addressing overfishing 
  2. Developing ocean ecosystem services that mitigate climate change: ‘blue carbon’ 
  3. Advancing climate change solutions with ocean benefits 
Learn more about this earthshot

Build a
Waste-free
World
2022/23 PRIORITIES

By 2030, we choose to build a world where nothing goes to waste, where the leftovers of one process become the raw materials of the next – just like they do in nature. 

This Earthshot focuses on three main areas of interest: 

  1. Moving towards waste-free food, including efforts to shift to a plant-based diet
  2. Championing waste-free fashion 
  3. Circular solutions: extending the life of goods and/or eliminating single-use goods
Learn more about this earthshot

Fix Our
Climate
2022/23 PRIORITIES

We choose to fix the world’s climate by cutting out carbon: building a carbon neutral economy that lets every culture, community and country thrive. 

This Earthshot focuses on three main areas of interest: 

  1. Transitioning to renewable energy for all
  2. Reducing methane emissions
  3. Constructing buildings fit for the future
Learn more about this earthshot
The Earthshot Prize