Philip Kentwell

In today’s edition of Cleaning Up The Mess, as we continue to bring you best practices from around the world, we feature part two of a guest column by Australian High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago, Philip Kentwell who tells us how Australia protects its indigenous areas.

For tens of thousands of years indigenous Australians have looked after their country. By working together with Indigenous Australians, the Australian Government has been able to help look after the environment as well as local communities. To support the efforts of indigenous Australians to continue looking after their country, the Australian Government introduced a special programme called Indigenous Protected Areas. Indigenous Protected Areas director for the Australian Government, Bruce Rose, explains that a protected area is like a national park, set aside from development or agriculture to protect the plants and animals of a particular region.

Australia Day, yesterday, was devoted to its flood victims as the country was wracked by a flood crisis that began in November, killing 35 people, damaging up to 30,000 homes and businesses. In a Sunday Guardian interview with Ira Mathur, Australian High Commissioner Philip Kentwell said his government takes environmental management very seriously: “Our arid flat lands and desert will be severely impacted by climate change. The prospects for Australia are horrifying. We already suffer from fires, droughts and flooding. Our government is actively working to minimise the greenhouse gases impact, and protect our environment through efficient use of resources, and reduction in emissions and waste including reuse and recycling.” In this first of a two-part guest column Kentwell tells why and how Australians recycle.