00:00At a tiny outstation in the NT Outback, the Arnhem Rangers gather to plan their burn.
00:08Ancient fire practices meet modern tools to keep fire under control across a vast and
00:13rugged landscape.
00:14These people are really good, the tracks are in their mind, they know exactly where
00:19they are at all times.
00:21Nowadays you've got chopper that you can burn from, you know, the helicopters, you've got
00:26the drip torch that we use.
00:27Back then we used to rub the sticks together, you know, make fires.
00:31The Jarwin, just one of 11 ranger groups here, manage a land mass almost as large as Tasmania,
00:38so accurate fire mapping is crucial.
00:40The maps for us is really helpful for us as well, so it holds the data for us.
00:47Live satellite fire maps provided by a service known as NAFI help the rangers track their cool
00:52burns and later in the dry season to help fight wildfires.
00:56We want to protect our bush medicine, bush tucker and all the rare animals.
01:04Rather than just running out to every single fire we see, we can pick and choose the priorities.
01:10But the future of the live NAFI maps is now under threat, with federal funding due to run
01:15out at the end of June.
01:16The parcelists who use it, the park rangers who use it, they suddenly, you know, the service
01:22they use will run out of funding.
01:24The NAFI service has been mostly federally funded, until now, under short term deals.
01:30In a statement, a spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Agency said that they appreciated
01:36the value of the maps, but that NAFI would need to look for private investors or money from
01:41state and territory governments to continue its work.
01:44We need to get the funding sorted reasonably quickly after the election is over.
01:53Before then, the rangers have to cover a huge area.
01:56Taking care of the country, doing what my ancestors do, sharing knowledge with young generations
02:03and new rangers.
02:05Traditional knowledge in a modern world.
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