The Centre for Environmental Law's prestigious Annual Lecture 2024 will be delivered by Dr Virginia Marshall

Abstract of the Lecture

The Closing the Gap Report confirms that the Indigenous Rangers Program and the Indigenous Protected Areas Program are making significant contributions to delivering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples access to Country, capacity to care for Country, practice of culture on Country, work on Country, and learning on Country. Realising a social return on investment through Indigenous Ranger programs ensures better outcomes for all.

About the Spekaer

Dr Virginia Marshall is a yinaa Wiradjiri Nyemba. A Research Fellow at the Australian National University's School of Regulation and Global Governance (RegNet), she is a practising lawyer and leading legal scholar with expertise in Aboriginal water rights, native title rights in Sea Country, Indigenous governance, and the intersection of Traditional Knowledge systems and western intellectual property regimes, especially in relation to traditional medicine R&D. She is the Lead CI on the ARC Discovery research project, 'Barriers and pathways to development of Indigenous traditional medicines.' Additionally, Dr Marshall is a board member on the Climate Change Authority, Australia’s Economic Accelerator, a Great Artesian Basin committee member, the Acting Chair for the Committee on Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Interests, and Chair of the ANU Indigenous Research Group and member for ANU Ethics Committee. Dr Marshall's doctoral thesis, ‘A Web of Aboriginal Water Rights: Examining the competing Aboriginal Claim for water property rights and interests in Australia’, won the prestigious WEH Stanner Award in 2015. Her seminal 2017 book, 'Overturning Aqua Nullius', is widely cited in policy development and research arenas. Dr Marshall regularly presents at national and international conferences.