A Queensland women’s Indigenous ranger program has won over $1 million in an international conservation prize. 

The Queensland Indigenous Womens Ranger Network, which manages and protects the Great Barrier Reef, has won 1 million British pounds (AU$1.8 million) in the Prince of Wales's Earthshot Prize. 

The network was set up to provide a forum for female rangers to share their experiences, ideas and information. It has trained more than 60 women since it was established in 2018.

The rangers protect sites of cultural and spiritual significance, combining knowledge passed down from generation to generation and modern tools such as drones to monitor coral changes, bushfires and land degradation.

The Great Barrier Reef Foundation’s Traditional Owner Advisory Group chair, Yuku Baja Muliku woman Larissa Hale, accepted the prize on behalf of the group. She is also a member of the Cook Shire Council.

She said she was thrilled and honoured to see her group recognised on the global platform provided by the Earthshot Prize.

“Winning one of the five 2022 Earthshot Prizes is a gamechanger for our women’s ranger network that exists to protect the Great Barrier Reef and all our vital land and sea country – our home,” she said.

“The Queensland Women’s Indigenous Ranger Program is the only First Nations women’s program linking technological solutions and start-up opportunities to environmental outcomes ‘on country’ in Australia.

“Winning this prize means we can grow and quadruple the number of Indigenous women rangers to 500, plus have 200 girls in an education program, inspiring the next generation of Indigenous rangers.”