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An aerial survey of large vertebrate fauna was undertaken in the Mann River district of central Arnhem Land in September 2000. 'The survey covered 3936 km^ of the eastern and central part of the Arnhem Plateau and 1944 km^ on the adjacent low¬ land. A total of 747 individual animals from eight species were observed during the survey. Of these, four species were native (antilopine wallaroo, black wallaroo, emu and euro) and four were feral (Ituffalo, cattle, horse and pig). The majority of sight¬ ings (92%) were of feral animals, of which 78% were buffalo. The distribution of feral animals was largely similar to that of previous surveys with a high concentration in the upper Mann River and McCaw Creek regions. Sightings of native species were scattered throughout the survey area. The uncorrected density estimates (km'^ + SE) for species observed in this aerial survey were: buffalo 0.74 + 0.08; cattle 0.10 ± 0.04; horse 0.009 ± 0.008; pig 0.007 + 0.003; black wallaroo 0.02 ± 0.006; and emu 0.006 + 0.003. Intnxhiction.\rnhem Land is a large area of Northern Australia that is owned and managed by Aboriginal people, .\rnhem Land covers over 95,000 km^in the north-east of the North¬ ern Territory and encompasses an array of habitats from coastal and inland water systems, to monsoon forest, open woodland and the escarpment of the Arnhem Pla¬ teau (Cole 1978). The area is home to a large number of feral animals such as buffalo {Buba/us bubalii), cattle (Bos laurus), horses (Equus caballus) and pigs {Sussenfd) that were introduced to the Northern Territory in the late 1800's (Chaloupka 1982). WTiile some feral animals arc utilised as a food resource by Aboriginal communities (Altman 1987), they can also cause significant environmental damage and are a potential disease threat when densities are high (Bayliss ;md Yeomans 1989a). The continued monitoring of feral vertebrate populations in Arnhem Land is important to ensure that densities are maintained at appropriate levels.

Many programmes formally engage Australian Indigenous people in land and sea management to provide environmental services. There are also many Indigenous people who 'look after country' without rewards or payment because of cultural obligations. We investigated how Indigenous peoples' mobility in and around two communities (Maningrida and Ngukurr) is affected by their formal or informal engagement in cultural and natural resource management (CNRM). Understanding factors that influence peoples' mobility is important if essential services are to be provided to communities efficiently. We found that those providing formal CNRM were significantly less likely to stay away from settlements than among those 'looking after their country' without payment or reward. Paying Indigenous people to engage with markets for CNRM through carbon farming or payments for environmental services (PES) schemes may alter traditional activities and reduce mobility, particularly movements away from communities that extend the time spent overnight on country. This could have both environmental and social consequences that could be managed through greater opportunities for people to engage in formal CNRM while living away from communities and greater recognition of the centrality of culture to all Indigenous CNRM, formal or otherwise. Keywords: cultural obligations; fire management; land and sea management; 'looking after country'; payments for environmental services (PES); pest control; temporary movements healthy people? Exploring the health benefits of Indigenous natural resource management.