Fighting fire with fire

Controlled Burning Cuts Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Indigenous-led fire management protects wildlife, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, increases sequestered carbon in the landscape and strengthens Indigenous culture. 

In northern Australia, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) supports our Indigenous partners to combine their traditional ecological knowledge and cultural practice with cutting-edge fire science to manage their Country with fire. They do this in line with broader environmental and cultural objectives often set through Healthy Country Planning.    

This results in a net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from savanna fire, which can be quantified and may allow groups to earn ‘carbon credits’.    

Since TNC helped establish one of the first savanna-burning carbon projects in 2012, Indigenous fire carbon enterprises have expanded significantly. Registered Indigenous-led savanna-burning carbon projects now cover 22 million hectares of Indigenous land and achieve more than one million tonnes of emissions reduction each year.    

The sale of the resulting carbon credits issued by the Australian Government can help fund the continuation of these large-scale, remote land management projects. Annually, they generate over $50 million of revenue for Indigenous organisations.  

We have observed an increase in jobs in indigenous organisations that are managing carbon projects and our partners have reported better ability to access and manage their lands. Additionally, positive cultural impacts have been consistently evidenced through these projects.  

Continuing Carbon Projects in Northern Australia

TNC continues to help Australia’s Indigenous communities successfully plan, prepare for, and register savanna-burning carbon projects. We are also working with our Indigenous partners to help them build their capacity for long-term, sustainable management and governance of these projects in line with their aspirations for Country.    

We also support the development and adoption of new and improved methodologies which will better reflect the impact of these projects, and as a result will increase the number of carbon credits and the revenue generated.      

We’re strengthening the collaboration across the Indigenous carbon industry by supporting coordination and leadership through the Indigenous Carbon Industry Network (ICIN).    

At the same time, we work with our Indigenous partners on documenting and highlighting the story of savanna-burning projects.   

The Nature Conservancy's fire program history

Originally, TNC’s focus was on building conservation organisations’ capacity and resources to achieve common conservation objectives. We co-funded the Australian Wildlife Conservancy and Bush Heritage Australia to purchase and manage eight properties across northern Australia, including properties such as Wongalara Station and Yourka Reserve.

From 2007/8, we shifted our focus to Indigenous-led approaches as opportunities were identified for large-scale conservation and human wellbeing outcomes within the large structurally intact Northern landscapes facing threats from altered management processes – principally fire, weed and feral animals. These had potential to be addressed at scale through Indigenous land management. This approach reflected the desire by Indigenous communities & Ranger teams to sustainably manage their Country, including through declaration of Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) also supported by the Australian Government, and – in relation to fire management – was aligned with the emergence of opportunities to generate income from early-dry-season fire management through a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions otherwise resulting from unmanaged late-season wildfires3.

TNC’s program has since focussed on supporting Indigenous peoples to plan and manage their land through Healthy Country Planning, catalysing and supporting the development of IPAs, and helping build capacity for fire management as well as driving the development of innovative financing approaches for supporting the sustainability of Indigenous-led management. Support for Indigenous fire management has been a key component, primarily through supporting the development of an Indigenous savanna burning carbon industry that generates carbon credits for avoided emissions through changing fire regimes from uncontrolled late dry-season fires to early dry-season controlled burning.

Over time, we have broadened our support for the establishment and maintenance of sustainable management capacity in communities that might be constrained by limited governance capacity and funding. This also means an increased focus on equity (particularly women’s projects) and cultural authority for longer-term conservation over multiple generations to ensure the transfer of knowledge to younger generations and building leadership for the future. 

We would like to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the Land we help to conserve and pay respect to the Elders both past and present.