Traditional indigenous fire-management techniques from Australia could help in the global fight against climate change, as well as create jobs and generate carbon credit sales.

The long-standing practice, supported today by modern technologies like satellites, uses controlled, early-dry season fires to create fire breaks and patchy mosaics of burnt and unburnt country. The strategy has been used for centuries to minimise destructive, late-dry season wildfires. It also maximises biodiversity protection.

A test of the indigenous technique has been conducted for the last three years as part of northern Australia’s West Arnhem Land Fire Abatement (WALFA) project. So far, the effort has reduced the region’s carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions by an annual average of 140,000 tonnes; it could eventually generate at least 1 million tonnes of carbon credit sales per year and create more than 200 new jobs in indigenous communities.

The Australian WALFA project led to a landmark greenhouse gas offset agreement between ConocoPhillips, the Northern Territory Government, Northern Land Council and traditional owners in west Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia.

Traditional owners from West Arnhem have agreed to generate 100,000 tonnes of carbon credits annually through traditional fire management employing indigenous rangers. The credits will be used to offset greenhouse gas emissions from ConocoPhillips’ liquefied natural gas plant in Darwin Harbour.

ConocoPhillips has agreed to pay $1 million (Australian) per year into the project over 17 years. The offsets will be recognised under the proposed Australian Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.

Building on the WALFA pilot, the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance (NAILSMA) has raised $7.8 million from the Australian government towards the $30 million needed to develop and administer four additional projects using indigenous land managers. The goal is to eventually create over 1 million tonnes of carbon credits annually.

Similar projects could also be used in the savannas of Africa, where the potential for carbon reductions is very high. Currently, land use and biomass burning (including savanna wildfires) account for 10 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, a large portion of which comes from Africa and northern Australia.

“This experience is the best example in the world of indigenous and local communities using the emerging carbon market to develop culturally appropriate livelihoods,” said Konrad Osterwalder, UN Under Secretary-General and rector of United Nations University. “The lessons learnt from this experience are invaluable, especially now that there are billions of dollars available to local communities worldwide to help them take climate change mitigation and adaptation measures.”

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