Burn Postcard

Whilst there wasn’t the binding agreement some expected at Copenhagen regarding climate change, for NAILSMA the conference provided an opportunity to commence what we believe will be a long term relationship with other Indigenous groups living in savannas around the world facing similar challenges regarding management of country whilst living in varying levels of poverty.

NAILSMA also had a chance to attend talks about Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in developing countries (REDD), which we are more convinced applies to northern Indigenous Australia. This program provides an incentive to the storage of carbon in forests and tries to achieve better management, biodiversity outcomes in developing countries. This pathway could allow Indigenous people in the north a way in which to approach sustainable development with low carbon outputs. Whilst it only applies to developing countries, there is a growing argument that Indigenous north Australia is akin to a developing country and therefore REDD is applicable here too.

We also provided a presentation at a side event 'Indigenous Day' where we presented the work being conducted around savanna fire management. We learnt that the project to produce carbon offsets from savanna fires and in particular the WALFA project is truly ground breaking around the world with no indication that it is being done anywhere else, more so an approach from peoples in Brazil and South Africa in this project has created an opportunity for Indigenous north Australians in the future. A number of films put together by the United Nations University – Institute of Advanced Studies, Citt Williams showcased the excellent work being done around the world by Indigenous people on climate change.

Copenhagen also led us to believe that we have a way to go to get our approaches to dealing with Climate Change in the north and to ensure that further pressures on Indigenous peoples to reside on their country needs a long term and comprehensive approach that will require practical, policy and research and development investments.

Joe Morrison, NAILSMA CEO

Attending Copenhagen were Nolan Hunter, Samara Erlandson and Joe Morrison.