In the next few years the WALFA Project wants to continue to
improve educational outcomes for young people in the local
communities near the plateau, by involving them in the fire
management work, by making it easier for them to learn from their
elders on country and to continue the custodial role for Indigenous
ecological knowledge, and by allowing them to work with western
researchers and others to give them cross-cultural skills.
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One of the goals of the WALFA project is to help
educate young Indigenous people ny making it easier for them to
learn from their elders and western scientsists "on country"
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The outcomes achieved by the West Arnhem Fire project have
potential application across fire-prone tropical Australia, and
potentially, other fire-prone tropical regions. Indigenous land
management groups, major companies and governments are
investigating the feasibility of entering into similar Greenhouse
Gas offsets agreements using this approach. Up to five new
potential greenhouse gas and biodiversity abatement projects are
being planned in the fire-prone savannas of north Australia as
shown on the map below. The next project is scheduled to the the
Central Arnhem Land Fire Abatement Project (CALFA).
These new project areas should greatly increase the quantity of
greenhouse gases that can be abated in northern Australia –
and protect cultural and natural values in those areas, some of
which, like the West Arnhem Plateau, are globally significant.
At present only methane and nitrous oxide emissions can be
counted as net greenhouse emissions, however, there is evidence
that the wildfires are also net CO2 emitters and if this is
confirmed and international guidelines allow it, the greenhouse
gases officially abated by these activities would increase
significantly. Emissions abated would also increase if
‘indirect’ greenhouse gases (carbon monoxide, other
oxides of nitrogen and non-methane volatile organic compounds) are
able to be accounted for. One estimate is that the WALFA project
might be assessed as offsetting the equivalent of 1 million tonnes
of CO2 in the future.1,2
Furthermore, while the rangers in the WALFA project currently
receive around AU$10 a tonne for emissions abatement activities,
these later projects should benefit from participation in Emission
Trading Systems and receive higher returns, thus generating
significant income, jobs and the flow-on social benefits that the
WALFA project is already bringing to the local communities.
This important new way that skilled Indigenous fire managers can
work with the broader community to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
protect culture and biodiversity on their country, and bring in
social and economic benefits to their communities could also be
applied to other fire-prone tropical savannas around the world.
References
1. Cook GD (2008) Fuels, fires and greenhouse gases. In
Managing fire regimes in north Australian savannas –
ecology, culture, economy (eds J Russell-Smith, PJ Whitehead, P
Cooke). CSIRO Publications, Melbourne. (in preparation)
2. Putnis, A., Josif, P., and Woodward, E. (2007) Healthy
Country, Healthy People: Supporting Indigenous Engagement in the
Sustainable Management of Northern Territory Land and Seas: A
Strategic Framework. CSIRO: Darwin, 229 pages
