Thamarrurr Carbon Project

The Western Top End Savannah Fire Management (WTESFM) project is an initiative that helps rangers and Traditional Owners get back out on Country by managing fire the right way, through controlled early dry season fires.

Fire carbon projects bring together old ways of doing things with new ways of working with

rangers, choppers and scientists. Fire carbon projects pay people to do early dry season burns to protect the Country from big hot fires later in the season.

The Indigenous Land & Sea Corporation (ILSC) worked in collaboration with TDC to setup and register the WTESFM in the Thamarrurr region with money provided from the INPEX development in Darwin.

The project aims to develop a long-term carbon business owned by a separate entity guided by Traditional Owners like models found in Arnhem Land carbon businesses. To support the WTESFM, TDC has provided:

• A fire management officer to coordinate the project
• Helicopter hours in year one
• Support for grader hours for fire road access and development of strategic fire breaks
• Casual wages for TO input into fire management
• Indigenous rangers to be involved in fire management
• Equipment such as fire units, leaf blowers, sheds and storage facilities, to increase fire management capability as required for Indigenous Ranger groups
• Training to increase fire management capacity
  Governance and business development assistance
• Increased consultation for fire management planning
• Development of fire-fighting capacity for tackling late season fires
• Project administration
  Carbon audits and other carbon administration

The fire carbon project employs local rangers and provides them with important jobs on Country while using their traditional knowledge of fire management.

“They’re doing that (carbon project) over in Arnhem land. People got jobs, more equipment, Countrymen getting back on Country”.

Uriah Crocombe, Thamarrurr rangers.