An Aboriginal corporation in the Northern Territory has been awarded a carbon credit contract with the federal government for its fire management program.
The successful bid for the project – which is the first of its kind in the Central Desert Region – will allow the corporation to hire a dozen First Nation’s people alongside rangers.
Carbon credit projects involve the strategic burning of savannah lands early in the dry season to avoid large fires later on.
Burning off creates less greenhouse gases than uncontrolled fires and the difference is awarded in carbon credits which can be sold to the commonwealth or corporations looking to reduce their own emissions.
Central Land Council director David Ross says there will be “wider social and environmental outcomes and improved biodiversity and reinvigorated cultural traditions.”
The corporation’s contract secures payments for 24,100 tonnes at an average of just over $10/tonne.
