NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS FOR CLIMATE: NORTH KIMBERLEY RIGHT-WAY FIRE
The North Kimberley Right-Way Fire project is an Indigenous-led nature-based solution for climate that aims to access market opportunities to further protect and restore northern Australian savanna ecosystems.
Our Wanjina Wunggurr ancestors have been using fire to manage and protect our Country for a long, long time. Fire is our most important thing to look after and keep our Country healthy. It is important we burn the land according to our Wanjina Wunggurr Law, the right way, and at the right time of year.
Chair Wunambal Gaambera Aboriginal Corporation, Director Indigenous Carbon Industry Network
“Our community has a strong vision for looking after our Country. We want to make sure our Traditional Knowledge is alive and strong and that all plants, animals and cultural sites are looked after.”
Dambimangari Aboriginal Corporation
What is the North Kimberley Right-Way Fire project?
The North Kimberley Right-Way Fire project is an Indigenous-led nature-based solution for climate designed for the new Nature Repair Market. This project aims to access unique opportunities to further protect and restore northern Australian savanna ecosystems through Right-Way Fire management.
WHAT IS A SAVANNA ECOSYSTEM?
A savanna ecosystem is a unique blend of woodland and grassland, characterised by scattered trees spaced far enough apart to allow sunlight to reach the ground. This sunlight supports a continuous layer of grasses and other herbaceous plants growing beneath the trees.
In Australia, savannas cover about 23% of the continent and are mainly found in northern Australia from the Kimberley in WA to the Top End of the NT and Cape York in north Qld.
As well as protecting northern Australian savanna ecosystems, this project is an opportunity to:
- Make communities stronger and more prepared for challenges;
- Use Traditional Knowledge to grow economically;
- Strengthen cultural leadership on Country; and
- Show the value and success of Traditional Land Management practices.
The project is a long-term collaboration between WWF-Australia and the North Kimberley Fire Abatement Project, which includes four Indigenous organisations — Balanggarra, Dambimangari, Wilinggin and Wunambal Gaambera Aboriginal Corporations. Together they use Right-Way Fire management across large areas in the biodiversity hotspot of the north Kimberley. The project is also supported by Charles Darwin University.
What is Right-Way Fire?
"There’s no other place on this earth like our beloved Ngarinyin country! Having a successful fire program is important because it helps Wilinggin to better protect and preserve its biodiversity and look after Country and our cultural places. It makes jobs for our people who can earn money by looking after Country like the old people, and that is a special thing.”
Wilinggin Traditional Owner, Wilinggin Community Project Officer
Why is the North Kimberley Right-Way Fire project important?
The North Kimberley Right-Way Fire project clearly shows that nature-based solutions work.
This project is an important part of the global effort to fight climate change in ways that work for local communities. It shows how using nature can help solve climate problems and protect animals and plants. It leads to what Indigenous Australians call healthy Country.
The project is led by Kimberley Traditional Owners, with their Traditional Knowledge about the environment guiding all the work being done. This is important because more people are recognising how valuable this Knowledge is for taking care of our planet, or keeping Country healthy. By mixing traditional practices with modern science, this project can be a great example to inform other initiatives in Australia and around the world, especially in savanna ecosystems like those in Africa and Brazil.
What will the project achieve?
Under Kimberley Traditional Owner leadership, this project aims to develop a strong savanna fire management assessment framework fit for the new Nature Repair market. The project will create a new approach to evaluating biodiversity outcomes from Right-Way Fire management, incorporating biological and cultural indicators and measures. The goal is to protect and restore the natural and cultural health of Australian savannas through Right-Way Fire.
To achieve this, the project will:
- Develop a ‘nature-based solution for climate’ method that strengthens savanna fire management strategies based on ecological limits and cultural values.
- Create maps and monitoring systems to show the land is healthier when practising Right-Way Fire - achieved through using Traditional Knowledge and other measurements specific to the area.
- Design nature friendly products that include cultural, ecological, and climate benefits of Right-Way Fire management, for use across all savannas in Australia while respecting local communities, ecology and culture.
What are nature-based solutions?
The North Kimberley Right-Way Fire project aims to protect nature, fight climate change, and support meaningful Traditional Custodianship. Healthy ecosystems depend on the cultural knowledge and practices of Traditional Owners. Climate restoration is about empowering local people and communities economically and infrastructurally to create sustainable solutions, allowing both people and nature to thrive.
“Our Right-Way Fire burning helps plants grow and provides us with bush foods and animals with shelter and food. Managing our wildfires using savanna burning protects our Country and we are also making business from savanna burning for carbon.”
Chair Wunambal Gaambera Aboriginal Corporation, Director Indigenous Carbon Industry Network
“I have been privileged to be a part of Wilinggin’s fire program for 9 years now. It is a fulfilling role managing fire on Country and helping to empower the Nyarinyin people. It is through lots of hard work that our efforts, and those of our North Kimberley Fire Abatement Project partners, have made such significant strides towards restoring a managed fire regime to the region. There is so much still to be learnt about fire and its relationships with both the Country and the Nyarinyin people and how these are entwined. Personally, I have seen the benefits firsthand, but it is also great that projects like this can give a broader perspective on the successes and challenges of our efforts and help to guide our constant improvement.”
Wilinggin Traditional Owner, Wilinggin Fire Manager
We would like to acknowledge the support of Lotterywest and the Australian Government’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW).
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