AUSTRALIA TO SHARE INDIGENOUS FIRE MANAGEMENT EXPERTISE

Today we announce a project to share world-leading fire management expertise developed by Indigenous Australians to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve land management outcomes in Botswana.

 

The Traditional Fire Management project will improve savanna fire management and help the Government of Botswana develop emissions measuring techniques. Botswana’s Okavango-Zambezi region is among the most affected areas in the world by savanna fires, which destroy infrastructure, stagnate economic productivity and emit large amounts of greenhouse gases.

 

The project will provide opportunities for Australian Indigenous fire management workers to share their expertise overseas and to utilise Australia’s emissions accounting and reporting capability.

 

Indigenous fire management techniques have been fostered and deployed through the Australian Government’s Emissions Reduction Fund where Indigenous rangers, pastoralists and land managers receive Australian Carbon Credit Units for reducing emissions from savanna fires across northern Australia. These practices have attracted significant international interest.

 

The $3.8 million project has the potential to encourage investment in fire management globally, driving greater efforts to reduce land-based emissions.