Across Arnhem Land, in the remote tropical savannas of northern Australia, Aboriginal Traditional Owners and rangers utilise customary fire knowledge to accomplish highly sophisticated landscape scale fire management. This work is resourced through their engagement with the carbon market and the savanna burning methodology.

ALFA (NT) Limited is the entirely Aboriginal-owned and not-for-profit carbon farming business created by Aboriginal Traditional Owners in Arnhem Land to support their engagement with the carbon industry. Membership of ALFA (NT) Limited is open to Aboriginal people who have customary responsibilities for those parts of Arnhem Land under active bushfire management.

ALFA is the registered project proponent for five registered savanna burning projects:
• WALFA (West Arnhem Land Fire Abatement)
• CALFA (Central Arnhem Land Fire Abatement)
• SEALFA (South East Arnhem Land Fire Abatement)
• SEALFA2 (South East Arnhem Land Fire Abatement Stage 2)
• NEALFA (North East Arnhem Land Fire Abatement)

All funds generated from the sale of ALFA ACCUs are applied to the transparent objectives of the company and reinvested back into the community-based Aboriginal ranger groups providing local employment while preserving culture and the environment.

ALFA currently supports nine Aboriginal ranger groups consisting of Traditional Owners and their families to operate the five ALFA fire projects. Collectively, these groups manage an area of over 80,000 km2 encompassing rugged sandstone escarpments, monsoon rainforest, intact riparian ecosystems, floodplains, remote coastal regions and vast expanses of savanna. These include

- Mimal Rangers (CALFA and WALFA)

- Warddeken Rangers (WALFA)

- Bawinanga/ Djelk Rangers (WALFA and CALFA) 

- Arafura Swamp Rangers (CALFA)

- Adjumarllarl Rangers (WALFA)

- Jawoyn Rangers (CALFA)

- Laynapuy Homelands AC/ Yirralka Rangers (NEALFA)

- Numbulwar Numburindi Rangers (SEALFA and SEALFA2)

- Yugul Mangi Rangers (SEALFA and SEALFA2)

The fire project areas include four declared Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) – the Djelk, Warddeken, South East Arnhem Land and Laynhapuy IPAs as well as two IPAs currently under consultation – the Mimal and Arafura Swamp IPAs. Their work not only reduces GHG emissions and improves the environmental health of country – it generates a host of cultural, economic and social co-benefits.

View the 2019 ALFA NT Annual Report to find out more