In July, ICIN members supported Senator Malarndirri McCarthy, Labor Senator for the Northern Territory, and Chris Bowen MP, Australia's Minister for Climate Change and Energy, to view Indigenous-led carbon projects - both savanna fire management and blue carbon methodologies around managing introduced hard-hoofed animals - and their wide-ranging benefits on Yolŋu Country in north east Arnhem Land.
It's wonderful to be here with you Senator in Arnhem Land. A lot of people have probably heard of carbon credits, but don't really know what they are. Here we have an area five times the size of Tasmania, where we are learning from First Nations people about how they've looked after the land and reduced carbon emissions through their way of managing fire. We are doing more work with them, we want to get millions more tonnes of carbon out with managing feral animals, buffalo etc, it's so great to be here with you, to see this, and to talk to First Nations people about what more we can do together," said Chris Bowen MP from Yolŋu Country.
View content from this visit here and here.
As well as viewing the projects on the ground, Minister Bowen also visited the Nawarddeken Academy Schools, which were established with carbon revenue. These schools are supporting children who live in this very remote part of the country to learn the culture of their own community, but also get the tools they need to succeed outside their community.
It was very special to join Senator Malarndirri McCarthy and hear from Dr Otto Campion and his team at Arnhem Land Fire Abatement about this traditional knowledge in action. For tens of thousands of years, Aboriginal people in Arnhem Land have used fire strategically — lighting small, cool burns early in the dry season to prevent dangerous wildfires later. We now support this ongoing practice through carbon credits (Australian Carbon Credit Units) also known as offsets, and it’s creating jobs, with 300 people employed through Arnhem Land Fire Abatement projects alone," added Chris Bowen MP.