ICIN was proud to support the Indigenous Carbon and Fire Management Workshop at the Carbon Farming Industry Forum this week, hosted by the Carbon Market Institute.

Suzanne Thompson, CEO of Yambangku Aboriginal Cultural Heritage and Tourism Development AC (YACHATDAC) did an amazing job of facilitating an inspiring and important discussion at the workshop, all from her troopy under a gumtree on the Iningai lands of Central Western Queensland, in the middle of a very busy week!  

Mimal Elder Annette Miller spoke about the work of Mimal Land Management to care for country using fire as part of its Central Arnhem Land Fire Abatement project. She shared the story of the Gundung mural (pictured) which was created by Mimal women in collaboration with Indigenous women from across the NT.

“We want to share our knowledge through our partnerships. We seek unity.”

Aboriginal Partnerships Manager at Bush Heritage Australia, Cissy Gore-Birch, who is also a Director of Balanggarra Aboriginal Corporation, spoke from Miriuwung Gajerrong country in the East Kimberley about the importance of engaging and connecting Indigenous women in fire management and the opportunity to support partnerships and build on the collective experience of the Indigenous carbon industry through knowledge sharing.

“It is a very important time to come together to bring about the best outcomes for country.”

Deputy CEO of the Kimberley Land Council, Tyronne Garstone, a Bardi man, spoke from Yawuru country in Broome to highlight the critical need to recognise Indigenous rights and interests in the carbon industry and the opportunity to empower Indigenous communities through ensuring carbon businesses maintain best practice standards of right-way engagement, particularly highlighting principles of Free, Prior and Informed Consent as outlined in the ICIN Best Practice Guidelines.

“There is a need to respect those rights and interests held in Native Title. We support the opportunity for Indigenous communities to achieve empowerment through carbon projects.”

Participants spoke of the need to support more women in leadership positions in the sector; to bring conversations about fire management together; support better communication; build capacity to support Indigenous voices to be heard at a higher level; and to work together to address these issues. They decided to convene a follow-up workshop in four weeks’ time through the Indigenous Carbon Industry Network to work through Next Steps.

If you are a member of ICIN and interested in participating please contact us.

The workshop on Tuesday followed an inspiring opening address at the forum by Professor Marcia Langton AM, a Director of the Aboriginal Carbon Foundation.

Ricky Archer CEO of the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Association (NAILSMA) spoke on Wednesday about its project supporting Indigenous landowners to use remote sensing technology to track and measure the impact of wild herd management of cattle.

The forum also included a presentation by Energy Minister Angus Taylor, as he outlined a suite of investments and changes to carbon policy, as well as by large corporate firms from across Australia and the world.

ICIN welcomes the invitation by the Carbon Market Institute to participate in the Carbon Farming Industry Forum and will share any outputs through the network as they are made available.