Wilinggin Aboriginal Corporation

The Wilinggin Fire Project covers an area of over 1 million hectares of exclusive possession Native Title land across both the Shire of Derby West Kimberley and Shire of Wyndham East Kimberley. The project is registered under the Emissions Reduction Fund using the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative – Emissions Abatement through Savanna Fire Management) Methodology Determination 2015.

This landscape-scale carbon abatement project represents one of Australia's largest Indigenous-controlled climate action initiatives, demonstrating how traditional fire management practices can deliver significant environmental and economic benefits while strengthening cultural connections to Country.

The Wilinggin Fire Project uses a combination of Indigenous traditional knowledge and modern scientific practices to conduct landscape-scale early dry season burning which reduces greenhouse gas emissions from all fire are reduced while creating significant other community and environmental benefits.

Our approach integrates thousands of years of Ngarinyin fire knowledge with contemporary climate science to achieve optimal outcomes. Projects under savanna fire management methods can earn Australian carbon credit units (ACCUs) by reintroducing controlled fire burning during the early dry season. This reduces the frequency and severity of fires in the late dry season.

Key Management Strategies:

• Early Dry Season Burning: Strategic lighting of cooler, patchy burns during early dry season (typically May to July) to create natural firebreaks and reduce fuel loads

• Mosaic Fire Management: Creating a complex patchwork of different burn ages and intensities that mimics natural fire patterns and supports biodiversity

• Cultural Fire Protocols: Incorporating traditional seasonal indicators, sacred site protection, and cultural restrictions into all fire management activities

• Landscape-Scale Planning: Coordinating burns across the entire project area to maximise carbon benefits while protecting critical habitats and cultural sites

The Project is made up of two distinct project areas: Area 1 falls entirely within the 1,000mm rainfall band and formed the original Wilinggin Fire Project registered in 2014; and Area 2 includes Unallocated Crown Land Parcels falling within the 600mm to 1,000mm rainfall band, which were added to the Wilinggin Fire Project on 9 October 2017.

Project Area 1 - Original Wilinggin Fire Project (2014)

• Location: Core Ngarinyin traditional territory

• Rainfall zone: >1,000mm annually

• Vegetation: High-rainfall savanna ecosystems

• Key features: Mitchell Plateau region, Prince Regent River catchment

Project Area 2 - Extended Project Area (2017)

• Location: Unallocated Crown Land within Ngarinyin determination area

• Rainfall zone: 600-1,000mm annually

• Vegetation: Mixed savanna and woodland systems

• Key features: Transition zones between high and low rainfall savannas

The project areas encompass diverse ecosystems including coastal plains, sandstone escarpments, riverine systems, and inland savannas, each requiring specific fire management approaches based on traditional ecological knowledge and contemporary conservation science.

Our fire management approach delivers measurable climate benefits through:

Emissions Reduction: Late dry season fires release substantially more greenhouse gas than early dry season fires which are cooler and patchier, burning less extensively and intensely. By shifting fire timing and intensity, we significantly reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions from the landscape.

Quantified Results:

• Over 40% reduction in annual emissions compared to unmanaged fire regimes

• Reduced total fire coverage by approximately one-third across project areas

• Generated thousands of Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) annually since project registration

Monitoring and Verification: Continuous satellite monitoring, ground-truthing by Ngarinyin rangers, and independent verification ensure accurate measurement of carbon outcomes while building internal capacity for ongoing project management.