Good practice

West Arnhem Land Fire Abatement (WALFA)

Australia · Jabiru · See the Australia profile

Aboriginal-owned carbon project in western Arnhem Land: Traditional Owners apply strategic early dry-season burning over 28,000 km2 to reduce late-season wildfires, earning >4.8 million Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) since 2006.

28,000 km2

Area under fire management

4.8M+

ACCUs earned (since 2006)

Details

Maturity: Established
Promoter: Arnhem Land Fire Abatement (NT) Limited (ALFA)
Period: 2006-present
Keywords: Savanna, fire management, carbon, indigenous land management

Context

The West Arnhem Land Fire Abatement (WALFA) project is an Aboriginal-owned carbon project in which Traditional Owners apply strategic early dry-season burning across western Arnhem Land to reduce destructive late-season wildfires.

Results

The project covers 28,000 km2 and has earned more than 4.8 million Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) since 2006.

Implementation

Implementation detail (cost, timeline, staffing, conditions for success) is not yet available for this practice.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

C-NAPSE web research — accessed 2026-06-20
Arnhem Land Fire Abatement (NT) Limited (ALFA) — accessed 2026-06-20
Clean Energy Regulator - Arnhem Land Fire Abatement case study — accessed 2026-06-20
Carbon Market Institute - WALFA Project profile — accessed 2026-06-20

Attachments

Source image

Quality score: 73/100

How is this calculated?

Evidence: Observational / pre–post

Top 4% in this catalogue (335 scored practices)

Scores cluster high, so position within the catalogue is often more telling than the number alone.

Evaluation

Evaluated by C-NAPSE

Score profile — the dimensions behind the score — how it's computed

Carbon — sequestration / storage, evidenced3/3

4.8M+ ACCUs verified by Australia's Clean Energy Regulator (each = 1 tonne CO2e avoided) under the ERF savanna burning methodology.

Biodiversity — conservation / improvement, evidenced2/3

Reduced late-dry-season fire extent protects savanna flora and fauna and maintains cultural landscapes; species-level monitoring data are limited.

Water & soil — retention, infiltration, erosion control0/3

Not a primary design objective; reduced fire intensity may limit erosion from ash run-off but no quantified water or soil evidence is cited.

Fire resilience — risk reduction, evidenced3/3

Core mechanism: strategic early dry-season burning across 28,000 km2 demonstrably reduces late-season wildfire area and greenhouse gas emissions, verified by the Clean Energy Regulator.

Governance, certification & transferability3/3

Australian Carbon Credit Unit scheme; government registry; Aboriginal corporation ownership; Clean Energy Regulator oversight; transferable ACCUs on national market.

Cite this

Evidoria. West Arnhem Land Fire Abatement (WALFA). Persistent ID: d37a65fc-1a73-4287-b891-ee7280e223e1.

Export as decision brief (PDF)

Similar practices you may find useful

★ 87

Bhutan for Life — Project Finance for Permanence (Bhutan)

Bhutan

Asia's first 'Project Finance for Permanence' secures 1.1 M ha of protected Himalayan forest in Bhutan via a USD 118 …

★ 67

Portugal Ecosystem Services Remuneration Programme — Serra do Açor & Tejo Internacional

Portugal

Portugal's national PES pilot (Resolução 121/2019): Fundo Ambiental pays 14 landowners €3.7M over 20 years to conserve 27,674 ha — …

★ 67

China Sloping Land Conversion Programme (Grain for Green / SLCP)

China

World's largest PES programme: China's Grain for Green converted 34.3M ha of sloped farmland to forest and grassland since 1999, …

★ 67

USDA Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)

United States of America

USDA programme paying farmers to convert highly erodible cropland to permanent vegetative cover. 24.8 million acres (~10 Mha) enrolled; $1.8 …