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

Superficie bajo gestión del fuego

4.8M+

ACCU generadas (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

El West Arnhem Land Fire Abatement (WALFA) es un proyecto de carbono propiedad de aborígenes en el que los Propietarios Tradicionales aplican quemas estratégicas al inicio de la estación seca en el oeste de Arnhem Land para reducir los incendios destructivos de final de temporada.

Results

El proyecto abarca 28.000 km2 y ha generado más de 4,8 millones de Unidades de Crédito de Carbono Australianas (ACCU) desde 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)

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