Dambimangari Fire Project

The Dambimangari Fire Project is a significant Savanna Fire Management project located in the remote North Kimberley region of Western Australia, approximately 200 kilometers northeast of Derby. Registered in February 2014, the project covers an expansive area of over 805,000 hectares. This region is not utilised for conventional agriculture; instead, it lies within the Dambimangari Indigenous Protected Area (IPA), where land use is focused on conservation, cultural heritage preservation, and traditional "Healthy Country" management by the Dambimangari Traditional Owners.

The project operates under the 2015 Savanna Fire Management methodology, specifically designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The core activity involves strategic "cool" burning during the early dry season (typically April to June) to create firebreaks and reduce fuel loads. This prevents the outbreak of large, uncontrolled, and high-intensity wildfires during the late dry season, which release significantly higher volumes of methane and nitrous oxide. By shifting the fire regime to a controlled, lower-intensity model, the project generates Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) for the avoided emissions.

Environmentally, the project area sits within the high rainfall zone of Northern Australia, characterized by a distinct monsoonal climate with a wet season from December to April and a dry season for the remainder of the year. The landscape is rugged and diverse, featuring sandstone plateaus, volcanic hills, and deep valleys. Soil types range from sandy lithosols on the ridges to black soil plains and clays in the lowlands. The vegetation is predominantly tropical savanna woodland with spinifex ground cover, interspersed with ecologically sensitive pockets of monsoon vine thickets and rainforest that require protection from hot fires.

A notable aspect of this project is its integration into the North Kimberley Fire Abatement Project (NKFAP), a collaborative initiative involving neighboring Native Title groups. The Dambimangari people, known as "Saltwater People," use the revenue generated from carbon credits to fund their Ranger programs, which manage invasive species, monitor biodiversity, and protect ancient rock art sites that can be damaged by intense heat from uncontrolled wildfires.