Raak Nguunge

Raak Nguunge is a Savanna Fire Management project located in the Pormpuraaw local government area on the western coast of the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland. The project is centered around the community of Pormpuraaw, approximately 650km northwest of Cairns and halfway between Karumba and Weipa. Registered in October 2014, the project covers a massive area of approximately 420,652 hectares. The region is predominantly Indigenous land utilized for conservation, traditional hunting, and cultural practices, managed by the Pormpuraaw Aboriginal Shire Council in collaboration with local rangers.

The project operates under the Savanna Fire Management methodology, specifically focusing on emissions abatement in the high rainfall zone. This involves shifting the fire regime from late dry season wildfires, which are hot, intense, and destructive, to strategic, planned burns during the early dry season (cooler months). By igniting smaller, cooler fires early in the year, the project reduces the fuel load, thereby preventing the large-scale release of greenhouse gases that would occur if the landscape were left to burn uncontrollably later in the year.

Environmentally, the region is characterized as a high-rainfall tropical savanna subject to distinct wet (monsoonal) and dry seasons. The landscape features vast alluvial plains with soils ranging from sandy ridges and loams to heavy clays in the floodplains and saltpans. These conditions support a diverse mix of Melaleuca woodlands and grasslands. The project area experiences heavy flooding during the wet season, which often isolates the community, making the dry season the critical window for land management activities.

A unique aspect of this project is its deep cultural integration; "Raak Nguunge" translates to "burning season" in the local Kuuk Thaayorre language. The initiative is executed by the Pormpuraaw Land & Sea Management Rangers, providing vital employment and allowing Traditional Owners to care for their country using a blend of traditional ecological knowledge and modern aerial incendiary techniques. Additionally, the project supports biodiversity co-benefits, such as protecting the nesting habitats of threatened sea turtles, including the Flatback and Olive Ridley turtles, along the adjacent coastline.