South East Arnhem Land Fire Abatement Project (SEALFA) Project

South East Arnhem Land Fire Abatement Project (SEALFA) Project is a Savanna Fire Management project located in the South East Arnhem Land Indigenous Protected Area in the Northern Territory. Situated roughly 60 kilometres northwest of the Numbulwar community and approximately 400 kilometres east of Katherine, the project spans an impressive 522,164.52 hectares. It was officially registered in August 2015. The project area consists of inalienable Aboriginal freehold land and is primarily used for traditional land management and conservation purposes.

Savanna fire management projects involve the strategic, planned burning of savanna areas during the early dry season. The standard requirements for this methodology dictate that preventative burning must occur before the late dry season to reduce the overall fuel load. By minimizing the frequency and extent of intense, unmanaged late dry season wildfires, the methodology successfully avoids the substantial release of greenhouse gas emissions such as methane and nitrous oxide.

The environment in this part of Arnhem Land is defined by a tropical savanna climate, categorized as a high rainfall zone with distinct wet and dry seasons. The regional landscape typically features sandy and lateritic soils on the plateau, alongside some clay loams found closer to the river systems.

A notable aspect of the SEALFA project is its proponent, ALFA (NT) Limited, an Aboriginal-owned, not-for-profit carbon business. The on-ground fire management activities are meticulously coordinated by Traditional Owners and implemented by local Indigenous ranger groups, specifically the Numbulwar Numburindi and Yugul Mangi Rangers. All income generated from the sale of Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) is reinvested to support these Aboriginal ranger groups, helping them achieve localized land management goals and broader community development aspirations. In early 2017, the project smoothly transitioned to the updated 2015 savanna burning methodology to continue its emissions abatement efforts.