Mainoru Savanna Burning Project

Mainoru Savanna Burning Project is a savanna fire management project located at Mainoru Station, approximately 250km northeast of Katherine in the Northern Territory along the Central Arnhem Road. It was registered in September 2015 and covers an expansive area of 132,311.40 ha.

Savanna fire management projects involve conducting strategic and planned burning of savanna areas during the early dry season. The standard requirement is to actively manage fire patterns to reduce the natural fuel load. By doing so, this subsequently limits the risk, extent, and intensity of uncontrolled late dry season wildfires, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions like methane and nitrous oxide.

The central Arnhem region is heavily utilized for pastoral leases, with Mainoru Station operating as a large commercial cattle grazing property. The environment is defined by a monsoonal tropical climate featuring distinct high-rainfall wet seasons and exceptionally dry seasons. The local landscape features river floodplains, savanna woodlands, and spinifex, and the soil profiles include fertile river levee soils, porous red earths, and karstic groundwater features.

This project aims to reduce fire emissions by actively managing both the high and low rainfall zones of the station. Notably, the Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) generated by this project have been widely purchased by major corporate entities, such as IFM Investors and Asahi Beverages, to offset their operational greenhouse gas emissions and meet sustainability targets. Furthermore, the property is family-owned and operates the Mainoru Outstation Store, which provides an essential rest stop equipped with food, fuel, and accommodation for travellers venturing along the remote 700km stretch to Nhulunbuy in East Arnhem Land.