Pungalina Seven Emu Carbon Abatement

Pungalina Seven Emu Carbon Abatement is a Savanna Fire Management project located in the remote Gulf of Carpentaria region of the Northern Territory, approximately 150km southeast of Borroloola. Registered in February 2016, the project covers a vast area of approximately 194,849 hectares. The site is part of the larger Pungalina-Seven Emu Sanctuary, a 306,000-hectare conservation reserve formed through a unique partnership between the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) and the Shadforth family, the Indigenous owners of the Seven Emu pastoral lease.

The project operates under the Emissions Abatement through Savanna Fire Management methodology. This involves conducting strategic, planned burns during the early dry season (typically cooler and moister conditions) to reduce the fuel load of dry grass and vegetation. By creating these fire breaks, the project aims to prevent high-intensity, uncontrolled wildfires that typically occur in the late dry season. This shift in fire regime reduces the release of powerful greenhouse gases like methane and nitrous oxide while simultaneously protecting the region's biodiversity.

Environmentally, the project sits within the Gulf Coastal bioregion, characterized by a tropical savanna climate with distinct wet and dry seasons. Although classified as a "low rainfall" project for the purpose of the methodology, the region receives a mean annual rainfall of approximately 975mm, mostly falling between December and March. The landscape is diverse, featuring rugged sandstone plateaus (Proterozoic sandstones), deep alluvial soils along the Calvert and Robinson Rivers, and sandy red earths on the coastal plains.

A notable feature of this project is its dual purpose of carbon abatement and wildlife conservation. The sanctuary protects a corridor extending from the sandstone uplands to the coastal waters, providing refuge for threatened species such as the Gouldian Finch, the Carpentarian Grasswren, and the Purple-crowned Fairy-wren. The collaboration with Frank Shadforth and the Garawa people represents a landmark model for conservation on pastoral land in Northern Australia.