M.D.H. Savanna Burning Project (Revoked)

M.D.H. Savanna Burning Project (Revoked) was a large-scale savanna fire management project located in the Gulf Country of Queensland. The vast project area, covering approximately 1.2 million hectares, spanned a north-south corridor west of the Great Dividing Range, roughly 100km to 300km east of the Gulf of Carpentaria coastline. The project footprint encompasses major pastoral leases such as Dunbar and Rutland Plains in the north (near the Mitchell River) and Iffley Station in the south (near the Norman River). The nearest major service hub is the town of Normanton.

Registered in November 2016, the project was a partnership between Corporate Carbon Solutions and M.D.H. Pty Ltd, one of Australia’s largest family-owned beef producers. The project operated under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative-Emissions Abatement through Savanna Fire Management) Methodology Determination 2015. This methodology incentivizes land managers to conduct strategic, low-intensity burns during the early dry season (typically January to July). These controlled burns reduce the accumulated fuel load, thereby preventing high-intensity wildfires in the late dry season that release significantly more greenhouse gases.

The region is characterized as a tropical savanna environment with distinct wet and dry seasons. While the project area straddles the transition between rainfall zones, it was specifically classified under the "low rainfall area" for abatement calculations. The landscape features vast alluvial plains, open woodlands, and clay-rich soils typical of the Gulf Savannah, which support the extensive cattle grazing operations for which MDH is known.

The project was voluntarily revoked in March 2020 under Section 30 of the CFI Rule. This revocation is consistent with a broader industry trend where proponents moved from the 2015 methodology (which credited emissions avoidance only) to the newer 2018 methodology. The 2018 method allows projects to claim carbon credits for both avoiding emissions and sequestering carbon in dead organic matter, offering a more comprehensive accounting of the carbon benefits delivered by improved fire management.