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

M.D.H. Savanna Burning Project (Revoked) is a savanna fire management project located across the Carpentaria and Tablelands local government areas in northern Queensland, spanning vast tracts of land roughly 210km northeast and 130km south of Normanton. It was registered in November 2016 and covers an expansive 1,198,904 hectares.

Savanna fire management projects involve the strategic and planned burning of savanna areas during the early dry season. The standard requirements for this methodology focus on shifting fire patterns to cooler times of the year to intentionally reduce fuel loads. This prevents hotter, highly destructive late dry season wildfires, thereby reducing emissions of potent greenhouse gases like methane and nitrous oxide.

The Carpentaria and Tablelands region is well known for extensive pastoral operations, predominantly beef cattle grazing. The environment is characterized by a wet-dry tropical monsoonal climate that encompasses distinct high and low rainfall zones. Soils across these savanna landscapes typically consist of deeply weathered red earths, sandy loams, and cracking clays found along the expansive floodplains.

An interesting note about this project is that it was co-managed by Corporate Carbon Solutions and M.D.H. Pty Ltd, the latter being one of Australia's largest privately-owned cattle producers with a family legacy spanning over 190 years in the agricultural industry. The project originally secured a Commonwealth carbon abatement contract for 130,000 units in November 2016, but this contract later lapsed or was terminated in May 2018. Ultimately, the project was officially revoked under section 30 of the CFI Rule in March 2020.