Northern Savanna Project

The Northern Savanna Project is a Savanna Fire Management project located at Kalpowar Station, approximately 220km northwest of Cooktown on the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland. Registered in November 2016, the project covers a vast area of 192,516 hectares adjacent to the Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park. The region, formerly utilized for cattle grazing, is now primarily managed for conservation and cultural purposes by the Traditional Owners through the Alka Bawar (Kalpowar) Aboriginal Corporation.

Savanna Fire Management projects in the high rainfall zone involve strategic, planned burning during the early dry season (cool burns) to reduce vegetation fuel loads. This practice creates a mosaic of fire scars that act as firebreaks, preventing large-scale, high-intensity wildfires later in the dry season when vegetation is driest. By mitigating these intense late-season fires, the project reduces the release of potent greenhouse gases like methane and nitrous oxide.

The project operates within a high rainfall classification, receiving approximately 1,000mm of rain annually, which supports dense tropical savanna vegetation. The local terrain is characterized by the floodplains of the Normanby River and surrounding ridges, with soil types predominantly consisting of Kandosols (red, yellow, and grey earths) and alluvial clays in lower-lying areas.

An interesting aspect of this project is its integration of traditional Indigenous ecological knowledge, passed down for over 60,000 years, with modern satellite technology to manage fire regimes. The project has undergone significant administrative changes, including a transition in 2025 to partner with Gondwana Carbon as its agent. While the project initially held a large fixed-delivery contract (CAC903889) for 5 million tonnes of abatement, records indicate this contract lapsed or was terminated in late 2022, though the project itself remains active and continues to generate Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) for the voluntary market.