North East Arnhem Land Fire Abatement (NEALFA)

North East Arnhem Land Fire Abatement (NEALFA) is a savanna fire management project located in North East Arnhem Land, approximately 85km southwest of the major town of Nhulunbuy in the Northern Territory. It was registered in November 2016 and covers a vast area of 1,077,858.50 hectares.

Savanna fire management projects involve the strategic and planned burning of savanna areas during the early dry season. This early controlled burning reduces natural fuel loads and creates firebreaks, which ultimately mitigates the risk, scale, and intensity of destructive late dry-season wildfires. By reducing the severity of these fires, the project achieves a significant reduction in overall greenhouse gas emissions, specifically methane and nitrous oxide.

The Arnhem Land region consists primarily of Aboriginal freehold land that is managed for traditional use, cultural heritage, and conservation, rather than agricultural cropping or livestock grazing. The project area sits in a high rainfall monsoonal zone with distinct wet and dry seasons. The environment is defined by diverse tropical soils, typically featuring weakly developed sandy Tenosols on plains, widespread earthy red and yellow Kandosols, and shallow, rocky Rudosols across the rugged sandstone escarpment country.

This project is managed by ALFA (NT) Limited, an entirely Aboriginal-owned, not-for-profit carbon farming business. On-ground operations are expertly conducted by the Yirralka Rangers, and their fire management activities directly help protect the natural and cultural assets of the Laynhapuy Indigenous Protected Area. All income generated from the sale of Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) is reinvested back into the community to support Aboriginal ranger groups, traditional owners, and broader development aspirations. The project successfully secured a major Carbon Abatement Contract in November 2016 (CAC182517), which has since been completed.