Thaa-Nguigarr Carbon Project

The Thaa-Nguigarr Carbon Project is a savanna fire management project located on Strathgordon Station, approximately 110 kilometers east of the remote community of Pormpuraaw on the western Cape York Peninsula in Queensland. Registered in December 2016, the project covers a vast area of 118,882 hectares. The region is defined by its tropical savanna landscape, which supports cattle grazing operations alongside traditional Indigenous land management practices.

The project operates under the Emissions Abatement through Savanna Fire Management methodology. This involves conducting strategic, planned burns during the early dry season (typically before August) to reduce the heavy fuel loads accumulated during the wet season. By burning under cooler, moister conditions, the project prevents high-intensity, uncontrollable wildfires in the late dry season, thereby avoiding significant emissions of methane and nitrous oxide.

Environmental conditions in this part of the Cape York Peninsula are characterized by a distinct high rainfall zone with a monsoonal wet season followed by a long dry season. The terrain typically consists of open woodlands and grasslands on soils that range from sandy loams and extensive lateritic profiles to kandosols, which are common across the peninsula.

A key feature of this project is its strong foundation in Traditional Owner governance. It is managed by the Balkanu Cape York Development Corporation on behalf of the Thaa-Nguigarr Strathgordon Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC, which represents the "Strathgordon Mob" (including Bakanh, Wik, Iyeny, and Olkola language groups). The revenue generated from Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) is used to support landholding obligations and fund cultural and environmental aspirations for the property.