Garawa Carbon Project (Revoked)

The Garawa Carbon Project (Revoked) was a savanna fire management project located in the Gulf Country of the Northern Territory, approximately 90km southeast of the township of Borroloola. Registered in October 2019, the project operated across a vast area of over 483,000 hectares, primarily situated on the Garawa Aboriginal Land Trust. The region is defined by its remoteness and is predominantly used for traditional Indigenous land management, conservation, and cultural practices.

The project employed the Savanna Fire Management (Emissions Avoidance) methodology. This practice involves conducting strategic, low-intensity burns during the early dry season (typically April to July) to reduce fuel loads. By creating fire breaks and reducing available fuel, the project aimed to prevent high-intensity, uncontrolled wildfires later in the dry season. These late-season fires are hotter and release significantly more greenhouse gases, such as methane and nitrous oxide, compared to the controlled early burns.

Environmentally, the project area lies within the low rainfall zone of the tropical savannas. The landscape typically consists of eucalypt open woodlands with a grassy understory, supported by soils that range from sandy loams and skeletal soils on ridges to cracking clay plains in low-lying areas. The project was facilitated by the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance (NAILSMA) and worked closely with the Waanyi Garawa Rangers. The project was revoked in December 2025, a move often associated with administrative restructuring or the transition of project proponents to independent Indigenous-owned entities.