Judbarra Fire Project (Revoked)

The Judbarra Fire Project (Revoked) was a large-scale Savanna Fire Management project located in the Victoria River District of the Northern Territory. The project area covered approximately 1.3 million hectares, encompassing the vast Judbarra / Gregory National Park. The site is situated roughly midway between Katherine and the Western Australian border, with the township of Timber Creek serving as the nearest local service centre.

Registered in December 2020, the project operated under the Savanna Fire Management-Emissions Avoidance methodology (2018). This method involves conducting strategic, planned burns during the early dry season (cool burns) to reduce the fuel load. By doing so, the project aims to prevent high-intensity, uncontrollable wildfires during the late dry season, thereby avoiding significant emissions of methane and nitrous oxide. Specifically, this project was classified within the "low rainfall zone," reflecting the region's position in the transition belt between the tropical north and the semi-arid desert interior.

The environmental conditions of the Judbarra region are defined by rugged sandstone escarpments, deep gorges, and alluvial plains. The climate is semi-arid to tropical, with soils ranging from skeletal rocky substrates on the ranges to red earths and clay-heavy alluvium in the valleys. The land use is primarily conservation and Indigenous cultural management, with the area being of profound spiritual significance to the Ngarinyman, Karrangpurru, Malngin, Wardaman, Ngaliwurru, Nungali, Bilinara, Gurindji, and Jaminjung peoples.

On November 20, 2024, the project was revoked under section 30 of the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Rule 2015. This section typically refers to a voluntary revocation initiated by the proponent. The proponent, the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation (ILSC), frequently assists Traditional Owners in establishing carbon projects on their country. Such revocations can occur for various administrative reasons, such as restructuring, transferring to a different method (e.g., adding carbon sequestration to the avoidance activities), or changes in land tenure arrangements.