Northern Kaanju Cultural Fire Project

The Northern Kaanju Cultural Fire Project is a savanna fire management project located in the Cape York Peninsula, approximately 40km west of the remote indigenous community of Lockhart River in Queensland. Registered in December 2024, the project covers a substantial area of 166,263 hectares on land held by the Mangkuma Land Trust. The region is defined by its remote, tropical landscape, primarily used for conservation and traditional indigenous land management.

This project operates under the 2018 Savanna Fire Management (Sequestration and Emissions Avoidance) methodology. This framework rewards land managers for reintroducing traditional "cool" burning practices during the early dry season to prevent large, high-intensity wildfires in the late dry season. Unlike earlier methods that only credited avoided emissions from smoke, this methodology also accounts for the carbon sequestered (stored) in dead organic matter, such as logs and heavy debris, which remains unburnt due to the cooler, less destructive fire regime.

The project area lies within the high rainfall zone of northern Australia, typically receiving monsoonal rainfall exceeding 1,000mm annually. The environment is characterized by fire-prone eucalypt savanna interspersed with pockets of rainforest, situated on soils that predominantly include red and yellow earths (Kandosols) and sandy loams.

The project is supported by the Aboriginal Carbon Foundation and represents a significant effort to revitalize Traditional Owner connection to Country. By implementing strategic fire management, the Mangkuma Land Trust aims to protect culturally significant sites and biodiversity, including fire-sensitive rainforest patches and the habitat of the Palm Cockatoo, while generating economic opportunities through carbon credits.