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WALFA: the fire-management project that seems to have it all

In rural and remote Australia, bushfires are a way of life. The Australian landscape has been significantly shaped by fire and fire regimes, with some species even becoming dependent on fire for their very survival (ie. Whelan et al. 2002). It's well-recognised that Indigenous people have been carrying out controlled burning since long-before the whitefella arrived to this continent (ie. Fitzsimons et al. 2012). This is part of caring for country practices throughout much of the country, with burning acting as a disturbance, creating a heterogenous landscape favoured by small mammals (ie. R.B. Bird et al. 2008).

Regrowth one year after the Black Saturday bushfires (Stewart 2010)

Unsurprisingly, indigenous fire-management practices have been affected by colonisation (Fitzsimons et al. 2012: 51). However, regardless of whether the burning is planned, or by whom it is planned (indigenous or non-indigenous parties), the country continues to burn. Bushfires - whether started by lightning, by accident or by fire bugs - devastate the country on a regular basis, with the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires being a clear example.

Bushfires in Esperance, WA (Haynes et al. 2015)

This burning produces a large amount of carbon dioxide which is released into the atmosphere. The West Arnhem Land Fire Abatement project (WALFA) aimed to reduce these emissions by promoting traditional indigenous fire management practices combined with non-indigenous technology (Fitzsimons et al. 2012: 52; NAILSMA 2012; Tropical Savannas CRC 2006). And at that it was staggeringly successful, with emission reductions far beyond their aims (NAILSMA 2012). WALFA even went on to earn a Banksia award for its achievements in 2011.

However, what I find most interesting about WALFA is not these facts. It is not really relevatory that if you do something correctly or well, the results will be better. What I do find exciting and invigorating is the governance structure and financial management behind the project. The West Arnhem Fire Management Agreement (WAFMA) was brokered by Traditional Owners, the Northern Territory Government, the Northern Land Council, Tropical Savannas CRC and ConocoPhillips in 2006 (NAILSMA 2012). Most cross-cultural or indigenous natural resource management projects tend to be dependent on financial support from the government, which can be unreliable (McRae-Williams & Gerritsen 2010; Woods 2016). In this aspect, WALFA stands apart as unique, and perhaps this is the point from which the project gains so much potential. Instead of relying on government funding, alternative sources were sought for WALFA. ConocoPhillips, a company with a liquefied natural gas plant in Darwin Harbour, provided $1M in funding a year to WALFA as a way of offsetting their greenhouse gas emissions (Fitzsimons et al. 2012: 52; NAILSMA 2012).

The success of such a collaboration is exciting as funding is a point that so often brings such projects, with so much potential, to their knees. It also speaks of industries being aware of the environmental harm they can cause, and suggests that some are open to exploring options to minimise their environmental footprint without being compelled to do so. I would like to see the WALFA model applied and developed to other projects in the future.

Notes:

I was unable to find out whether WALFA is still operating, however the original agreement with ConocoPhillips was for a period of 17 years (NAILSMA 2009).

References

Bird, R. B., Bird, D. W., Codding, B. F., Parker, C. H., and Jones, J. H. (2008). The “fire stick farming” hypothesis: Australian Aboriginal foraging strategies, biodiversity, and anthropogenic fire mosaics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105(39), 14796-14801.

Haynes, K., Dimer de Oliveira, F., and Coates, L. (2015). More people are dying in Western Australian bushfires - but flames are still not the biggest killers. The Conversation. Accessed 31/12/2016 <http://theconversation.com/more-people-are-dying-in-western-australian-bushfires-but-flames-are-still-not-the-biggest-killers-51045>

Fitzsimons, J., Russell‐Smith, J., James, G., Vigilante, T., Lipsett‐Moore, G., Morrison, J., and M., Looker (2012). Insights into the biodiversity and social benchmarking components of the Northern Australian fire management and carbon abatement programmes. Ecological Management & Restoration 13(1): 51-57.

McRae-Williams, E. and R. Gerritsen (2010). Mutual incomprehension: the cross cultural domain of work in a remote Australian Aboriginal community. International Indigenous Policy Journal 1(2): 1-27.

NAILSMA (North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance) (2009). WALFA Project: Banksia Award for WALFA greenhouse gas abatement partnership. Accessed 31/12/2016, <http://www.savanna.org.au/nailsma/projects/walfa.html>

NAILSMA (North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance) (2012). WALFA - West Arnhem Land Fire Abatement project. Accessed 31/12/2016, <https://www.nailsma.org.au/walfa-west-arnhem-land-fire-abatement-projecthtml.html>

Stewart, M. (2010). Black Saturday - a year after. The Sound of Critters: bird and animal sounds across the planet. Accessed 03/01/2017, <http://soundofcritters.com/archives/516>

Tropical Savannas CRC (2006). The West Arnhem Land Fire Abatement Project (WALFA). Accessed 31/12/2016, <http://www.savanna.org.au/savanna_web/information/arnhem_fire_project.html>

Whelan, R. J., Rodgerson, L., Dickman, C. R., and Sutherland, E. F. (2002). Critical life cycles of plants and animals: developing a process-based understanding of population changes in fire-prone landscapes. Flammable Australia: the fire regimes and biodiversity of a continent, 94-124.

Woods, K. (2016). Valuing Aboriginal cultural activity: Beyond markets. Engaging Indigenous Economy: debating diverse approaches. W. Sanders (ed.). ACT, ANU Press: 79-94.

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