Eureka Win for West Arnhem Land Fire Project

Congratulations to the entire West Arnhem Land Fire Abatement Project team who on Tuesday 21 August, won the inaugural Eureka Prize for Innovative Solutions to Climate Change.

Special congratulations to the project's leaders Jeremy Russell-Smith (CRC and Bushfires Council of the NT), Peter Cooke (Wardekken Land Management Limited) and Traditional Owner Lofty Bardayal Nadjamerrek AO, however, the project has involved a host of other people including traditional owners and Indigenous rangers, the Northern Land Council, Darwin Liquefied Natural Gas, CSIRO, Australian Greenhouse Office, Landgate and NT Dept. Natural Resources, Environment and the Arts.

The WALFA team has spent 10 years developing this program which aims to abate West Arnhem Land wildfires. Savanna fires caused 40% of greenhouse gas emissions in the Northern Territory. The fires also accounted for 2-4 % of Australia's total national greenhouse gas emissions.

The WALFA scheme has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 256,000 tonnes of CO₂, double its initial target.

The WALFA scheme uses a "Two Tool Kit" approach because it employs ancient Indigenous practice and Western scientific knowledge to reduce wildfires. These techniques include cross-cultural planning and assessment, long cross-country bush walks, burning programs (undertaken increasingly by traditional landowners) and sophisticated fire-mapping technology as seen at the FireNorth website, link below.

Australian Museum Director Frank Howarth said, “We admire the great cross-cultural collaboration on this project, and applaud the WALFA Two Tool Kit team for their innovation and perseverance.”

“We also are thrilled to hear that Indigenous children have an increased interest in science at school, after seeing traditional Rangers and Western scientists working on the scheme. We look forward to a new generation of scientists,” Mr Howarth said.