Dr Rohan Fisher, study co-author from Charles Darwin University, said the use of customary burning regimes had been a twofold success, reducing massive fires and abating carbon emissions.
“On a per capita basis, traditional owners in North Kimberley are doing more of the heavy lifting on greenhouse gas abatement than any other group,” he said.
“We’ve been able to quantify the change and satellite evidence doesn’t lie.
“The scale of achievement across northern Australia makes other fire mitigation programs pale into insignificance.”
Fisher said savannah grassland communities in countries like Botswana and Brazil were taking keen note of the Kimberley model.
The fire-prone Kimberley region has vast savannah grasslands and rocky plateaus that are often difficult to access and vulnerable to fire.
“Our right way fire burning helps plants grow and provides us with bush foods and animals with shelter and food”
Catherine Goonack
Thousands of tourists each year drive along the unsealed Gibb River Road or visit remote Kimberley coastal spots on cruise ships.
Study co-author and Healthy Country ranger coordinator Tom Vigilante said intense and uncontrolled late-season fires were damaging the ecology.
“One big fire going through means surviving animals and birds have to travel further to find food,” he said.
“Small mammals like northern quoll, golden bandicoot and scaly-tailed possum have less cover and can then be easily predated by feral cats.”
Wunambal Gaambera chairwoman Catherine Goonack said burning at the right time of year was part of traditional knowledge.
“Our right way fire burning helps plants grow and provides us with bush foods and animals with shelter and food,” she said.
“Managing our wildfires protects our country, and we are also making business from savannah burning for carbon.”
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Indigenous burning stems wildfire carnage in Kimberley’s north
