This week I am attending the North Australia Savanna Fire Forum, a two-day meeting that aims to facilitate discussion and enable the sharing of experiences from across northern Australia in order to address critical issues for the future of the industry.

Hosted by the Indigenous Carbon Industry Network (ICIN) on Larrakia country at Charles Darwin University, fire managers, indigenous land managers, carbon industry practitioners, scientists and policy-makers from across Australia meet to reflect, connect and share knowledge about savanna fire management.

Members gather for the inaugural Indigenous Carbon Industry Network Meeting at the North Australian Savanna Fire Forum in February 2019. Photo courtesy ICIN.

This is my second time attending the Forum and it’s a great opportunity to meet people in the industry, including fire ranger groups, government staff at Environment and Primary Industry departments, NRM groups, Commonwealth environmental regulators and Not-for-profit organisations as well as researchers, pastoralists and Carbon Farming consultants.

I’m looking forward to hearing about how ranger groups and traditional owners are proactively managing their land, conserving biodiversity and reducing Australia’s carbon footprint through early-season burning. These ‘world-leading’ Indigenous Land Management practices in Northern Australia provide opportunities to learn and share knowledge across jurisdictions, especially in light of the bushfire crisis in southern parts of Australia.

For example, the North Australian and Rangelands Fire Information (NAFI)’s innovative fire map infographics and fire history videos provide historical context to Savanna fire management activities.

I’m also interested in hearing more about the relationship between fire severity, feral animals and small mammals in savanna landscapes. I’ll be taking lots of notes over these two days, and I’ll follow up with a review of the Forum in next week’s blog post.

PS. We’re running 1-day QGIS training courses straight after the Forum, on Thursday 20th and Friday 21st February 2020, 8:30 – 16:30 ACST at the Darwin Innovation Hub. There are a few spaces left, and you can find all the details on our Event page, or contact me directly via chris.roach@archive.gaiaresources.com.au.

If you’d like to know more about particular projects or talks presented at the Forum, you can leave a comment below, connect with us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook, or email me, as above.

Chris