Indigenous Land Corporation gpo box 652 Adelaide sa 5001

Participation in the carbon and payment for ecosystem services markets

The ILC is committed to collaborating with Indigenous landowners, the Australian Government and industry to maximise opportunities for Indigenous people in the emerging carbon and payment for ecosystem services markets.

Indigenous people are well placed to participate in the carbon economy, particularly those who live on country. Activities could include early dry season savanna burning, revegetation, forestry, native vegetation management. The ILC is working with organisations such as NAILSMA, land councils and other Indigenous land management organisations to develop projects in carbon and biodiversity.

Changes in carbon policy in 2013–14 meant that a significant body of work for the ILC related to analysis of and development of submissions relating to the design of the Emissions Reduction Fund, part of the Government’s Direct Action Plan.

To understand the potential opportunity available to Indigenous land holders in the carbon and payment for ecosystem services markets, the ILC:

• Continued the Fish River Fire Project as an Eligible Offset Project under the Carbon Farming Initiative, culminating in the generation and sale of the second tranche of carbon credits with co-benefits under the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) and the sale of carbon credits from the first Indigenous 
CFI project;

• Continued sharing of our experiences with other Indigenous landholders wishing to engage in 
the carbon market, including providing templates, presentations, technical advice, support to projects under development including the North Kimberley Fire Projects, and Balkanu Cape York Development Corporation in QLD;

• Continued to undertake due diligence assessments of strategic land acquisitions 
with environment and cultural values, similar 
to Fish River, for potential carbon and 
biodiversity credit generation;

• Provided comment to the Australian Government on Carbon Farming Initiative legislation amendments and the development of the Emissions Reduction Fund;

• Co-funded, with The Nature Conservancy and Department of the Environment, ongoing work to develop two new Carbon Farming Initiative savanna-burning methodologies for bio-sequestration in the high rainfall zone and to extend the opportunity for emissions avoidance south into the 600–1000mm rainfall zone;

• Developed and collaboratively funded a project with the SA Government environmental offsets programme for a bushland revegetation project 
on an Indigenous owned property on the 
Yorke Penninsula;

• Commenced collaboration with Meat and Livestock Australia, the Australian Agricultural Company, Consolidated Pastoral Company, The Nature Conservancy, Charles Darwin University, NAILSMA and others to develop a project to explore and trial diversified income streams on northern pastoral properties, including new carbon farming methodologies and payments 
for ecosystem services;

• Reviewed and assessed draft Carbon Farming Initiative methodologies, such as soil carbon in grazing systems, and provision of comments based on opportunities for Indigenous landholders;

• Hosted a work experience student who developed a report on carbon storage in rangeland soils;

• Obtained approval to co-fund NAILSMA Ltd to conduct a feasibility assessment for extending the early dry season savanna burning CFI methodology into the mulga landscapes of central and western Australia, where there are significant tracts of Indigenous-held land;

• Coordinated a joint industry statement for the CSIRO Publishing’s Rangelands Journal Special Edition: “Opportunities for fire and carbon on pastoral properties in the savanna rangelands: Perspectives from the Indigenous Land Corporation and the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association”; and

• Engaged in knowledge exchange about the Fish River Fire Prject as part of a Brazilian delegation of fire managers and others participating in the United Nations University International Savanna Fire Management Initiative Study Tour in Darwin.