Team spark
Teamwork, firebreaks and prescribed burning protects Yourka Reserve. Meet Team Spark – a group of Bush Heritage supporters making a difference.
We had several Bush Heritage representatives at the annual Savanna Fire Forum on Larrakia country in Darwin last month. After two years of online events, savannah fire management experts from across the country were glad to meet face-to-face this year.
In the words of Vikki Parsley, our Aboriginal Partnerships Manager;
“The Fire Forum allowed the opportunity for Traditional Owners to showcase culturally led conservation practices on country through right-way fire in collaboration with current carbon projects.
The Indigenous Carbon Industry Netowrk (ICIN) are providing a network through this event to further share practices for improving the health outcomes of country in a growing area of interest in the wake of climate change."
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L to R: Greg Caroll, John Daly, Rhys Swain, Kelly Retief, Vikki Parsley, Siobhan Gilbert, Cintasha Warloo, and Al Hartley.
Said our National Fire Program Manager, Rhys Swain:
“The 2023 North Australia Fire Forum provided an opportunity for land managers across the country and the world to come together highlighting the amazing work that happens annually across the Australian savanna.
The forum program was filled with amazing stories from the fire projects, new technology, updates from government and a great chance to come together and celebrate the best landscape fire management in the world. Well done ICIN for organising such a great event.”
Kelly Retief, Aboriginal Partnerships Program Manager for the NT said,
“It was great to see everyone in a face-to-face setting again after COVID. Indigenous fire managers from across the Top End shared stories about their fire management programs, leading the way for others from developing nations such as Brazil, Guatemala, Malaysia and Zambia to set up their own fire carbon projects."
The importance of cultural, core benefits from fire management resonated strongly in presentations, alongside the need to empower First Nations peoples to sit at the negotiation table, reducing the need for intermediaries and promoting mechanisms like peer-to-peer assessments.
Inspiring stuff, with conversations around biodiversity co-benefits continuing to grow and take shape as new methods and markets emerge.”
