They’ve revived the ancient practice of planned burning to renew and preserve their homelands, and help support their communities (Subscriber Exclusive)
near a place called Deaf Adder Gorge on the western edge of the Warddeken Indigenous Protected Area. Northern Australia’s tropical heat pummels Arijay Nabarlambarl as he jumps out of a helicopter and strides toward a fire. Low and snaking, the flames have scorched the bone-dry wetlands, leaving singed earth and black-socked paperbark trees. The 25-year-old falls in behind two other rangers, and a symphony of leaf blowers drowns out the crackle of fire.
A helicopter guided by Terrah Guymala, a Warddeken ranger, drops incendiary devices that slowly react chemically and then ignite after they are on the ground.Moist vegetation, low winds, and lower temperatures at that time of year mean the fires they light are smaller and less intense, typically burning out overnight. If the land is burned gently, the wildfires that will inevitably come later won’t be as destructive. It also gives the rangers a fighting chance at extinguishing them.
In Arnhem Land, lighting early dry-season fires was once systematic and widespread. Fire was used for hunting, for regeneration, for ceremony. Aboriginal elders say fire brings the land to life again; after a burn, the land is reborn. Even now, it’s common for Aboriginal people to deliver their own fire management—to see land that needs fire and simply take a match to it.
Most worrying, the culturally and ecologically significant anbinik forests were in trouble. The giant, endemic trees—some living more than a hundred years—were once widespread in the landscape. Their sap was used as an antiseptic, their wood to make fighting sticks, and their shade as a place to shelter from the sun. Now anbinik exist only in natural fire refuges, such as gorges, or in strange, isolated clumps in the savanna. Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
Indigenous groups now run about 80 savanna-burning projects in northern Australia, generating about $53 million a year in revenue. The approach has drawn overseas interest. A project in Botswana is in the pipeline, and fire ecologists say the methodology could work in Southeast Asia, as well as in Central and South America.
As the vegetation benefits, so does the wildlife. Anecdotally, people have reported the return of many native animals, including emus. Ecologist Cara Penton says the results of Warddeken’s project to monitor species are still being collated, but cameras set out on the savanna to track small mammals often capture species her Indigenous colleagues haven’t seen for years.
Tabetha and Estella Nadjamerrek, who are cousins, fling heavy-duty matches, igniting small brush fires that will burn out on their own. Comfortable with fire, Aboriginal people use it in many aspects of their culture, including hunting and traditional ceremonies. Children spear fish in a creek veiled by smoke from a strategic burn. By controlling wildfires and reducing the amount of smoke in the atmosphere, Aboriginal people are able to sell carbon credits. The income helps pay for the rangers’ efforts and other programs, such as schools, allowing them to live in outstations in their homelands.As the sun climbs in the sky, Kolkiwarra Nadjamerrek speaks to the students in the Kunwinjku language about connection to country and the importance of culture.
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