Carbon projects and Indigenous land in northern Australia

Abstract

Land activities contribute ~18% of total greenhouse gas emissions produced in Australia. To help reduce these emissions, the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) was implemented in 2011 to encourage land projects, which reduce the production of greenhouse gases and/or sequester carbon in the land. Prospective projects include savanna fire management and rangelands management, which have high relevance in northern Australia where Indigenous landholding is strong. This paper explores the land-tenure requirements necessary for these kinds of carbon projects to be approved by the Clean Energy Regulator. It provides an introduction to the CFI before discussing the land tenure requirements in the states of Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia with respect to both emissions reduction and carbon sequestration projects. Potential issues with the current framework are highlighted, especially in relation to native title.

Who is Looking after Country? Interpreting and Attributing Land Management Responsibilities on Native Title Lands

“…Land management scholarship is often focused on technical-managerial aspects, drawing on the natural sciences, but these are also deeply socio-cultural questions. By considering the governance context, this multidisciplinary paper contributes to the growing literature on the socio-ecological aspects of invasive plant species Kleipis et al 2009;Robbins 2004), including that literature specifically engaged with Indigenous peoples' weeds management (Barbour and Shlesinger 2012;Grice et al 2012;Rose 1995;Smith, N 2001;Trigger 2008), and with Indigenous peoples' land management responsibilities more broadly (Altman and Kerins 2012;Dore et al 2014;O'Donnell 2013;Weir 2012), as well as the emerging literature on the governance of native title lands (Bauman et al 2013). In the first half of this paper, we outline native title law and administration, and report on the findings of our legal analysis into the attribution of responsibility for invasive plants management in the legislation of State and Territory jurisdictions.…”

“…; Kleipis et al ; Robbins ), including that literature specifically engaged with Indigenous peoples’ weeds management (Barbour and Shlesinger ; Grice et al. ; Rose ; Smith, N ; Trigger ), and with Indigenous peoples’ land management responsibilities more broadly (Altman and Kerins ; Dore et al ; O'Donnell ; Weir ), as well as the emerging literature on the governance of native title lands (Bauman et al. ).…”

Identifying and categorizing cobenefits in state-supported Australian indigenous environmental management programs: international research implications

“…Income from PES is also growing in importance (Luckert et al 2007, Muller 2008, Altman 2012, Winer et al 2012, Greiner and Stanley 2013, Hill et al 2013. PES may include carbon abatement (Heckbert et al 2012, Dore et al 2014, Robinson et al 2016, biodiversity offsets (Russell-Smith et al 2013), and feral animal control (Zander 2013). The requirements for generating market-based revenues can pose challenges, notably the relationship of environmental outcomes to cultural priorities and social equity issues (Gorman and Vemuri 2012, Urbis 2012, Fache 2014.…”