Projects under savanna fire management methods can earn Australian carbon credit units (ACCUs) by reintroducing controlled fire burning during the early dry season to reduce the frequency and severity of fires in the late dry season.
When to use this method
There are 2 active savanna fire management methods. They cover savanna emissions avoidance and sequestration.
A savanna fire management method may be suitable if you:
- have land in northern Australia
- can reintroduce controlled burns into the landscape.
Legislation
Before you plan or register your project, make sure you have read and understand the legislative requirements and the method.
- Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011
- Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Rule 2015
- Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative—Savanna Fire Management—Sequestration and Emissions Avoidance) Methodology Determination 2018 (sequestration and emissions avoidance method)
- Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative—Savanna Fire Management—Emissions Avoidance) Methodology Determination 2018 (emissions avoidance only method)
Eligibility
To be eligible under these methods you must:
identify eligible project areas
land in your project must be in the high or low rainfall zone in northern Australia and contain appropriate savanna vegetation types
- establish legal right to run your project and claim ACCUs – you can establish this by holding relevant land titles, partnering with First Nations landholders or having a signed agreement with other landholders to run a project on their land
- obtain regulatory approvals and consent from everyone with an eligible interest in the project land – this may include banks, state governments (if the land is leased) or relevant native title bodies corporate.
For projects under the sequestration and emissions avoidance method, you must also include an explanation of your intended steps to ensure carbon remains stored in the project area permanently.
You must also meet general eligibility requirements for the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme.
Relevant legislation:
- Division 3 Section 14 of the method
Exclusions
Your project can't claim ACCUs for project areas that contain a relevant weed species such as gamba grass (Andropgon gayanus).
You must monitor and exclude all weed species identified in table 8.1.1 Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water's updates on excluded weed species.
Relevant legislation:
- Division 3 Section 40 of the method
Method requirements
If you have a registered project under a closed method (2013 or 2015) you can transfer your project to either active savanna methods.
For more information, you can refer to transferring your project to the 2018 savanna fire management methods.
Project activities
Projects under savanna fire management methods must include annual planned burning in each project area. Before commencing burning, you must prepare a plan that describes the planned burning intended to be undertaken. This can be modified during the fire season to show accurate conditions.
Activities can include igniting strategic and planned fires:
- from aircrafts
- from vehicles
- by walking across country with handheld drip torches.
Early dry season fire management may be supported by late dry season fire management activities such as constructing fire breaks.
Fire management activities depend on the local landscape and weather conditions.
Projects under savanna fire management methods must include annual planned burning in each project area. Before commencing burning, you must prepare a plan that describes the planned burning intended to be undertaken. This can be modified during the fire season to show accurate conditions.
Activities can include igniting strategic and planned fires:
- from aircrafts
- from vehicles
- by walking across country with handheld drip torches.
Early dry season fire management may be supported by late dry season fire management activities such as constructing fire breaks.
Fire management activities depend on the local landscape and weather conditions.
Abatement calculations are based on:
- the baseline period
- vegetation fuel type map - to define the vegetation class of each mapping unit within the project area, for example 'open forest with mixed grasses' or 'shrubland with hummock grasses'.
- annual fire scar maps - to identify if a mapping unit has been 'burnt' or 'unburnt'.
The baseline period is the emissions or sequestration that would occur in a project area without a savanna fire management project. The baseline period can be either:
- 10 years prior to project commencement, for project areas in the high rainfall zone
- 15 years prior to project commencement, for project areas in the low rainfall zone.
You can complete your net abatement calculations manually or with the external Savanna Burning Abatement Tool (SavBAT).
Project abatement may vary in years due to:
- the type and extent of fire management activities
- the number of unplanned fires
- normal climate variability.
The 2015 and 2018 methods manage yearly variations through the uncertainty buffer:
- project has a positive benefit - a portion, up to 10% of ACCUs, is set aside to cover potential losses in the future. This buffer will build to a maximum of 5% of the average annual baseline emissions. It isn't returned to projects at the end of the crediting period
- emissions from fires in a year are greater than experienced in the baseline period - abatement will be negative. This negative value is offset by withdrawing from the uncertainty buffer. If the negative abatement exceeds the amount in the uncertainty buffer, projects won't receive credits in subsequent years until the uncertainty buffer returns to a positive value.
Projects can report on a maximum of 2 years. For multi-year reporting periods under the 2013 method, abatement must be calculated by adding the annual abatement for each calendar year of the reporting period. This is regardless of whether annual abatement for any year is a positive or negative amount. For further information, refer to refer to multiple year reports for savanna fire management projects.
How to calculate sequestration
Sequestration rewards ACCUs for annual planned burning and for storing the carbon in dead organic matter, such as logs and branches that would otherwise be burned in wildfires.
Net abatement from sequestration is the mean annual difference between the carbon stored during the project years and during the baseline period.
This shows the difference in carbon stored with the change of fire management practices.
ACCUs rewarded for storing carbon in dead organic matter are subject to the sequestration buffer:
- For projects selecting a 25-year permanence period, the sequestration buffer will apply a discount of 25% to the sequestration abatement of a project.
- For projects selecting a 100-year permanence period, the sequestration buffer will apply a discount of 5% to the sequestration abatement of a project.
All projects under the sequestration method are subject to permanence obligations.
Sequestration projects must demonstrate that controlled burning will continue long enough to ensure that carbon remains in the landscape during the permanence period. Stopping these activities before the end of the permanence period can undo the benefits and result in a return of earned ACCUs.
How to calculate emissions avoided
Abatement for emissions avoided is calculated from the difference between mean baseline and annual project emissions. This reflects the change in emissions due to change in fire management practices.
Relevant legislation
- Part 4 Section 34 of the method
- Part 3 Section 17 of the method
25 years.
Savanna fire management methods requires monitoring and removing excluded weed species from project areas.
If an excluded weed species is identified, it must be excluded by:
- removing the weed from the project area before the end of the reporting period when it’s identified, with a map and evidence of weed removal provided with the relevant offsets report
- removing the project area that contains the weed species by subdividing the project, noting that this permanently removes the area from the project.
Further information about monitoring relevant weed species can be found in the department's savanna technical guidance document.
Relevant legislation
- Part 3 Section 14 of the method
You need to report on your project at least once every 2 years for emissions avoidance projects, or once every 5 years for sequestration projects.
You receive ACCUs when you report emissions reductions or sequestration over the crediting period (25 years).
To successfully report, you need to submit an application through Online Services. Applications must include:
- offsets reports with:
- a declaration that the density of livestock hasn't increased as a consequence of the project
- description of burning activities such as location, timing and extent.
- Abatement calculations (SavBAT reports if used)
- information on weed species management and monitoring activities
- copy of your vegetation fuel type map and supporting information on how it meets the method requirements
- yearly project management plans
- fire permits.
We provide you with an audit schedule when your project's declared.
You must provide audit reports according to this schedule.
We schedule at least 3 audits, and additional audits can be triggered.
You can refer to our audit information to find out more.
Documents and resources
- Savanna burning abatement tool (SavBAT)
- Savanna fire management - sequestration and emissions avoidance 2018
- The department's savanna technical guidance document
- The department's high and low rainfall map
- The department's understanding savanna fire management methods
- Relinquishment of ACCUs under joint emissions avoidance and sequestration methods
- Watch Ernie Dingo and First Nation rangers discuss savanna fire management methods benefits
Explore all ACCU Scheme guidance using the guidance library.