Fire for the future: governance of market-based savanna fire management projects in Arnhem Land, northern Australia

Background Developing effective participatory community-based governance is a key challenge for delivering equitable outcomes in market-based carbon and ecosystem services projects. Aim To explore Indigenous participants’ perspectives concerning implementation of representative community-based governance model for the longest running and largest market-based savanna fire management (SFM) project in northern Australia, the Arnhem Land Fire Abatement (ALFA) projects. Methods The study employed semi-structured interviews conducted between 2020–2022 exploring governance priorities and outcomes with 20 Indigenous participants occupying ALFA project leadership positions. Key results The ALFA governance model, involving participation of Indigenous Ranger Groups (IRGs) and representation of traditional Landowners as Directors on an entirely Indigenous-led Board, was considered to provide effective SFM project oversight and broader community acceptance. Identified benefits included supporting local cultural fire and land management responsibilities, regional networking, collective decision-making for benefit-sharing arrangements. Expressed concerns included potential for external IRG hosting institutions to diminish decision-making responsibilities of traditional Landowners, and preference for local IRG’s to strengthen links to traditional Landowners to promote broad community benefits. Conclusions The principles of the Indigenous representative and participatory ALFA governance model serve as an instructive example for local communities in other regional settings seeking to leverage emergent development opportunities through ecosystem service economies.