The release of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Change agreement highlighted the importance of global sustainability internationally. Here, we outline a vision ...and strategies for developing northern Australia that demonstrate how a focus on sustainable prosperity can both expand historical approaches and current government plans and integrate the biophysical realities with the social, political, and cultural characteristics of the region. We highlight examples of the significant horizontal and vertical integration opportunities that this expanded vision and related strategies provide for (a) 'land' (carbon farming, targeted food production systems, and native title arrangements); (b) 'water' (water resources management); (c) 'energy' (renewable energy production, storage, and distribution); (d) 'workforce' (culturally appropriate ecotourism, Indigenous ranger programs, and protected area management); (e) 'knowledge services' (health care and innovative employment opportunities); and (f) 'governance' (greater participatory governance). We found that realisation of even 10% of these emerging opportunities over the next 10 years alone could result in economic growth worth over AUD 15 billion and 15,000+ jobs for northern Australia as well as the further ecological and social benefits derived from a sustainable prosperity strategy.
Despite frequent exposure to bushfires, cyclones and floods, remote Indigenous communities across northern Australia typically have little involvement in managing, mitigating or planning for such ...events. This scenario planning project explored how people in remote communities, through Indigenous ranger groups, can contribute effectively to the mitigation and delivery of emergency services. This research revealed the importance of developing effective partnerships between emergency management agencies and members of remote communities to integrate and assess the resources and services needed for responsible agencies in the Northern Territory. Using three remote communities as case studies, the potential engagement opportunities with ranger groups was explored to identify solutions to deliver efficient, cost-effective and culturally appropriate emergency services. A collaborative policy framework involving emergency services organisations and Indigenous communities is proposed to mitigate and manage incidents while meeting Indigenous cultural protocols. This recognises and takes advantage of community networks and knowledge of local socio-cultural and natural systems. This research offers practical insights into the delivery of cost-effective and improved emergency services to empower north Australian remote communities.
Although biomass burning of savannas is recognised as a major global source of greenhouse gas emissions, quantification remains problematic with resulting regional emissions estimates often differing ...markedly. Here we undertake a critical assessment of Australia's National Greenhouse Gas Inventory (NGGI) savanna burning emissions methodology. We describe the methodology developed for, and results and associated uncertainties derived from, a landscape-scale emissions abatement project in fire-prone western Arnhem Land, northern Australia. The methodology incorporates (i) detailed fire history and vegetation structure and fuels type mapping derived from satellite imagery; (ii) field-based assessments of fuel load accumulation, burning efficiencies (patchiness, combustion efficiency, ash retention) and N : C composition; and (iii) application of standard, regionally derived emission factors. Importantly, this refined methodology differs from the NGGI by incorporation of fire seasonality and severity components, and substantial improvements in baseline data. We consider how the application of a fire management program aimed at shifting the seasonality of burning (from one currently dominated by extensive late dry season wildfires to one where strategic fire management is undertaken earlier in the year) can provide significant project-based emissions abatement. The approach has wider application to fire-prone savanna systems dominated by anthropogenic sources of ignition.
Savannas are the most fire-prone of the earth's major biomes. The availability of various broad-scale satellite-derived fire mapping and regional datasets provides a framework with which to examine ...the seasonality, extent and implications of large fires with particular reference to biodiversity values in the tropical savannas of northern Australia. We document the significance of savanna fires in the fire-prone 'Top End' region of the Northern Territory, Australia, using 9 years (1997-2005) of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)-Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR)-, Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM)- and Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+)-derived fire mapping. Fire (patch) sizes from both AVHRR- and Landsat-scale mapping increased through the calendar year associated with progressive curing of grass and litter fuels. Fire frequency data at both satellite sensor scales indicate that regional fire regimes in higher rainfall regions are dominated by large (>1000 km²) fires occurring typically at short (~2-3 years) fire return intervals. In discussion, we consider the ecological implications of these patch size distributions on regional fire-sensitive biota. Collectively, assembled data illustrate that many northern Australian savanna flora, fauna and habitats embedded within the savanna matrix are vulnerable to extensive and frequent fires, especially longer-lived obligate seeder plant taxa and relatively immobile vertebrate fauna with small home ranges.
Building on unique Indigenous advantages for people living in remote areas, this study offers insights for innovative land-based economic opportunities across northern Australia. These ...advantages—outside the mainstream economics—include peoples’ abilities to manage land and knowledge of ecosystems, culture, traditions/ceremonies which directly contribute towards peoples’ health, social relations, provisioning of a safe and secure environment, and learning constituents of well-being. To demonstrate, two representative remote communities, Maningrida and Borroloola in the Northern Territory, are used for revealing uncaptured, but valid, opportunities which, if realized, could help enhance Indigenous well-being—a much-needed agenda for the Australian Government. Moreover, innovative land-based opportunities will potentially save ~$49million/yr of government’s welfare costs. This study offers a detailed analysis of the existing socio-economic situation of the selected communities, outlines potential land-based economic opportunities, and advocates for a shift in policy planning from viewing remote communities as a problem to realising advantages of their unique prospects to develop the north. Applying an integrated approach to Indigenous development for supporting new economies can lead to diversification of north’s land sector which to date has been predominantly used for beef production causing threats to fragile ecosystems and hence their services to people living in the area.
Tropical savannas cover approximately 20% of the earth’s land area, and therefore represent an important carbon store. Under scenarios of future climate change it is thus important to understand the ...demographic processes determining tree cover, namely tree recruitment, growth and mortality. This study measured tree recruitment and mortality in 123 (0.08
h) plots in Kakadu, Nitmiluk and Litchfield National Parks, in the Australian monsoonal tropics, over two consecutive 5-year intervals. Plots were located in two important habitats, both dominated by eucalyptus—lowland savanna and savanna growing on sandstone plateaux. All trees with diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥5
cm were tagged and identified. Recruitment was calculated as the proportion of tagged trees present at the end of an interval that were not present at the beginning. There were a total of 6666 and 6571 tree-intervals for mortality and recruitment, respectively. We used Akaike Information Criterion (AIC)-based model selection and multi-model inference to relate tree mortality and recruitment to fire frequency, mean annual rainfall (MAR), stand basal area, tree density and eco-taxonomic group. Recruitment decreased with tree density in both savanna types, and in lowland savanna, with the frequency of fires. In sandstone savanna, recruitment increased with MAR. Effects of fire on recruitment were better explained by season than severity of fire, while fire severity had a stronger influence on mortality. Mortality decreased with tree size up to about 25
cm DBH, but increased sharply when DBH exceeded 50
cm. Mortality increased with stand basal area, and increased with the frequency of late dry season fires in lowland savanna only. There was little evidence that mortality was affected by the frequency of early dry season fires or MAR. Both recruitment and mortality rates were higher for
Acacia and Proteaceae species than for pantropical or Myrtaceae (including
Eucalyptus) species. We identified several negative feedbacks, mediated by changes in tree density and stand basal area that help confer long-term stability to savanna tree cover. Nonetheless, changes such as a long-term increase in MAR or an increase in frequency or severity of fires are likely to result in changes in tree density, stand basal area and therefore carbon storage potential of savannas.
Although contemporary fire regimes in fire-prone Australian savannas are recognised as having major impacts on an array of biodiversity and environmental values, a number of studies have observed ...significant monsoon rainforest expansion in recent decades. Here we assess the status of a locally extensive endemic monsoon rainforest type, dominated by Allosyncarpia ternata (Myrtaceae), restricted to sandstone terrain including in the World Heritage property, Kakadu National Park. We undertook assessments of: (1) geographic correlates of Allosyncarpia forest distribution; (2) change in canopy cover at 40 representative forest patches at topographically exposed sites with reference to a 60-year aerial photo and fine-scale image archive, and fire mapping data; and (3) structural characteristics associated with sites exhibiting stable, contracting, and increasing canopy cover. Mean canopy cover at sampled forest patches declined by 9.5% over the study period. Most canopy loss occurred at the most fire-susceptible patches. Assessment of structural characteristics at sampled sites illustrated that canopy expansion represented vegetative recovery rather than expansion de novo. The study (1) confirms the vulnerability of exposed margins of this forest type to fire incursions; (2) illustrates the magnitude of, and describes solutions for addressing, the regional conservation management challenge; and (3) serves as a reminder that, in savanna environments, severe fire regimes can substantially outweigh the woody growth-enhancing effects of other regional (e.g., increased rainfall) and global-scale (e.g., atmospheric CO2 fertilisation) drivers.
Using a detailed fire history collected over a 10-year period throughout a savanna landscape in northern Australia, we have addressed the question of whether fire severity, inferred from a ...semiquantitative fire severity index, increases with time since previous fire. There was a clear trend of fires becoming much more severe with increasing time since previous fire. Between 1 and 5 years following a fire, the probability of a subsequent fire being classified as 'severe' increased from 3 to 8% for early dry-season fires, and from 21 to 43% for late dry-season fires. It was clear that the strong increase in fire severity was not confined to the first 2-3 years following the previous fire, as previously suspected. These findings highlight the difficulty of reducing both fire frequency and severity in northern Australian savanna landscapes, as they imply that a negative feedback process exists between the two; that is, reducing fire frequency is likely to increase the severity of fires that do occur.
Natural hazards cause sustained loss to the environment, yet the economic costs are largely not accounted for due to a lack of market measures. This research applies methods of global and national ...costing and proposes an integrated framework that incorporates marketable and non-marketable losses including those to the environment. These methods are applied to bushfires in the Northern Territory for estimating the cost of loss of ecosystem services as a surrogate. These fire events affect 20 per cent of the total land area annually (based on 18 years average from 2000-2018) and cost ~$150 million per annum. Losses were greatest on the Indigenous lands, followed by pastoral and conservation areas. It is calculated that the effect of bushfires on 'loss of wellbeing' for the remote Indigenous population is, conservatively, $272 million per year. An understanding of the costs of loss of environment is essential to develop emergency management policies that are effective in enhancing the resilience of communities.
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