Australian indigenous groups paid for fire management

http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/indigenous-people-paid-to-manage-fires/story-e6frfku0-1226278378340

We have talked a number of times regarding controlled fires and the advantages of these techniques in maintaining forest health. In Australia, indigenous farmers can now actually profit from these management fires, which are designed to decrease harmful greenhouse emissions! As this article states, late dry-season fires are more intense, difficult to control and in turn, more harmful in terms of emissions.  Through strategic burns, the farmers would reduce the occurrence and strength of later season fires. This “savannah-burning methodology” is uniquely designed to benefit the indigenous farmers. Businesses participating in the carbon farming initiative (CFI) can buy “carbon credits” from landowners, thereby symbolically offsetting their own carbon footprint.

I find this approach to managing our detrimental effects on the environment very unique. From the companies’ standpoint, it is interesting that instead of pursuing goals that would directly decrease their own green-house gases; they are instead investing in and buying “Green.”  Instinctively, we might see this as a cop-out, but if we consider that at this time, the businesses in question do not have answers to their own emissions, they warrant respect at promoting other Green actions. It is also important that the indigenous are receiving compensation for their additional upkeep. As we have seen in class over and over again, it is the indigenous populations who are best in tune with the environment on which they depend, but are often exploited. The CFI easily could have made this maintenance mandatory, or mandated government employees to oversee this conservation. In this instance, there seems to be respect for the indigenous community.

The expansion of the CIF could mean great things for the farmers. According to the article, this industry could be worth almost 2.25 billion dollars a year! However, I tend to wonder about the future of this initiative.  Do you think that companies will pay to offset their greenhouse contribution? How do you think this will develop and will the proposed compensation be substantial? While the notion of carbon credits sounds attractive, I am sceptical that many businesses will partake. I suppose this goes to show that once again, at the root of everything, even good hearted attempts at environmental consciousness, is financial gain.