The owners and managers of Olkola Traditional lands in Central Cape York have signed a three-year carbon credit deal with global asset manager Environmental Commodity Partners (ECP).

The Olkola Aboriginal Corporation, supported by Natural Carbon, led negotiations with ECP to co-create a fair agreement for the purchase of the majority of the credits produced by the Olkola Ajin – Olkola Fire Project.

The savanna burning project has potential to reduce 200,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over three years.

Olkola Aboriginal Corporation CEO Debbie Ross said the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) offtake sales agreement, ECP’s first in Australia, underscores the strong investor push for high-quality carbon credit projects which respect the role of local Indigenous people.

“The Olkola Aboriginal Corporation is delighted to have ECP as a long-term purchasing partner that values the integrity of Australian Indigenous savanna burning projects and the benefits they bring to Indigenous communities,” Ross said.

“This agreement sets a new benchmark for Australia’s carbon market in terms of how it involves First Nations communities in projects on their lands.”

ECP Partner Alex Rau commented: “These are Olkola Traditional Lands, their hard work, and their carbon. As offtaker and investor we want to see the Olkola conduct and expand their world-class land management practices with certainty, while benefiting from the upside potential of higher ACCU prices.”

Under the terms of the deal, the Olkola Aboriginal Corporation has: long-term price certainty that reflects the Australian market; agreement for the Olkola people to share fairly in any potential future market upside while being well protected from any downside; and maximised financial benefits for community, with Natural Carbon keeping its commission rate low.

Natural Carbon Chief Operating Officer Christopher Wheatley said the organisation is pleased to have been able to support the Olkola to execute a deal that is fair.

“We worked hand in hand with the Olkola throughout the negotiations– it’s their hard work that has generated these credits, so they should be able to decide how and to whom their credits are sold,” Wheatley said.

The three partners have also signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore scalable nature-based opportunities, including blue carbon projects, that are fair for people and planet.

The Olkola Aboriginal Corporation and Natural Carbon have been in partnership since 2014, when they commenced their carbon project journey together. The new partnership with ECP is an exciting new milestone in that journey.

About the Olkola Aboriginal Corporation

The Olkola Aboriginal Corporation holds and manages 869,822 hectares of Olkola Traditional Lands, and stands as a corporation that represents the Olkola People of Cape York, Australia. Today, many Olkola people are living on country, in Cape York communities (Coen, Laura, Kowanyama, Hopevale, and Pormpuraaw) as well as other Queensland communities such as Cairns, Yarrabah, Townsville and Palm Island. The Olkola people are united in their quest to move forward, to return to country, to care for country and to pursue sustainable opportunities for country to provide for its people.

The Olkola Aboriginal Corporation is committed to achieving this aim of the Olkola people through: providing opportunities for all Olkola people to return to country and connect with country; and employing Olkola People to manage the growing estate of Olkola country that the Corporation is now responsible for. This includes the Olkola’s deep experience in implementing savanna burning carbon projects that deliver carbon credit income to their communities.