Land clearing is exploding in the NT
The problem
Sweeping across more than one million kilometers in Northern Australia, spectacular savanna woodlands are a vitally important ecosystem stretching from Cape York to the Kimberley.
Ancient eucalypts and tall grasses are home to rainbow birds, rare insects, reptiles, mammals and wildflowers. This hidden treasure accounts for 20 per cent of the world’s savanna – right here in our backyard.
Savanna woodlands are a rich, complex and fragile ecosystem. In this bubble of life, each element is intricately connected.
But what was once the least damaged and polluted savanna in the world is now one of the most vulnerable ecosystems on this continent.
The Northern Territory has some of the largest intact savanna remaining on earth.
But our savanna is in crisis. Like the Great Barrier Reef, it’s a vital ecosystem that’s literally collapsing before our eyes.
Why are the savannas here so special?
Extraordinary creatures
The savanna is home to magnificent rainbow birds, ancient lizards, rare insects and mammals already on the brink of extinction.
Sacred country
Every part of the savanna has been named and cared for by First Nations people.
A delicate ecosystem
Savanna woodlands are a rich and complex ecosystem where each element is intricately connected.
The bulldozers are moving in…
Land clearing for cotton and agriculture is skyrocketing across the Northern Territory – much of it without proper oversight or scrutiny.
In four years, land approved for clearing surged by around 300%.
We are concerned the NT government is rubber stamping permits and turning a blind eye, as big cotton and industrial agriculture companies have been approved to raze 8,926 MCG fields worth of savanna in 2022 alone.
The NT is the only jurisdiction across the Country with no specific native vegetation laws and no conservation strategy to protect ecosystems already collapsing.
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Auvergne station
The NT Pastoral Land Board, under powers given to it by the NT government, last year permitted multinational corporation Clean Agriculture and International Tourism to clear more than 920 hectares at Auvergne Station in the stunning Victoria River region.
On behalf of our client, the Environment Centre NT, we’re taking the NT government to court to challenge the corporation’s plans to clear this ecologically important savanna and use part of it to grow cotton.
Auvergne Station stretches across 61,000ha, and is home to an array of incredible, but already vulnerable, animals and plants.
Legune Station
Scott Creek
Keep Plains
What’s happening on the ground?
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