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| North Australian Fire Information (NAFI) | |
|---|---|
| Name | North Australian Fire Information |
| Abbreviation | NAFI |
| Type | Operational monitoring service |
| Headquarters | Darwin, Northern Territory |
| Region served | Northern Australia |
| Parent organization | CSIRO |
North Australian Fire Information (NAFI) is an operational satellite-based fire monitoring and mapping service covering northern Australia that integrates remote sensing, land management, and emergency response data. NAFI provides near real-time burn scar mapping, fire detections, and historical fire history products used by Indigenous land managers, state agencies, and research institutions across the Northern Territory, Queensland, and Western Australia. The initiative synthesizes satellite imagery and field data to support hazard reduction planning, biodiversity conservation, and carbon accounting.
NAFI combines satellite platforms such as Landsat program, Sentinel-2, and MODIS with national datasets like the Australian Bureau of Meteorology observations and land tenure layers from the Australian Bureau of Statistics to produce geographically explicit burn maps. Operational stakeholders include the Northern Territory Government, Queensland Government, and Western Australian Government fire agencies, alongside Indigenous ranger groups like those associated with the Anindilyakwa Land Council and the Tiwi Land Council. Research partners include the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australian National University, and the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre. NAFI outputs inform natural resource management programs funded by entities such as the National Indigenous Australians Agency and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
Satellite inputs underpinning NAFI include high temporal resolution sensors from the Suomi NPP/VIIRS instrument and moderate-resolution sensors from the Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2A missions, supplemented by historical archives from the Landsat program and geospatial layers maintained by Geoscience Australia. Processing pipelines use algorithms derived from studies at CSIRO and the University of Melbourne for change detection, burn severity, and fire perimeter delineation. Ground-truthing is coordinated with Indigenous ranger programs, the Bushfires Council of Australia member agencies, and the Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory to validate remote sensing outputs. Additional inputs include tenure mapping from the National Native Title Tribunal and vegetation classification from the Australian Vegetation Information System.
NAFI produces near real-time fire detection layers, daily burn scar mosaics, multi-year fire history datasets, and thematic maps for fire frequency and seasonality useful to agencies such as the Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Service and the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services. Scientific products support carbon accounting approaches consistent with methodologies from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and reporting frameworks used by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Custom products and training services are delivered to Indigenous ranger programs associated with organizations like the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation and regional natural resource management bodies including NQ Dry Tropics.
Public and partner access to NAFI data is provided through web mapping interfaces and download services interoperable with platforms such as Geoscience Australia’s NationalMap and open-source toolchains like QGIS and GRASS GIS. APIs enable integration with emergency management systems used by the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council and research platforms at the CSIRO Data Access Portal. Training materials and capacity-building workshops are co-delivered with universities including Charles Darwin University and community organizations like the Northern Land Council to support on-country fire planning.
NAFI informs prescribed burning programs and adaptive management practices employed by Northern Australia stakeholders, contributing to reduced late-season wildfire risk and outcomes evaluated by partners such as the Lowitja Institute and the Australian Academy of Science. Fire history maps produced by NAFI have been integrated into biodiversity planning processes led by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and into carbon project design under voluntary frameworks used by private sector entities including major mining operators in the region. Emergency response agencies, including the State Emergency Service (Australia) units in northern jurisdictions, use NAFI detections to prioritize resourcing and public safety communications.
NAFI operates through a partnership model involving federal research agencies, state and territory fire authorities, Indigenous representative bodies, and academic partners. Formal collaborators include CSIRO, the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre, and the National Indigenous Australians Agency, with stakeholder coordination facilitated through forums such as the Northern Australia Environmental Resources Hub. Funding and project governance draw on competitive grants administered by bodies like the Australian Research Council and programmatic support from entities including the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
NAFI evolved from regional fire monitoring pilots initiated in the early 2000s that built on international advances from programs such as the Global Fire Monitoring Center and operational systems like the MODIS Active Fire Product. Early collaboration between Geoscience Australia and northern ranger groups expanded with research contributions from CSIRO and universities, leading to production-scale services by the 2010s. Iterative enhancements incorporated new sensors from the European Space Agency and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, expanded integration with national land tenure and biodiversity datasets, and strengthened partnerships with Indigenous governance institutions across Northern Australia.
Category:Fire management in Australia Category:Remote sensing