Tripodi Native Forest Protection Project

Tripodi Native Forest Protection Project is an Avoided Deforestation project located in the Bourke local government area, approximately 65km south of Bourke in New South Wales. It was registered on 30 June 2014 and covers a vast area of 12,374.78 hectares.

Avoided deforestation projects involve protecting native forests from being permanently cleared and converted to agricultural systems, such as cropland or pasture. A key standard requirement for the Avoided Deforestation 1.1 methodology is that the landholder must hold a valid historical clearing permit that was issued before 1 July 2010.

The Bourke region is known for a semi-arid climate with low average annual rainfall of around 330mm. Soils in the broader area generally consist of Chromosols and Vertosols, which include clays and naturally hardsetting duplex soils. The region's land use is predominantly large-scale agricultural grazing, along with some irrigated cropping such as cotton near the river systems.

The project's main activity avoids greenhouse gas emissions by ceasing the previously approved clearing of native forest on the property. In May 2015, the project varied its method from the 2013 determination to the updated Avoided Deforestation 1.1 Determination 2015. Interestingly, Terra Carbon Pty Limited secured a large fixed delivery contract for this project at the April 2015 ERF auction, committing to deliver over 950,000 carbon credits to the Commonwealth. Furthermore, the Avoided Deforestation 1.1 method was officially revoked by the Australian Government in February 2023 following an independent review; while no new projects can use this method, existing projects like Tripodi continue to operate and generate credits.