Osterley Downs Native Forest Protection Project

Osterley Downs Native Forest Protection Project is an avoided deforestation project located on the Kidman Way, approximately 50km south of Cobar (near Nymagee) in New South Wales. It was registered in January 2014 and covers a total project area of 27,917.37 ha.

Avoided deforestation projects involve a straightforward commitment by land managers to protect and preserve native forest on land that has previously received government consent to be cleared for agricultural conversion. A standard requirement of this methodology is that the clearing permit must have been issued prior to 1 July 2010. By choosing not to clear the forest and converting it to pasture or cropland, the project avoids the release of greenhouse gas emissions and maintains the forest as an active carbon sink for up to 100 years.

The Cobar Peneplain region is predominantly characterized by a semi-arid climate and is well-known for commercial livestock grazing operations. Soils in this region typically consist of red earths, sandy loams, and rocky lithosols. The protected environmental area features semi-arid woodland communities, including grasslands and shrublands, which are dominated by native species such as Callitris (cypress pine), Eucalyptus, Dodonaea (hopbush), and Eremophila. Osterley Downs itself has operated as a mixed grazing and cropping enterprise for over 30 years.

A notable milestone for the Osterley Downs project is that it was the first-ever Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) native forest protection project approved on leasehold land (a Western Lands lease) in Australia. In addition to generating carbon credits, the project property is also tied to an environmental account under Accounting for Nature’s NaturePlus® Scheme. This parallel initiative aims to measure and demonstrate the ongoing improvement in the condition of native vegetation over time. The landholders have successfully maintained their commercial cattle grazing enterprise while simultaneously upgrading infrastructure to manage livestock and feral animal pressure, proving that carbon farming can be effectively integrated with traditional agriculture.