Bulgoo Station Native Forest Protection Project

Bulgoo Station Native Forest Protection Project is an avoided deforestation project located approximately 60km south of Cobar in western New South Wales. It was registered in February 2014 and covers an expansive area of 20,705.27 hectares.

Avoided deforestation projects involve protecting native forests from being deforested and preventing the land from being converted to an agricultural system. A standard requirement for this methodology is that a valid land clearing permit must have been issued for the property before 1 July 2010. By stopping the clearing, the project avoids greenhouse gas emissions while continuing to sequester carbon in the native vegetation.

The Cobar Peneplain bioregion is a semi-arid environment characterised by low rainfall. The local soils generally consist of ridgy red earth and sandy loams that naturally support mulga scrub. Regional land use is predominantly focused on pastoral grazing, particularly sheep and goats.

This project is a successful example of integrating carbon farming with traditional grazing. Originally developed by the Yench family alongside project developer GreenCollar (operating as Terra Carbon Pty Limited), the initial carbon credits were sold to BP Asia before the Australian government began purchasing them at auction. The carbon revenue allowed the graziers to substantially increase their landholding from 52,000 to 132,000 acres and expand their sheep flock from 3,500 to 8,000 head, proving that conservation and agriculture can coexist profitably. In 2015, the project updated its methodology, and in 2022, the primary participant name was officially varied to Bulgoo Pastoral Pty Ltd. Recently, the project has also been associated with an Accounting for Nature® certified environmental account tracking native vegetation restoration.