Merluna Station

Merluna Station is a Savanna Fire Management carbon project located on the remote Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland, approximately 120km south-east of the mining town of Weipa. Registered in September 2014 by proponent Terra Carbon Pty Limited, the project covers an area of 169,639 hectares. The surrounding Cape York region is characterized by expansive, remote landscapes where the primary land uses are large-scale cattle grazing, bauxite mining, and eco-tourism. Merluna itself is a 416,000-acre working cattle station that actively hosts outback station stays, providing accommodation and camping for tourists travelling along the Peninsula Development Road.

The project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative - Emissions Abatement through Savanna Fire Management) Methodology Determination 2015. Savanna fire management projects involve conducting strategic and planned burning of savanna woodlands during the early dry season (typically January to July). This cultural and environmental practice deliberately reduces the build-up of flammable grass fuel loads, significantly decreasing the risk, size, intensity, and frequency of destructive, uncontrolled wildfires in the late dry season. By managing the fire regime, the project directly avoids the emission of potent greenhouse gases, such as methane and nitrous oxide, from intense biomass burning.

Situated within a high rainfall savanna zone (typically receiving over 1000mm of annual rainfall), the local environment promotes rapid and dense vegetation growth during the tropical wet season. As the wet season concludes, this heavy biomass cures and dries out on the region's lateritic sandy and clay soils. This natural cycle produces heavy fuel loads, making early dry season fire intervention critical to landscape management and carbon abatement.

Beyond its primary agricultural and environmental activities, the carbon offsets generated by Merluna Station have seen commercial uptake. Notably, Australian retailer Coles Supermarkets has purchased and retired Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) generated by this project to support its corporate Climate Active carbon neutral disclosures. Administration of the project has also seen updates over its lifespan; the participant name formally transitioned from Country Carbon Pty Ltd to Terra Carbon Pty Limited in 2022. This variation occurred after an Enforceable Undertaking was accepted by the Clean Energy Regulator in May 2020 regarding the former participant, Country Carbon Pty Limited.