Landsdowne Native Forest Protection Project

Landsdowne Native Forest Protection Project is an Avoided Deforestation project located at 'Landsdowne' station near the town of Louth, approximately 90km southwest of Bourke in western New South Wales. It was registered in November 2014 and covers a substantial project area of 12,769.64 hectares.

Avoided Deforestation projects prevent greenhouse gas emissions by protecting native forests that would otherwise be permanently cleared. A strict requirement for this methodology is that the land must have been issued a valid land-clearing permit prior to 1 July 2010. By surrendering the right to clear the forest and preventing the land from being converted to an agricultural system, the project retains carbon in the native vegetation.

The Bourke and Louth region is known for extensive agriculture, traditionally functioning as a major wool-growing area, while today it also heavily supports cattle grazing and cotton farming along the Darling River. The region is characterized by a hot, semi-arid climate. It experiences very low annual rainfall, averaging around 331mm, and features soils typically found in the Western Division of NSW, primarily including red sandy loams and riverine clay plains.

An interesting note about this project is that the proponent, Walter Henry Mitchell, is a respected local grazier and volunteer firefighter who was awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in the 1999 Queen's Birthday Honours for his services to local government, social welfare, and water management in the Louth area. Terra Carbon Pty Limited acts as the project agent and manages an active Carbon Abatement Contract for the site, which has already delivered over 148,000 ACCUs to the Commonwealth. The project also varied its methodology in May 2015, updating from the 2013 Avoided Deforestation determination to the 1.1 iteration of 2015.