Biodiverse Carbon Conservation

Biodiverse Carbon Conservation is an environmental planting project located in the locality of Peniup, approximately 15 kilometers southwest of Jerramungup in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. Registered in April 2015, the project covers a substantial area of 771 hectares. The surrounding region is part of the state's intensive agricultural zone, typically utilized for broadacre cropping (cereals and canola) and sheep grazing, characterized by a mix of productive farmland and remnant vegetation.

The project operates under the Reforestation by Environmental or Mallee Plantings-FullCAM methodology. This involves establishing permanent plantings of native tree species, such as Mallee eucalypts, on land that was previously cleared for agriculture. The methodology requires stocking densities sufficient to achieve forest cover and uses the Full Carbon Accounting Model (FullCAM) to calculate carbon sequestration based on the specific growth rates of the planted species and local site conditions.

Environmentally, the Jerramungup area experiences a Mediterranean climate with cool, wet winters and dry, hot summers. Average annual rainfall is approximately 400–450mm. The local terrain often features sandy duplex soils, sandy topsoil over a clay subsoil, which can be prone to waterlogging or wind erosion, making revegetation a valuable tool for land rehabilitation as well as carbon sequestration.

A notable aspect of this project is its management by Canopy Nature Based Solutions, a for-purpose subsidiary of the well-known environmental non-profit Greening Australia. The project has successfully fulfilled a fixed delivery contract (CAC178523) with the Australian Government for 10,000 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs). Furthermore, credits from this project have been retired by high-profile organizations, such as the University of Adelaide and fashion retailer M.J. Bale, to meet their carbon neutral or net-zero commitments under the Climate Active scheme.