New Leaf Carbon Project

New Leaf Carbon Project is a native forest protection project spanning over 22,852 hectares across several regions in Tasmania, including the Central Highlands and areas approximately 25km northeast of Launceston. Registered in April 2015, the project operates on land previously zoned for commercial timber forestry and is now managed for ecological conservation. The environment across these sites features a cool, temperate climate with moderate to high rainfall, supporting Cainozoic deposits, podzols, and dolerite-derived soils that sustain diverse old-growth ecosystems.

The project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative-Designated Verified Carbon Standard Projects) Methodology Determination 2015. This specific methodology was designed to allow native forest protection projects that were already validated under the international Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) before June 2014 to transition into the Australian Emissions Reduction Fund framework. The core activity of this project type involves placing conservation covenants on private land to legally and permanently protect native forests from planned timber harvesting, thereby avoiding the greenhouse gas emissions that would have occurred.

This project has a highly notable history: it stems from the Tasmanian Land Conservancy's (TLC) 2010 purchase of 27,000 hectares of native forest from the timber company Gunns Ltd, creating the "New Leaf Estate". At the time, this was the single largest private land conservation deal in Australia's history. By halting logging across the project area, the initiative not only generates carbon credits but also protects vital habitats for threatened endemic species, including the Tasmanian devil, the eastern quoll, and the wedge-tailed eagle. The income generated from the sale of Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs), which have been purchased by major corporate buyers like Virgin Australia, is continually reinvested into the TLC’s ongoing nature reserves, property acquisition, and ecological research programs.