Lynwood Native Forest Protection Project

Lynwood Native Forest Protection Project is an Avoided Deforestation project located approximately 90km northwest of Cobar in the Orana region of New South Wales. Registered in June 2015, the project covers a substantial area of 46,663 hectares. The surrounding region is part of the Cobar Peneplain, an area traditionally dominated by rangeland grazing (sheep and goats) and opportunistic cropping, characterized by its red earth soils and undulating plains.

The project operates under the Avoided Deforestation 1.1 methodology. This specific method applies to landholders who hold a valid clearing permit issued before 1 July 2010, which would have legally allowed them to clear the native forest for agricultural use, such as cropping or pasture. By surrendering this right and maintaining the forest instead, the project generates carbon credits based on the emissions that would have occurred had the clearing taken place.

Environmentally, the site sits within a semi-arid climate zone with historically unreliable rainfall. The landscape typically supports vegetation such as poplar box woodlands, mulga, and white cypress pine, growing on red earths and lithosols (stony soils) common to the Cobar region.

An interesting facet of this project is its management by property owners Robin and Keryl Thorpe, who partnered with environmental markets developer GreenCollar to establish the project. The revenue generated from the carbon credits has allowed the owners to diversify their income, reducing their reliance on high stocking rates during drought periods and funding infrastructure improvements like new dams and trap yards.