Baroona Regeneration Project

Baroona Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located approximately 40km northwest of Cunnamulla in the Shire of Paroo, Queensland. It was registered in July 2015 and covers an area of 38,482.55 hectares. In July 2016, a variation was approved to add extra areas to the project boundaries.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects involve regenerating permanent native forests by changing land management practices on land where vegetation was previously cleared and suppressed. The standard requirement for these projects is to achieve permanent "forest cover," which is generally defined in Australia as a minimum of 20% crown cover with trees reaching at least 2 metres in height. This specific project establishes even-aged native forests through assisted regeneration from in-situ seed sources, including rootstock and lignotubers, on land where regrowth had been suppressed for at least 10 years prior to the project commencing.

The Cunnamulla region, situated within the Mulga Lands bioregion, is primarily known for sheep and cattle grazing on native pastures. The area experiences a hot, semi-arid climate with a low average annual rainfall of approximately 376mm. The environmental conditions feature flat to undulating plains with soils largely consisting of shallow red earths, earthy sands, and stony lithosols that support mulga and eucalypt woodlands.

To enable the forest to regenerate, the project proponents, Adrian and Sally Schmidt, are carrying out several core activities. These include ceasing any mechanical or chemical destruction of regrowth, carefully managing the timing and extent of livestock grazing, and humanely managing feral animals. Notably, the project successfully secured a fixed delivery carbon abatement contract (CAC102189) with the Clean Energy Regulator during the November 2015 auction, committing to deliver over 180,000 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) with the assistance of their agent, Climate Friendly Pty Ltd.