Tomora Biodiversity Project (Revoked)

Tomora Biodiversity Project (Revoked) was an environmental planting project located near the small locality of Canna, approximately 40km north of Morawa in the Mid West region of Western Australia. The project was registered in July 2015 and covered a significant area of 2,747 hectares. It was operated by Auscarbon Pty Ltd until its revocation in February 2018 under section 30 of the CFI Rule, which indicates a voluntary withdrawal.

The project operated under the Carbon Farming (Quantifying Carbon Sequestration by Permanent Environmental Plantings of Native Tree Species using the CFI Reforestation Modelling Tool) Methodology Determination 2012. This methodology involves establishing permanent plantings of native tree species on land that had been cleared of forest for at least five years. The goal is to sequester carbon by re-establishing vegetation densities that mimic natural woodland, often requiring stocking densities sufficient to achieve forest cover (typically over 200 stems per hectare).

The region surrounding Morawa and Canna is part of the Western Australian Wheatbelt, an area traditionally dominated by broadacre cropping and grazing. The environment is characterized as semi-arid with a Mediterranean climate, receiving approximately 330mm of annual rainfall, predominantly in winter. The local soil profiles typically consist of sandy loams and clays, often associated with York Gum and Salmon Gum vegetation complexes.

While the project was registered under the ACCU scheme in 2015, Auscarbon documentation suggests the physical planting at the "Tomora" property may have commenced as early as 2008. The proponent described the site as a "bio-diverse carbon sink plantation" designed to replicate the pre-European settlement landscape using over 30 endemic species. The company has previously highlighted its projects as achieving Gold Standard certification, emphasizing co-benefits such as habitat restoration for endangered flora and fauna alongside carbon sequestration.