Dungarvan Human-Induced Regeneration Project

Dungarvan Human-Induced Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located at Dungarvan Station, approximately 140km northwest of Bourke in western New South Wales. Registered in July 2015 with Terra Carbon Pty Limited as the project proponent, the project covers an extensive area of 25,571.19 hectares. The surrounding region is predominantly utilised for pastoral grazing, primarily functioning as extensive sheep and cattle enterprises.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects aim to establish permanent, even-aged native forests by altering land management practices to encourage assisted regeneration from in-situ seed sources, such as rootstock and lignotubers. Under this standard methodology, vegetation must be allowed to reach typical forest cover requirements, generally defined as achieving at least 20% canopy cover and a height of 2 metres. For this project, which occurs on land previously cleared of vegetation where regrowth was suppressed for at least 10 years, the primary activities include the strategic management of the timing and extent of livestock grazing, alongside the humane management of feral animals.

The environment around Bourke and the broader outback NSW region is classified as semi-arid, experiencing low and highly variable rainfall that often dictates "boom-bust" agricultural cycles. The soils in this landscape generally consist of red earths, clay loams, and sandy loams, which are well-adapted to support resilient native scrub and grasses.

Dungarvan has been owned and operated by the Leigo family since 1967. In 2015, they partnered with the environmental markets developer GreenCollar to integrate carbon farming into their traditional operations, using the alternative carbon revenue to drought-proof their business and survive harsh dry spells. Through the carbon project, the landholders have been able to install over 135km of new fencing, construct 10 trap yards, and create 13 new water points to better control total grazing pressure. Feral animals such as pigs, goats, foxes, cats, and wild dogs are actively managed to allow flora to recover. A recent CSIRO biodiversity report highlighted the ecological success of the project, noting flourishing native vegetation, increasing native bird populations, and regular sightings of reptiles, amphibians, and mammals like the fat-tailed dunnart.