Barcheka Regeneration Project

Barcheka Regeneration Project is a human-induced regeneration project located at Barcheka Station, approximately 20km northwest of Wanaaring and 180km west of Bourke in NSW. It was registered in August 2015 and covers 18,433.44ha.

Human-induced regeneration (HIR) projects involve allowing native forest to regenerate from in-situ seed sources, such as rootstock and lignotubers, to achieve a permanent even-aged native forest. Standard requirements dictate that the land must have been previously cleared with regrowth suppressed for at least 10 years prior to commencement. Proponents must actively manage suppressors, such as feral animals or excessive livestock grazing pressure, to allow native vegetation to recover and reach canopy cover.

The Wanaaring area is known for remote, extensive pastoral operations, primarily cattle and sheep grazing. The region features a semi-arid, low rainfall climate, averaging just 276mm of rain annually. The landscape's soils are generally characteristic of the outback Paroo River basin, largely consisting of red earths, sandy loams, and clay pans.

This project is managed by local landholders Greg Standfield and Roseanne Standfield in partnership with project developer Climate Friendly. By changing cattle grazing rotations and humanely managing feral animals, the project has encouraged the growth of native perennial grasses and enhanced local biodiversity. A notable ecological co-benefit has been the return of the Kultarr, an endangered native marsupial, to the property. The project updated its methodology in December 2022 and successfully completed its Commonwealth carbon abatement contract (CAC102188) in August 2023, delivering a total of 53,000 Australian Carbon Credit Units. Additionally, corporate buyers such as CBRE Pacific have purchased and retired credits from this project to meet their voluntary carbon-neutral targets.