Barcheka Regeneration Project

Barcheka Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located on Barcheka Station, approximately 25km northwest of Wanaaring in the Far West region of New South Wales. Registered in August 2015 by proponents Gregory and Roseanne Standfield, the project covers a substantial area of 18,433 hectares. The property is situated within the Unincorporated Far West, a region characterized by semi-arid rangelands, red earth and clay soils, and vegetation dominated by Mulga (Acacia aneura) and Poplar Box woodlands.

The project operates under the Human-Induced Regeneration methodology, which credits landholders for regenerating native forest on land where regrowth was previously suppressed. In the case of Barcheka, this involves managing the pressure from feral animals, likely goats, which are prevalent in the region, and adjusting domestic livestock grazing strategies to allow the native seed bank (rootstock and lignotubers) to recover. This transition from intensive grazing to strategic regeneration is designed to sequester carbon while maintaining the land's utility.

A notable achievement for the Barcheka Regeneration Project is its documented biodiversity co-benefits. Surveys on the property have recorded the presence of the Kultarr (Antechinomys laniger), an endangered nocturnal marsupial, suggesting that the improved ground cover and habitat complexity resulting from the project's activities are supporting threatened native wildlife. Commercially, the project has been successful in its obligations, with its associated carbon abatement contract (CAC102188) listed as completed in August 2023.