Wapweelah Regeneration Project

Wapweelah Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration project located on Wapweelah Station, approximately 60km west of Enngonia and 150km north of Bourke in north-west New South Wales. It was registered in August 2015 and covers an area of 24,806.44 ha.

Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) projects involve establishing permanent native forests through assisted regeneration. Standard requirements mandate altering land management practices to remove suppressors, such as managing livestock grazing and feral animals, allowing native forests to regenerate from in-situ seed banks, rootstock, and lignotubers.

The Bourke Shire region is well known for broadacre pastoral operations focusing on cattle and sheep grazing. The area is considered a semi-arid environment, experiencing low rainfall, and local soils generally consist of typical outback red earths and sandy loams.

This project involves managing the timing and extent of grazing, alongside the humane management of feral animals, to facilitate regrowth on land where it was suppressed for at least 10 years prior to the project commencing. Interestingly, the Wapweelah Regeneration Project was featured in the NRMA's 2016 Sustainability Report, where the project’s proponents, Phillip and Diane Ridge, supplied carbon offsets to the NRMA. However, despite generating over 441,000 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) by mid-2023, the project was highlighted in media commentary by financial journalist Alan Kohler as an example of a "high risk" carbon project where tree cover had allegedly decreased. Additionally, Clean Energy Regulator records note that Enforceable Undertakings from project participants Climate Friendly Pty Ltd and Australian Carbon Traders Pty Ltd were accepted in 2016 in relation to this project.