Biodiverse Carbon Conservation Yarrabee (Revoked)

Biodiverse Carbon Conservation Yarrabee is an environmental planting project located at the Yarrabee Wesfarmers Reserve, approximately 120km northeast of Albany and inland from Bremer Bay in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. Registered in July 2015 and covering 925 hectares, the project was established on land previously cleared for agriculture, specifically broadacre cropping and grazing, which are the dominant land uses in the surrounding Shire of Jerramungup. The project was revoked in August 2017, a common occurrence during that period as proponents often transitioned projects to newer methodology determinations or consolidated them into larger aggregations.

The project operated under the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) Reforestation Modelling Tool methodology. This involved establishing permanent plantings of native tree species, typically a mix of mallee eucalypts and other local species, at densities sufficient to achieve forest cover (defined as at least 20% crown cover and 2 meters in height). The planting activity was designed to sequester carbon while simultaneously restoring biodiversity in a region heavily impacted by historical land clearing.

The Gairdner region is characterized by a semi-arid to Mediterranean climate with an average annual rainfall of approximately 400-500mm. The soils in this location are predominantly sandy duplex soils (sand over clay) and gravelly lateritic soils, which are naturally low in nutrients and prone to wind erosion when cleared. A significant note regarding this project is its location within the "Gondwana Link," a major conservation corridor. The Yarrabee property was purchased by Bush Heritage Australia in 2006 with funding from Wesfarmers to restore habitat for species such as the Carnaby’s black-cockatoo and malleefowl. The carbon project likely represents the reforestation component of this conservation reserve.