Biodiverse Carbon Conservation Porker (Revoked)

Biodiverse Carbon Conservation Porker (Revoked) is an environmental planting project located in the remote locality of Porker (Hundred of Porker), approximately 40km southeast of the town of Karoonda in South Australia's Murray Mallee region. Registered in July 2015, the project encompassed a substantial area of 726.25 hectares. It was subsequently revoked in August 2017, just over two years after registration.

The project operated under the 2012 Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) methodology for permanent environmental plantings. This methodology requires the establishment of native tree species on land that has been clear of forest for at least five years. The goal is to establish a permanent forest cover, typically defined as achieving over 20% canopy cover and a height of at least 2 metres, using the CFI Reforestation Modelling Tool to calculate carbon abatement. In this specific region, plantings would predominantly consist of hardy, drought-tolerant mallee eucalypts and associated understory species suitable for the semi-arid conditions.

The Murray Mallee region is characterized by its semi-arid climate and dryland agricultural land use, primarily consisting of cereal cropping and sheep grazing. The area receives low annual rainfall, typically averaging between 300mm and 350mm, which makes moisture conservation critical for tree establishment. The soils in the Hundred of Porker are generally sandy loams and siliceous sands, often found in dune-swale systems. These soils are susceptible to wind erosion when cleared, making environmental planting projects highly valuable for landscape rehabilitation and soil stabilization.

An interesting facet of this project is its proponent structure. "Biodiverse Carbon Conservation" identifies a specific joint venture between Australian Integrated Carbon Financial Services (AICFS) and Greening Australia, a major environmental NGO. This partnership aimed to deliver projects that combined carbon credits with biodiversity co-benefits. The project was revoked under section 33 of the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011, which indicates a voluntary revocation requested by the proponent. This suggests that the project was withdrawn before credits were issued, possibly due to commercial viability assessments, landholder changes, or a strategic shift in the portfolio.