Biodiverse Carbon Conservation SAW3 (Revoked)

Biodiverse Carbon Conservation SAW3 (Revoked) was an environmental planting project located in the locality of Gould Creek, approximately 25 kilometers northeast of the Adelaide CBD in South Australia. The project site was situated on the edge of the Mount Lofty Ranges, adjacent to the Little Para Reservoir, suggesting the land was likely part of a water catchment buffer zone. Registered in August 2015 and covering a small area of 13.71 hectares, the project operated for nearly three years before being voluntarily revoked in July 2018.

The project operated under the Carbon Farming (Quantifying Carbon Sequestration by Permanent Environmental Plantings of Native Tree Species using the CFI Reforestation Modelling Tool) Methodology Determination 2012. This methodology involved establishing permanent plantings of native tree species on land that had been cleared for at least five years. Unlike methods that require direct field measurement of trees, this specific determination utilized the Reforestation Modelling Tool (RMT), a computer model that estimated carbon sequestration based on the site's location, climate data, and species mix.

The Gould Creek region is characterized by a Mediterranean climate with cool, wet winters and warm, dry summers, typical of the Adelaide Hills. The average rainfall in this area is generally between 600mm and 800mm per year, supporting dry sclerophyll forest and grassy woodlands. The local soils are typically shale-derived clay loams, which are common in the Mount Lofty Ranges and suitable for the native vegetation mixes used in these conservation plantings.

An interesting note regarding this project is the naming convention "SAW3." This abbreviation, observed in similar projects like "Biodiverse Carbon Conservation SAW1," strongly suggests an association with the South Australian Water Corporation (SA Water). While "SAW1" was transferred to SA Water's direct management, SAW3 was voluntarily revoked under Section 30 of the CFI Rule. This section usually pertains to a voluntary exit from the scheme, which implies the project may have been consolidated, deemed unviable, or the land use strategy changed prior to the end of its crediting period.