Armoobilla Regeneration Project

The Armoobilla Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located on Armoobilla Station, approximately 92km east of Quilpie and 123km southwest of Charleville in South West Queensland. Registered in August 2015, the project covers a massive expanse of 44,836 hectares within the Quilpie Shire Council area. The region is part of the Mulga Lands bioregion, an area traditionally dominated by pastoral grazing operations for sheep and cattle.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects involve the regeneration of native forests on land where vegetation has been suppressed for at least 10 years, typically by livestock grazing or mechanical clearing. To generate credits, the proponent must undertake management activities, such as reducing grazing pressure or ceasing mechanical clearing, to allow the forest to regenerate to a permanent, even-aged state. In this specific project, the primary activities include the cessation of mechanical or chemical destruction of regrowth and the strategic management of grazing timing and extent.

The environment in this part of Queensland is classified as semi-arid, characterized by low and variable rainfall (averaging around 300-400mm annually). The landscape typically features flat to undulating plains with red earth and sandy loam soils, supporting vegetation dominated by Mulga (Acacia aneura) and poplar box woodlands.

This project has attracted significant public attention due to its role in corporate carbon offsetting strategies. Carbon credits (ACCUs) generated by Armoobilla have been purchased and retired by major entities, including Woodside Energy and Coles, the latter using them to certify a "Carbon Neutral Beef" product line. This high-profile usage led to scrutiny in 2022 from The Australia Institute, which questioned the "additionality" of the regeneration, a claim strongly refuted by the project's carbon service providers, Climate Friendly and Corporate Carbon.