Boobera Carbon project

The Boobera Carbon project is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located on Boobera Station, approximately 75km northwest of Cunnamulla in South West Queensland. Registered in September 2015, the project covers a significant area of 26,951 hectares within the Mulga Lands bioregion. This region is traditionally defined by pastoral activities, primarily grazing sheep and cattle on native vegetation.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects involve regenerating permanent native forests on land where vegetation growth was historically suppressed, usually for agricultural purposes. In this context, the project activities include managing the timing and extent of grazing, controlling feral animals, and ceasing mechanical clearing. This allows the native Mulga (Acacia aneura) and Poplar Box woodlands to regenerate toward forest cover, sequestering carbon in the process.

The environmental conditions in this area are semi-arid, with a variable average annual rainfall of approximately 380mm. The soil composition is characteristic of the region, consisting largely of red earths (Kandosols) and texture-contrast soils (Chromosols), with some alluvial clay soils found along the Paroo River frontage which runs through the property.

An interesting facet of this project is its commercial history; the project proponent transferred from Andrew Higgins to Tacora Agri Pty Ltd in February 2021, coinciding with the sale of the Boobera property which had previously been family-owned for over a century. Notably, the project has successfully fulfilled a major carbon abatement contract (CAC102290) with the Australian Government, delivering over 55,000 ACCUs by April 2021, indicating a high level of project maturity and operational success.