Longdowns Regeneration Project

Longdowns Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration project located approximately 30km southeast of Bourke in New South Wales. It was registered in July 2015 and currently covers an area of 30,025.68 hectares.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects involve the establishment of permanent, even-aged native forests by altering historic land management practices. This methodology relies on assisted regeneration from in-situ seed sources, including rootstock and lignotubers. Standard requirements dictate that the target area must have been previously cleared of vegetation and suppressed from regrowth for at least 10 years prior to the project's commencement.

The Bourke region is a semi-arid zone predominantly known for extensive sheep and cattle grazing operations. The environment experiences a hot, dry climate characterised by low average annual rainfall of approximately 300 to 400mm, and the regional soils typically consist of red earths and heavy grey or black cracking clays.

This project aims to restore native vegetation on degraded agricultural land. To facilitate this natural regeneration, the required project activities include the cessation of the mechanical or chemical destruction of regrowth, the complete exclusion of livestock, the careful management of the timing and extent of any necessary grazing, and the humane management of feral animals.

Interestingly, the project was officially divided under section 77A of the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act on December 1, 2022. Over the years, the project's participants have varied, initially involving Corporate Carbon Solutions Pty Ltd, later adding Paniri Ventures Pty Ltd, before reverting solely back to Corporate Carbon Solutions. Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) generated from this project have been acquired and retired by several large organisations, including Orica and the Mornington Peninsula Shire, to help offset their corporate carbon footprints.