Warrego Carbon Project

Warrego Carbon Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration project located approximately 17km east of Wyandra in outback south-west Queensland. It was registered in October 2015 and covers an expansive area of 16,364.05 hectares. The Wyandra area, situated roughly halfway between the major rural centres of Charleville and Cunnamulla, is dominated by open mulga country and is historically utilized for sheep and cattle grazing across large pastoral stations.

Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) projects involve the establishment of permanent, even-aged native forests through assisted regeneration from in-situ seed sources, including rootstock and lignotubers. This specific method requires that the land was previously cleared of vegetation and that regrowth was actively suppressed for at least 10 years prior to the project commencing. To meet the methodology's standard requirements, the project proponent must cease any mechanical or chemical destruction of native regrowth. A primary project activity is the strict management of the timing and extent of grazing, ensuring that livestock stocking densities are maintained at safe levels so they do not prevent the native forest from regenerating.

The semi-arid environment of this outback region is characterized by hot summers and very low, highly variable rainfall, averaging roughly 370mm annually. The soils across the project area and the nearby Warrego River catchment consist predominantly of red sands, loamy earths, and self-mulching grey cracking clays (vertosols).

An interesting fact about this project is its corporate off-take connection. The major Australian investment firm, Washington H. Soul Pattinson (WHSP), actively purchases Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) generated by the Warrego Carbon Project. By maintaining an investment of 50 tonnes of ACCUs from this specific native forest site, WHSP successfully offsets all of the Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions associated with its direct corporate operations.