Werai Park Forest Regeneration

Werai Park Forest Regeneration is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located in the Paroo Shire, approximately 100km southwest of Cunnamulla in south-western Queensland. It was registered in March 2016 and covers a project area of 19,065.33 hectares.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects aim to establish permanent, even-aged native forests through assisted regeneration from in-situ seed sources, such as rootstock and lignotubers. A standard requirement of this methodology is that the land must have been historically cleared of vegetation, with regrowth continually suppressed for at least 10 years prior to project commencement. To achieve the required native forest cover (which under the scheme generally requires trees to reach a minimum of 20% canopy cover and 2 metres in height), the project proponents must implement eligible management activities. For Werai Park, these include ceasing the mechanical or chemical destruction of regrowth, managing the timing and extent of livestock grazing, and humanely controlling feral animal populations.

The Cunnamulla region is heavily utilized for extensive pastoralism, primarily grazing sheep and cattle on native pastures. Geographically situated within the Mulga Lands bioregion, the local environment is classified as semi-arid, experiencing low, highly variable rainfall. The soils in this area are typically composed of sandy loams and deep red earths, interspersed with some alluvial clay plains.

An interesting note on the project's compliance history is that on January 31, 2019, the proponents relinquished 661 Kyoto Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) to correct an unintentional error. Furthermore, corporate sustainability disclosures indicate that ACCUs generated by the Werai Park project have been utilized by large multinational organizations for offsetting purposes. For instance, British American Tobacco purchased and cancelled 1,300 credits from this specific project in 2023 as part of their PAS2060 carbon neutrality verification process.