Paroo River Ecosystem Restoration Project

The Paroo River Ecosystem Restoration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located approximately 40km north-east of the remote outback settlement of Wanaaring in Far West New South Wales. Registered in June 2016, the project covers a substantial area of roughly 25,202 hectares. The surrounding region lies within the Unincorporated Area of NSW, a vast, sparsely populated landscape primarily utilized for rangeland grazing of sheep, cattle, and goats.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects focus on restoring native forests on land where vegetation growth has been suppressed for at least 10 years, typically by livestock or feral animals. To generate carbon credits, the proponent must implement management changes, such as installing new fencing to control livestock grazing pressure or actively managing feral animals like goats, to allow the suppressed seed bank and rootstock to regenerate into a permanent even-aged native forest.

The environment in this part of the Paroo River catchment is classified as semi-arid to arid. The landscape typically features red earth soils and sandy loams, with clay soils found closer to the floodplains and channels of the Paroo River system. Vegetation is dominated by Mulga (Acacia aneura) shrublands and other hardy native species adapted to the low and highly variable rainfall. The Paroo River itself is ecologically significant as the last remaining free-flowing river in the Murray-Darling Basin, providing crucial habitat during wet periods.

An interesting aspect of this project is its market participation; in addition to holding a carbon abatement contract with the Australian Government, it has supplied Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) to major corporate buyers, including Woodside Energy, for voluntary offsetting purposes.