The Goldfields Renewal Forest Regeneration (Revoked)

The Goldfields Renewal Forest Regeneration (Revoked) project was a massive and ambitious environmental initiative located in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. The project area, spanning an immense 1,575,147 hectares, stretched from approximately 70km northeast of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, extending northwards past Menzies towards Leonora. This region is historically known for extensive pastoral grazing (sheep and cattle) and significant mining operations.

Registered in April 2016, the project operated under the Reforestation by Environmental or Mallee Plantings-FullCAM methodology. Unlike Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) projects which rely on natural regrowth, this methodology generally requires the active planting of native tree species (via seeds or tubestock) at densities sufficient to achieve forest cover. The project aimed to establish permanent mixed-species environmental plantings on land previously used for agriculture.

The environmental conditions in this region are challenging for active reforestation. The area is classified as semi-arid to arid, with low and variable rainfall averaging between 200mm and 260mm annually. The landscape is typically dominated by mulga woodlands, saltbush, and chenopod shrublands on red earth and clay loam soils.

The project was revoked in February 2018 under section 30 of the CFI Rule, which indicates a voluntary revocation by the proponent, Goldfields Carbon Group Pty Ltd. The carbon abatement contract associated with the project was also terminated. The revocation is notable given the logistical complexity and cost associated with actively planting over 1.5 million hectares in an arid zone, a scale that far exceeds typical planting projects which are usually much smaller and located in higher rainfall zones.