The Goldfields Renewal Forest Regeneration (Revoked)

The Goldfields Renewal Forest Regeneration is an environmental planting project located in the Goldfields region of Western Australia, spanning the Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Leonora, and Menzies local government areas, roughly 80km east of Kalgoorlie. It was registered in April 2016 and covers an enormous 1,575,147.40 ha.

Environmental planting projects under the FullCAM methodology involve planting native trees at a sufficient density to establish true forest cover, typically aiming for at least 200 stems per hectare to achieve a minimum of 20% crown cover and a height of two meters.

The Goldfields area, which encompasses parts of the Great Western Woodlands, is known for extensive pastoralism, particularly cattle and sheep grazing, and widespread mining operations. The region is considered semi-arid with very low rainfall. Soils across this vast landscape are generally red deep sands, red loams, and heavier clay flats located within the wide valley systems.

This highly ambitious project was established to plant a permanent mix of native, locally-sourced tree species on land that had predominantly been used for agricultural purposes for at least five years prior to commencement. Although it originally secured a government carbon abatement contract in April 2016, the contract ultimately lapsed or was terminated by October 2017. The project itself was officially revoked on February 14, 2018, under Section 30 of the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Rule.