Pilbara Restoration project (Revoked)

The Pilbara Restoration project (Revoked) was an environmental planting project located approximately 30km southeast of Port Hedland in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Registered in October 2016, the project encompassed a substantial area of 1,598 hectares. The site is situated within the Port Hedland Local Government Area, a region historically dominated by pastoral leases for cattle grazing and significant mining operations.

The project operated under the 'Reforestation by Environmental or Mallee Plantings-FullCAM' methodology. This framework incentivizes the establishment of permanent native tree species on land that has been clear of forest cover for at least five years prior to commencement. To generate Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs), the plantings must be stocked at a density sufficient to reach 'forest cover' status, defined as having the potential to attain a height of at least two meters and 20% crown cover. Carbon sequestration is calculated using the Full Carbon Accounting Model (FullCAM).

Environmentally, the project area is characterized by a semi-arid to arid climate with high evaporation rates. Rainfall is highly variable and predominantly occurs during the summer months, often associated with cyclonic activity. The soil composition in this part of the Pilbara typically consists of "Pindan" soils, red sandy loams and ironstone gravels which support spinifex grasslands and scattered acacia shrublands.

A key aspect of this project's history is its revocation. On April 9, 2018, the project was revoked under section 30 of the CFI Rule, which indicates a voluntary revocation by the proponent, Pilbara Carbon Group Pty Ltd. Furthermore, the project held a Carbon Abatement Contract (CAC178664) with the Australian Government, which was subsequently terminated or lapsed in May 2018. This suggests that despite the initial registration, the project did not proceed to full implementation or credit issuance, a scenario seen in several early Carbon Farming Initiative projects where modeled abatement or operational logistics proved unviable.