Varna Station Human-Induced Regeneration Project

The Varna Station Human-Induced Regeneration Project is a vegetation regeneration project located in the Quilpie Shire of South West Queensland, approximately 110km west-northwest of Charleville and 70km east of Adavale. Registered in April 2017, the project covers a significant area of 17,215 hectares within the Mulga Lands bioregion. While historically used for pastoral grazing, the property is currently undergoing a transition in land tenure and management focus.

The project operates under the Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) methodology. This method involves allowing native vegetation to regenerate into permanent forest by removing suppression activities that previously prevented growth, specifically, managing the timing and extent of livestock grazing and ceasing mechanical clearing. In this region, the vegetation is dominated by Mulga (Acacia aneura) woodlands and Poplar Box eucalypts, which grow on the area's characteristic red earth plains and sandy loams. The climate is semi-arid with variable, summer-dominant rainfall, making careful grazing management essential for successful forest regeneration.

A significant development for this project occurred in late 2023, when the project proponent changed from private individuals to the Queensland Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation. Public records from the Quilpie Shire Council indicate that Varna Station was acquired by the Queensland Government as part of its Protected Area Strategy to expand the state's conservation estate. Consequently, the carbon project is now managed by the state to ensure the regeneration of the native forest, supporting both carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation goals.