Flodden Hills Regeneration Project

Flodden Hills Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) carbon project located at the Flodden Hills homestead in the Barcoo Shire of western Queensland, approximately 95km west of the town of Jundah. It was registered in June 2017 and covers a massive project area of 142,474.61 hectares.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects involve regenerating permanent, even-aged native forests by fundamentally altering land management practices. Under this specific methodology, proponents must demonstrate that native vegetation has been suppressed by activities like clearing or continuous grazing for at least 10 years prior to the project's commencement. To allow the native trees to successfully regenerate and reach a mature state, typically defined under the standard requirements as achieving at least 20% crown cover and 2 meters in height, this project relies on carefully managing the timing and extent of livestock grazing.

The Barcoo Shire is situated in a semi-arid environmental zone characterized by highly variable, low annual rainfall and "boom and bust" climatic cycles. The regional land use is dominated by large-scale pastoral operations, primarily focused on extensive sheep husbandry and beef cattle grazing across vast properties. The typical soil types in these western grazing lands vary significantly but commonly include hard mulga soils (red earths and sandy loams), open alluvial cracking clays, and stony downs.

A notable aspect of this project is its reliance on the natural resilience of native flora. Rather than planting new trees, the project establishes permanent native forests through assisted regeneration from in-situ seed sources, which notably includes utilizing existing underground rootstock and lignotubers that have survived historical land clearing. Public records from the Clean Energy Regulator indicate that the project has been highly active and successful, having been issued nearly 90,000 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) since its inception.