Catchment Conservation Alliance - Great Barrier Reef Initiative Site #3

Catchment Conservation Alliance - Great Barrier Reef Initiative Site #3 is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located approximately 50km west of Monto in the North Burnett region of Queensland. Registered in July 2017, the project encompasses a significant area of 4,659 hectares. The region is historically dominated by cattle grazing and forestry, activities that have shaped the local landscape and vegetation patterns.

The project operates under the Human-Induced Regeneration methodology, which involves facilitating the regrowth of native forest on land where vegetation has been suppressed for at least 10 years. Unlike environmental planting, this method relies on existing in-situ seed sources, such as rootstock and lignotubers, to regenerate the forest. To achieve this, the project activities include managing the timing and extent of grazing, controlling feral animals, and ceasing mechanical clearing. The goal is to allow the native forest cover to re-establish itself, thereby sequestering carbon in the biomass.

Environmentally, the North Burnett region is characterized by a sub-tropical climate with variable rainfall, often averaging between 600mm and 800mm annually. The soils in this specific area are typically sodic duplex or clay soils, which can be highly susceptible to erosion when vegetation cover is removed. This soil characteristic highlights a key co-benefit of the project: by restoring forest cover, the project helps stabilize the soil and reduce sediment runoff into the Burnett River catchment, which ultimately flows into the Great Barrier Reef lagoon.

The project is part of the broader "Catchment Conservation Alliance" initiative, a collaboration often managed by GreenCollar (via the proponent Terra Carbon) that focuses on improving water quality for the Great Barrier Reef while generating carbon credits. Interesting historical context surrounds this initiative; in 2016, the Catchment Conservation Alliance was noted in industry news for supplying a "mega project" volume of credits that significantly influenced the average price of abatement in the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) auctions, demonstrating the scale and impact of these aggregated conservation efforts.