CO2 Australia - Human-Induced Regeneration Project - Stage 4 (Revoked)

CO2 Australia - Human-Induced Regeneration Project - Stage 4 (Revoked) was a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located in the Parkes Shire of Central West New South Wales, approximately 40km west of Peak Hill. Registered in November 2017, the project covered an unusually small area of just 1.62 hectares. The project area sits within the wheat-sheep belt, a region heavily utilised for mixed farming operations including merino wool production and cereal cropping (wheat, barley, canola).

The project operated under the Human-Induced Regeneration methodology, which involves regenerating permanent native forests on land where vegetation has been suppressed for at least 10 years. To achieve this, proponents must cease suppression activities, typically by excluding livestock or managing feral animals, to allow in-situ seed sources like rootstock and lignotubers to regenerate into forest cover. The project's specific activity was the exclusion of livestock.

Environmentally, the region experiences a semi-arid to dry humid subtropical climate with hot summers and cool winters. Average annual rainfall is approximately 560mm, supporting red earth and clay loam soils typical of the Central West slopes and plains. These conditions are generally conducive to native vegetation recovery when grazing pressure is removed.

Notably, this project was revoked on June 23, 2022, under section 30 of the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Rule 2015, which indicates a voluntary revocation by the proponent. No Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) were ever issued to the project. The extremely small size (1.62ha) relative to standard HIR projects suggests this may have been a pilot site, a specific offset requirement, or a remnant parcel from a larger aggregation of projects managed by CO2 Australia.