Orient Regeneration Project

The Orient Regeneration Project is a large-scale Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located on 'Orient' Station, approximately 70km west-north-west of Thargomindah in South West Queensland. Registered in November 2017, the project encompasses a massive 261,947 hectares within the remote Bulloo Shire. The land is primarily used for pastoral purposes, specifically extensive beef cattle grazing, which the proponent, Usher Pastoral Company, continues to manage alongside the carbon abatement activities.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects in this context involve strategic changes in land management to facilitate the return of native forest cover. By ceasing mechanical clearing and managing the timing and extent of grazing pressure, the project allows native vegetation to regenerate from in-situ seed sources, rootstock, and lignotubers. This specific project focuses on restoring permanent even-aged native forest on land where regrowth was previously suppressed for at least 10 years.

The environment in the Thargomindah region is semi-arid to arid, characterized by hot summers and variable rainfall averaging between 200mm and 290mm annually. The landscape is a mix of the Mulga Lands and the Channel Country bioregions. Soils here typically range from red earths and sandy loams in the Mulga country to grey cracking clays on the floodplains of the watercourses that feed into the Bulloo River catchment.

A notable aspect of the Orient Regeneration Project is its social impact; it includes a benefit-sharing arrangement with the Kullilli Bulloo River Aboriginal Corporation. The Corporation receives a percentage of the Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) issued, acknowledging the Traditional Owners' connection to the country. Additionally, while the total project area is over 260,000 hectares, the specific Carbon Estimation Area (CEA), the area modeled for actual carbon sequestration, was reported as approximately 80,858 hectares in 2022.