Wespine Carbon Plantations

Wespine Carbon Plantations is a Plantation Forestry carbon project located in the South West region of Western Australia, spanning multiple sites approximately 150 to 250 km south of Perth, near the regional centres of Bunbury, Dardanup, and Bridgetown. It was registered in April 2018 and covers a substantial 2420.94 ha. The broader South West region is well known for forestry, broadacre agriculture such as cattle and sheep grazing, and dairy farming. The area typically experiences a Mediterranean climate classified as a high to intermediate winter rainfall zone. Local soils generally consist of ironstone gravels, sandy duplexes, and red-brown loamy earths, which provide suitable drainage and growing conditions for extensive commercial forestry operations.

Plantation Forestry projects sequester carbon by either establishing new plantation forests or converting existing short-rotation plantations into long-rotation forests. Standard requirements for this methodology stipulate that the forests must be established and managed specifically for the commercial harvesting of wood products, and they must adhere to a strict permanence period, which is typically 25 or 100 years. For this specific project, the activities encompass both the establishment of new plantations and the transition of existing short-rotation forestry to a long-rotation cycle.

The project proponent, Wespine Industries Pty Ltd, is a major softwood sawmiller operating out of Dardanup and is jointly owned by Wesfarmers Limited and Fletcher Building Limited. Wespine specializes in the production of Pinus radiata (Radiata Pine) for use as structural and treated timber. Through these plantations, the company aims to support a sustainable cycle of timber production that filters water, helps control salinity, and absorbs atmospheric carbon, directly aligning with its corporate goal to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Over its lifetime, the project has steadily expanded through numerous area variations, most recently adding land in September 2025, and in August 2025, it officially transitioned to the updated 2022 Plantation Forestry Methodology Determination.