Oudabunna Station Regeneration Project

Oudabunna Station Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration project located at Oudabunna Station in the Shire of Yalgoo, approximately 30km north-east of Paynes Find in the Mid West region of Western Australia. It was registered in May 2018 and covers a vast original project area of 92,052.21 hectares.

Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) projects involve establishing permanent, even-aged native forests by changing land management practices to encourage natural regrowth, rather than through direct tree planting. Standard requirements dictate that the land must have had its forest cover suppressed for at least 10 years prior to commencement due to activities like livestock grazing or mechanical destruction. The goal is to allow the vegetation to reach a forest density of at least 20% canopy cover at two metres in height. For this specific project, the proponent is facilitating assisted regeneration from in-situ seed sources (including rootstock and lignotubers) primarily through the management of the timing and the extent of livestock grazing.

The Paynes Find and Yalgoo region is historically characterised by large pastoral stations for sheep and cattle grazing, alongside active gold and mineral mining operations. The area experiences a semi-arid climate with low, irregular rainfall averaging around 270-280mm annually. Environmental conditions typically consist of shallow red earthy loams overlying siliceous hardpans, as well as sandy plains and granitic rocky country.

A notable administrative fact about this project is that it underwent a variation in July 2020, which saw certain areas removed from the overall project area. Furthermore, the project successfully contracted and delivered a Carbon Abatement Contract (CAC219417) with the Clean Energy Regulator. This fixed-delivery contract was completed in early 2021, delivering a total of 3,458 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) to the Commonwealth. Publicly available agricultural data indicates that the pastoral station continues to be actively monitored via remote sensing for ground cover and green biomass to ensure ongoing vegetative progress.