Tonkoro Regeneration Project (Revoked)

The Tonkoro Regeneration Project (Revoked) was a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located at Tonkoro Station, approximately 245 kilometers south of Winton and 240 kilometers southwest of Longreach in Central Western Queensland. Registered in May 2018, the project covered a vast area of 137,510 hectares. The region is historically dominated by large-scale cattle grazing, utilizing the "Channel Country" landscape which is known for its ability to naturally irrigate pastures during flood events.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects rely on land management changes to facilitate the regrowth of native forest where it has previously been suppressed. For this specific project, the primary activities involved managing the timing and extent of grazing and ceasing mechanical clearing to allow vegetation to recover. Under standard HIR requirements, the project would have aimed to achieve forest cover (20% canopy density at a height of 2 meters) across the eligible carbon estimation areas.

The environmental conditions at Tonkoro are typical of the semi-arid Mulga Lands and Channel Country bioregions. The area experiences low and variable rainfall, supporting vegetation that includes edible mulga (Acacia aneura), gidgee, and native grasses on soils ranging from heavy clays in the channels to red sandy loams on the ridges. This specific landscape feeds into the headwaters of the Lake Eyre Basin, a critical inland river system.

Significant developments have occurred regarding the land tenure since the project's revocation in January 2020. While the carbon project itself was terminated and the abatement contract lapsed, the property remained a high-value conservation asset. In early 2024, the Queensland Government acquired Tonkoro Station, along with neighboring properties, to add over 200,000 hectares to the state's protected area estate. This acquisition was driven by the need to protect habitat for the critically endangered Night Parrot and the Opalton Grasswren, effectively transitioning the land from pastoral and carbon use to permanent conservation.