Cowarna Downs Regeneration Project (Revoked)

Cowarna Downs Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located on the Cowarna Downs pastoral station, approximately 105km east of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. It was registered in May 2018 and covers a massive 474,781.76 hectares. The region surrounding the station is primarily known for pastoral grazing operations, as well as historic and active gold and nickel mining.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects involve establishing permanent, even-aged native forests by altering land management practices to allow native vegetation to recover. For this project, the primary activity was managing the timing and extent of grazing to encourage assisted regeneration from in-situ seed sources, such as rootstock and lignotubers. A standard requirement for this methodology is that the land must have been previously cleared of vegetation and had its regrowth suppressed for at least 10 years prior to the project's commencement.

The environment around Cowarna Downs is classified as semi-arid, experiencing low annual rainfall of approximately 280mm. In this arid climate, much of the rainfall either quickly evaporates or is taken up by the existing vegetation. The soils in this eastern Goldfields region are highly complex, typically consisting of stripped Archaean regolith profiles, windblown sand, loams, and saline soils associated with dry salt lakes and paleo-drainage channels.

Interestingly, despite its vast scale and a nominated permanence period of 25 years, the project was recently revoked under section 30 of the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Rule on February 17, 2026. During its active period, the project was managed by the proponent, Cowarna Downs Pty Ltd, with the assistance of Elders Rural Services acting as the project agent. The local pastoral station is also ecologically and geologically notable, hosting a rare precious opal mine and occasional sightings of the vulnerable Malleefowl (Leipoa ocellata).