Orchid Valley Pine project 2019

Orchid Valley Pine project 2019 is a plantation forestry project located in Orchid Valley, approximately 38km south-west of Kojonup in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. It was registered in May 2018 and covers 3669.76ha.

Plantation forestry projects generate carbon credits by establishing new plantation forests or converting existing short-rotation plantations to long-rotation forests. Standard requirements include maintaining adequate stocking densities and ensuring the land is actively managed for the commercial harvesting of wood products.

The Orchid Valley and broader Kojonup area is heavily utilised for sheep grazing and broadacre agricultural cropping, while also supporting significant commercial timber and forestry operations. The region is considered a medium to high rainfall area with a typical Mediterranean climate, and local soils are generally lateritic ironstone gravels and sandy loams over clay.

This project sequesters carbon by both establishing new plantations and converting existing short-rotation plantations to long-rotation for commercial harvesting. The proponent, The Trust Company (Australia) Limited as trustee for Forestry Investment Trust, is part of a large-scale investment vehicle that manages an extensive hardwood and softwood timber estate across Australia. The project has also undergone several variations over its lifespan, with land areas added in March 2020 and April 2021, and certain portions removed in September 2024.