Lannercost Re-establishment (Revoked)

Lannercost Re-establishment (Revoked) was a plantation forestry project located in the rural locality of Lannercost, approximately 15 kilometers northwest of Ingham in North Queensland. The project was registered on July 18, 2018, and covered an area of 743.52 hectares before its revocation in July 2024.

The project operated under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative-Plantation Forestry) Methodology Determination 2017. This methodology involves establishing new plantation forests or converting short-rotation plantations to long-rotation forests to sequester carbon. As a commercial plantation project, it allowed for the harvesting of wood products while claiming carbon credits for the long-term storage of carbon in the trees and wood products. The specific activities for this project involved establishing a new plantation forest, likely consisting of Southern Pine (a Caribbean pine hybrid), which is the standard commercial timber species grown by the proponent in this region.

The Lannercost region is situated within the Hinchinbrook Shire, an area characterized by a tropical monsoon climate with distinct high-rainfall wet seasons. The landscape is dominated by intensive agriculture, specifically sugar cane farming on the alluvial plains, and forestry operations in the slightly elevated or peripheral areas. Soils in this specific locality are typically alluvial, ranging from dark loamy sands to clay loams, which are fertile and well-suited for both cane and timber production.

The project was revoked on July 11, 2024, under section 30 of the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Rule 2015. This section refers to a "voluntary revocation," indicating that the proponent, HQPlantations Pty Ltd, chose to withdraw the project from the carbon credit scheme. HQPlantations is the largest plantation forestry company in Queensland, managing over 300,000 hectares of estate. It is common for commercial timber operators to register projects and later revoke them if the administrative costs outweigh the benefits, or if they simply wish to manage the asset purely for timber production without the regulatory overlay of the carbon scheme.