Mt Solitary Native Forest Protection Project

Mt Solitary Native Forest Protection Project is an avoided deforestation project located 150km south of Cobar near the historic mining settlement of Mount Hope in NSW. It was registered in November 2018 and covers 7,723.23ha.

Avoided deforestation projects involve protecting native forests from being deforested (cleared) and the land from being converted to an agricultural system. For this methodology to apply, the project must demonstrate that a valid clearing permit for the land was issued before 1 July 2010.

The Mount Hope and Cobar regions are typically used for pastoral grazing, such as sheep and cattle farming, and the area has a rich history of copper and gold mining operations. The area experiences a semi-arid climate and is considered a low rainfall region. Soils are generally flat red loams, sandy loams, and shallow skeletal lithosols around rocky ridges and outcrops.

This project was set up to prevent the release of emissions that would have occurred from legally permitted deforestation. Interestingly, the property shares its name with the nearby historic Mount Solitary gold mine, an area that continues to attract mineral exploration today. In February 2019, a variation was made to the project, removing certain areas from the original boundary. Furthermore, the project's proponent, Terra Carbon Pty Limited, operates as part of GreenCollar, which is Australia's largest environmental markets investor and project developer.