Darling River Conservation Initiative - Site #3

Darling River Conservation Initiative - Site #3 is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) carbon project located approximately 50km northwest of Cobar in the rangelands of western New South Wales. Registered in November 2018, the project covers a substantial area of 15,046 hectares within the Cobar Peneplain bioregion. This region is traditionally characterized by extensive sheep and goat grazing operations, often on large pastoral leases.

Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) projects differ from environmental plantings in that they do not involve manually planting trees. Instead, they rely on regenerating native forests from existing soil seed banks and rootstock (lignotubers) by removing suppression factors. Standard requirements for this methodology involve carefully managing the timing and extent of livestock grazing and actively controlling feral animals, particularly goats, which are a significant pest in the Cobar region, to allow suppressed vegetation to recover and reach forest maturity (over 2 meters in height with at least 20% canopy cover).

The project operates in a semi-arid climate, with the nearby town of Cobar receiving an average annual rainfall of approximately 390mm, which can be highly variable. The landscape is defined by undulating low ridges and plains featuring red earth and sandy loam soils. The native vegetation typically consists of Mulga woodlands, Bimble Box (Poplar Box), and White Cypress Pine, which are well-adapted to the dry conditions but struggle to regenerate under heavy grazing pressure.

This project is part of a broader portfolio managed by Terra Carbon Pty Limited, a subsidiary of GreenCollar, Australia’s largest environmental markets investor. The "Darling River Conservation Initiative" encompasses multiple sites across Western NSW, designed to provide landholders with a diversified income stream through carbon credits. This revenue often funds farm infrastructure upgrades, such as new fencing and trap yards, enhancing both the agricultural productivity and the drought resilience of the property.