Coodardy Station Regeneration Project

The Coodardy Station Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located in the Murchison region of Western Australia, approximately 30km northwest of the town of Cue and roughly 650km northeast of Perth. Registered in November 2018, the project spans a massive 166,176 hectares. The surrounding region is deeply rooted in pastoral history, primarily utilized for rangeland sheep and cattle grazing, as well as being historically significant for gold mining operations.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects focus on regenerating native forests on land where vegetation has been suppressed for at least 10 years, typically by livestock grazing or mechanical clearing. Unlike environmental planting, this method does not involve manual tree planting. Instead, landholders manage the timing and extent of grazing, often through the installation of internal fencing and water points, to allow native seedlings and rootstock (lignotubers) to regenerate naturally into forest cover.

The environment at Coodardy Station is classified as semi-arid to arid, with an average annual rainfall of approximately 230mm that is often irregular and summer-dominant. The landscape is characterized by red sandy earth and shallow stony soils which support the growth of Mulga (Acacia aneura) woodlands and shrublands. These hardy acacia species are the primary vegetation regenerated under this carbon methodology.

A notable aspect of this project is its association with Select Carbon Pty Ltd, a major carbon service provider acquired by Shell in 2020. The project has demonstrated successful delivery, having completed a fixed delivery Carbon Abatement Contract (CAC644637) with the Australian Government in early 2022. Additionally, the project underwent a variation in March 2022 where specific areas were removed from the project boundary, a common practice to excise land that may not be meeting regeneration performance benchmarks.