Karto Regeneration Project

Karto Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration project located at Karto Station, a cattle grazing property situated between Hungerford and Thargomindah in South West Queensland, roughly 30km west of Hungerford. It was registered in November 2018 and covers a vast 42,831.04 ha.

Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) projects involve regenerating permanent even-aged native forests by altering land management practices on land where native vegetation has been actively suppressed. This methodology requires the regenerated forest to eventually achieve a dense enough canopy to constitute true forest cover, generally defined as reaching at least 2 metres in height and at least 20% crown cover.

The South West Queensland region is predominantly known for large-scale cattle grazing and livestock operations. The area features a semi-arid climate characterized by hot summers and low mean annual rainfall (averaging roughly 276mm), with the regional soils largely consisting of red sandy loams, mulga soils, and clay plains.

This project establishes permanent native forests through assisted regeneration from in-situ seed sources, including rootstock and lignotubers, on land that was historically cleared and suppressed for at least 10 years. To achieve the necessary regrowth, the specific project activities include ceasing the mechanical or chemical destruction of vegetation, carefully managing the timing and extent of grazing, and humanely managing local feral animals.

Interestingly, the project proponent, Weemabah Pty Ltd, is a family-owned cattle enterprise that heavily relies on the Great Artesian Basin for its property water sources. The company's director recently made a formal submission to an Australian Senate Inquiry, strongly opposing a proposal by Glencore to pump waste liquid carbon dioxide into the basin. They advocated for the protection of the basin, citing the catastrophic risk of heavy metal contamination to the unpolluted sub-artesian water supply that their livestock and regional communities rely on for survival.