Karto Regeneration Project

The Karto Regeneration Project is a human-induced regeneration (HIR) project located in the Paroo River region of southwest Queensland, approximately 40km northwest of the border village of Hungerford and roughly 200km southwest of Cunnamulla. Registered in November 2018, the project covers a substantial area of 42,831 hectares. The property operates as a grazing enterprise, historically running sheep and cattle across the semi-arid rangelands near the New South Wales border.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects involve regenerating native forest on land where vegetation has historically been suppressed by activities such as unmanaged livestock grazing or mechanical clearing. To generate carbon credits, the project proponent must implement management changes, such as controlling grazing timing and pressure or installing new fencing, to allow native seedlings to establish and grow. The forest must eventually achieve a canopy cover of at least 20% and a height of 2 meters to meet the permanent forest definition.

The region is characterized by a semi-arid climate with an average annual rainfall of approximately 300mm. The terrain at Karto Station features red loam mulga plains, stone ridges, and flood flats associated with the Paroo River system. The vegetation is dominated by Mulga (Acacia aneura), with other species such as beefwood, box, and coolabah present in the watercourses. The project area was part of the "Talyealye & Karto" aggregation, a significant pastoral holding marketed for sale in 2017, highlighting its dual value for agricultural production and carbon sequestration.