Darling River Conservation Initiative Site #4

Darling River Conservation Initiative Site #4 is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project situated in the remote rangelands of Western New South Wales, approximately 65 kilometers northeast of the township of Ivanhoe. Registered in November 2018, the project encompasses a substantial area of 21,396 hectares. The region is traditionally characterized by extensive pastoral land use, primarily grazing for sheep and cattle, set against a landscape of flat to undulating plains.

The project operates under the Human-Induced Regeneration methodology, which differs from tree planting projects. Instead of planting seedlings, this method focuses on land management changes designed to facilitate the natural regeneration of native forest from existing in-situ seed sources, rootstocks, and lignotubers. Specifically, the project activities involve managing the timing and extent of grazing pressure and implementing humane control measures for feral animals, likely goats, which are a significant suppressor of vegetation in this area, to allow the suppressed regrowth to mature into permanent forest cover.

Environmentally, the site lies within a semi-arid climatic zone, typically receiving low and variable rainfall averaging around 300 millimeters annually. The soils in this region of the Central Darling are predominantly red earths (Kandosols) and sandy loams, supporting vegetation communities often dominated by Mulga (Acacia aneura) and Bimble Box (Eucalyptus populnea). An interesting note regarding the proponent is that Terra Carbon Pty Limited is a subsidiary of the GreenCollar Group, one of Australia's largest environmental markets developers, and this project appears to be part of a broader conservation initiative across the Darling River catchment.