Darling River Conservation Initiative Site #8

Darling River Conservation Initiative Site #8 (also known as the Everdale Human-Induced Regeneration carbon project) is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located at the Everdale property, situated west-south-west of Cobar in the Cobar Shire of New South Wales. It was registered in May 2019 and covers a total project area of 14,596.40 hectares.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects involve establishing permanent even-aged native forests by ceasing land management activities that suppress tree growth. This methodology requires that the land was previously cleared of vegetation and that natural regrowth was suppressed for at least 10 years prior to the project's commencement. The objective is to encourage natural regeneration from in-situ seed sources, rootstock, and lignotubers to achieve a mature forest environment (typically defined as achieving at least 20% canopy cover and 2 metres in height).

The Cobar Peneplain region is historically known for extensive pastoralism, primarily grazing livestock such as sheep and cattle. The area experiences a semi-arid climate with characteristically low rainfall. The local environment features relatively flat terrain consisting of soft red sandy soils, ranging from open shrublands interspersed by watercourses to mulga ridge type country.

Project activities focus heavily on ecosystem recovery through the management of the timing and extent of livestock grazing, as well as the humane management of feral animals. Specifically, the project was established to promote the regeneration of over $5,000 hectares of acacia woodland and eucalypt forest. To achieve this, the landholders have undertaken significant on-ground improvements, including the installation of total grazing pressure (TGP) fencing to subdivide paddocks, repairing water points, and the removal of hundreds of feral goats (at least 789 reported removed) from the property.

The project is operated by Terra Carbon Pty Limited, which serves as a subsidiary for GreenCollar, one of Australia's largest carbon project developers. Interestingly, the environmental and biodiversity benefits of this specific site have attracted international buyers; for example, IBM has sourced Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) from the Darling River Conservation Initiative Site #8 to offer carbon-neutral infrastructure offsets for their enterprise server hardware.