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. A standard requirement of this methodology is that the land must have been previously cleared of vegetation, with natural regrowth suppressed for at least 10 years prior to the project's commencement. The objective is to encourage natural regeneration from in-situ seed sources, such as rootstock and lignotubers, to achieve a mature forest environment, which is typically defined as reaching at least 20% canopy cover and 2 metres in height.

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

This project establishes permanent native forests through assisted regeneration by closely managing the timing and extent of livestock grazing alongside the humane management of feral animals. Specifically, the project aims 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 successful removal of at least 789 feral goats from the property.

Operated by Terra Carbon Pty Limited, which serves as a subsidiary for major carbon developer GreenCollar, the environmental and biodiversity benefits of this specific site have attracted international corporate buyers. Notably, IBM has sourced Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) from Darling River Conservation Initiative Site #8 to offer carbon-neutral infrastructure offsets for their enterprise server hardware, such as the IBM LinuxONE Emperor 4.