Darling River Conservation Initiative Site 14

Darling River Conservation Initiative Site 14 is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) carbon project located approximately 90 kilometres northwest of Bourke in the Far West region of New South Wales. Originally registered in May 2020 under the name "Merita Human Induced Regeneration Project," the project spans a significant area of 17,932 hectares. It is situated within the Bourke Shire Council area, a region historically dominated by rangeland grazing of sheep, cattle, and goats.

The project operates under the Human-Induced Regeneration methodology, which credits landholders for regenerating native forests on land where vegetation growth has been suppressed for at least ten years, typically by livestock or feral animals. rather than planting new trees, the proponent, Terra Carbon (a subsidiary of GreenCollar), works with the landholder to manage the timing and extent of grazing and control feral pests. This allows native species, such as Mulga and Bimble Box, to regenerate from natural seed banks and rootstock while often allowing the property to maintain a level of commercial agricultural production.

Environmentally, the site is located in the Mulga Lands bioregion, characterised by a semi-arid climate with hot summers and cool winters. The area typically receives low and variable rainfall, averaging around 300mm to 350mm annually. The landscape is defined by red earth soils (Kandosols) and clay pans, which support hardy native vegetation adapted to drought conditions. This project is part of the broader "Darling River Eco-Corridor" initiative, a suite of aggregated projects designed to create a contiguous zone of protected vegetation in the upper catchments of the Darling River system.