Darling River Conservation Initiative Site 14

Darling River Conservation Initiative Site 14 is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) carbon project located approximately 85km northwest of Bourke in western New South Wales. It was registered in May 2020 and covers a substantial area of 17,932 hectares. The far western region of New South Wales is widely known for expansive pastoral operations and broadacre grazing. The area is considered semi-arid and experiences low, variable rainfall, with a local environment primarily consisting of flat country and red earth or sandy loam soils.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects involve establishing permanent even-aged native forests by encouraging the natural recovery of native trees from in-situ seed sources, such as rootstock and lignotubers. A standard requirement for this methodology is that the project land must have been previously cleared of native vegetation, and that regrowth was actively suppressed for at least 10 years prior to the project commencing.

To achieve this regeneration, the proponent implements specific project activities, notably managing the timing and extent of livestock grazing and undertaking humane feral animal control measures. These actions help reverse historical land degradation by reducing pressure on emerging vegetation, allowing native species to naturally regenerate.

Operated by Terra Carbon Pty Limited, a subsidiary of the environmental markets developer GreenCollar, this site is part of a larger landscape-scale effort known as the Darling River Conservation Initiative. Interestingly, the project has undergone several name changes since its inception, previously being registered as the Merita Human Induced Regeneration Project and Darling River Conservation Initiative Site #10 before finalizing its current name in 2022. Credits from this project have been retired by major organizations, including Woodside Energy and Westpac, as part of their corporate emissions offset strategies.