Australian Forests For A Cleaner Climate #1

Australian Forests For A Cleaner Climate #1 is a plantation forestry project located across multiple sites in the Southern Midlands and Central Highlands regions of Tasmania, approximately 50 to 80 km north and northwest of Hobart. It was registered in June 2020 and covers an area of 585.88 ha. Variations were made to the project in 2021 and 2022 to add more land areas.

Plantation forestry projects operating under this methodology typically involve establishing new plantation forests or converting an existing short-rotation plantation forest to a long-rotation harvest cycle. Standard requirements include actively managing the forest for commercial timber harvesting and maintaining specific tree stocking densities. This extended rotation allows a greater amount of carbon to be sequestered from the atmosphere via the replanted trees before harvesting.

The Central Highlands and Southern Midlands regions of Tasmania are traditionally known for sheep grazing, agriculture, and extensive commercial forestry operations. The area generally experiences a cool temperate climate with moderate to high rainfall, though parts of the Midlands sit in a rain shadow. Soils in these forested areas are typically dolerite-derived heavy clays and loams or podzols, providing excellent growing conditions for the Monterey pines (Pinus radiata) utilized in this project.

This project was established across multiple pine plantation sites with various owners to convert their harvest cycles to long rotations. It generates valuable co-benefits by reducing the replanting costs for local businesses and increasing timber production, which supplies a local Tasmanian paper mill as well as sawlogs for export. Furthermore, Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) from this project have been purchased by major corporate entities to meet climate goals. For instance, Ingham's used the offsets to successfully certify their Tasmanian Marion Bay chicken products as carbon neutral from paddock to shelf. Investment firms such as Crescent Capital have also utilized the project's credits for their own operational carbon offsetting.