Western Australia Rangelands Conservation Initiative Site 12

Western Australia Rangelands Conservation Initiative Site 12 is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia, approximately 75km north-northwest of Carnarvon. It was registered in November 2020 and covers 57,265.82 hectares.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects involve establishing permanent native forests by actively managing and removing threats that have suppressed vegetation growth for at least 10 years. To achieve this, the project activities include managing the timing and extent of livestock grazing and humanely controlling feral animals, such as goats. By alleviating these pressures, native vegetation is allowed to regenerate from in-situ seed sources, including rootstock and lignotubers.

The Gascoyne region is heavily utilized for pastoral operations, predominantly large-scale sheep and cattle grazing on leasehold land. The environment is classified as semi-arid to arid, experiencing low and highly irregular annual rainfall. Soils typically consist of red sandy earth and clayey sands that support hardy vegetation like Acacia shrublands (Mulga) and saltbush.

An interesting note about this project is that in May 2023, the registered project area underwent a variation where certain areas were removed. This is often the result of "gateway checks" to refine the carbon estimation area and exclude land unlikely to meet permanent forest cover requirements, ensuring the integrity of the carbon credits. Additionally, this project is part of a broader aggregated portfolio managed by Terra Carbon Pty Limited, a subsidiary of the GreenCollar Group, designed to simplify participation for pastoralists by grouping multiple properties into a large-scale conservation initiative.