Zenith Regeneration Project

The Zenith Regeneration Project is a significant Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located in the Goldfields region of Western Australia, approximately 70km northwest of the town of Menzies. Registered in March 2021, the project covers a massive Carbon Estimation Area of roughly 394,905 hectares. The project operates across an aggregation of pastoral leases owned by the proponent, including the Riverina, Perrinvale, Jeedamya, Melita, and Kookynie stations.

This project operates under the Human-Induced Regeneration methodology, which involves regenerating native forests on land where vegetation growth has been suppressed for at least 10 years, typically by livestock. To generate carbon credits, the proponent manages the timing and extent of grazing (often by installing new fencing or water infrastructure) to allow native vegetation, primarily Acacia species like Mulga, to regenerate and reach forest cover status.

The Goldfields region is characterized by a semi-arid to arid climate with low, irregular rainfall (averaging 200–250mm annually) and high evaporation rates. The landscape is defined by vast rangelands featuring red earth soils, sandy loams, and clay pans, supporting vegetation dominated by mulga scrub and saltbush. The primary land uses in this remote area are extensive pastoral grazing (sheep and cattle) and mining exploration.

Notably, upon its registration, this project was cited in media reports as one of Australia's largest carbon farming projects by land area, initially encompassing a lease footprint of over 1.2 million hectares before being refined to the current carbon estimation area. The proponent, Zenith Australia Investment Holding, is a subsidiary of the Chinese real estate conglomerate Shanghai Cred. The project is managed in partnership with Select Carbon, a carbon service provider acquired by Shell.