Zenith Regeneration Project

Zenith Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration project located approximately 85km west-northwest of Menzies and 190km northwest of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia's Goldfields region. It was registered in March 2021 and covers 394,905.28ha, although variations to the project in July 2022 and March 2023 saw some specific areas removed from the overall project boundary.

Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) of a Permanent Even-Aged Native Forest projects involve restoring native forests by altering land management practices to cease activities that have historically suppressed tree growth. The standard requirements for this methodology dictate that regeneration must occur from in-situ seed sources (such as rootstock and lignotubers) on land that was cleared of vegetation and where regrowth was suppressed for at least 10 years prior to the project commencing. For this project, regeneration is actively assisted by carefully managing the timing and extent of livestock grazing.

The Goldfields region's land use is heavily dominated by large-scale pastoral grazing for cattle and sheep, alongside numerous historical and active mining operations. The environment is classified as semi-arid with a Mediterranean climate, featuring red sandy soils that support woodlands of red mallee, salmon gum, and gimlet, interspersed with dense mulga shrublands and spinifex grasslands.

Interestingly, the project proponent, Zenith Australia Investment Holding Pty Ltd, is the Australian arm of Shanghai Cred, a Chinese real estate conglomerate that purchased multiple Goldfields cattle stations in 2016 for a reported $25 million. Zenith partnered with the project agent Select Carbon (which was fully acquired by oil major Shell in 2020) to manage the project. At the time of its registration, it was touted as one of Australia's largest carbon farming initiatives, historically covering an aggregation of seven major pastoral stations: Mertondale, Riverina, Perrinvale, Clover Downs, Jeedamya, Melita, and Kookynie.