Water Corporation Carbon Plantations

Water Corporation Carbon Plantations is a plantation forestry project located across the Boddington and Boyup Brook local government areas, approximately 120km to 270km southeast and south of Perth in Western Australia. It was registered in August 2021 and covers 2,056.48 ha. The surrounding land in the South West region is typically used for agriculture, including sheep grazing and cropping, as well as commercial forestry and mining operations. The region typically experiences a Mediterranean climate with moderate to high winter rainfall, and the soils are generally lateritic gravels, sandy loams, and clay loams.

Plantation forestry projects generate carbon credits by establishing new plantation forests, converting short-rotation plantations to long-rotation, or avoiding the conversion of existing plantation land to non-forested use. Standard requirements for this project type involve planting commercial timber species at an appropriate stocking density designed for commercial harvesting, and establishing a rigorous management plan.

Run by the Water Corporation in partnership with the Forest Products Commission, this initiative has established close to two million Radiata Pines across the properties. The project is projected to sequester over 450,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent over its 25-year lifespan. This is part of the Water Corporation's strategy to offset the greenhouse gas emissions produced by delivering WA's essential water and wastewater services. The mature pines will also be progressively harvested to provide a sustainable source of softwood timber for the local building industry. The project varied its method to the 2022 determination in July 2022, and its area was officially updated with additions in May 2023 and removals in February 2026.