Western Treefarm Project phase 1

Western Treefarm Project phase 1 is a plantation forestry project located across the Boyup Brook and West Arthur shires, roughly 50km southeast of the major town of Collie in the South West region of Western Australia. It was registered in February 2022 and currently covers 1864.88 hectares.

Plantation forestry projects under the 2022 Methodology Determination sequester carbon by establishing new plantations, avoiding the conversion of existing plantations to non-forest land, or transitioning short-rotation forests to long-rotation forests. Standard requirements dictate that the forest must be actively managed for the commercial harvesting of wood products, adhere to baseline stocking densities, and use approved modelling tools like FullCAM to accurately measure the net carbon abatement stored within the trees. In the case of this specific project, carbon is sequestered by converting an existing short-rotation plantation forest to a long-rotation plantation forest for commercial wood harvesting.

The Boyup Brook and West Arthur region is known for its mixed agricultural landscape, heavily dominated by grain production (which accounts for nearly 50% of land use in the West Arthur shire), alongside sheep and cattle grazing and extensive commercial timber and state forestry operations. The local environment supports ideal timber-growing conditions, characterized by reliable winter rainfall typical of a Mediterranean climate, and soil profiles that range from gravelly loams to sandy loams over clay.

Operated by Mitsui & Co. Wood Resources Oceania Pty Ltd, the project is managed to maximize both wood fibre output and high-integrity carbon abatement. The proponent's approach includes matching high-quality seed species to the local soil composition to ensure robust growth and ecological health over the project's lifespan. An interesting note is that the project has undergone multiple variations since its inception; it originally operated under the 2017 Plantation Forestry method before transitioning to the 2022 methodology in May 2023. Additionally, it has successfully expanded its initial project area through several formal amendments throughout 2023 and 2024.