WA Carbon Cattle Conservation Project # 102721 LD

WA Carbon Cattle Conservation Project # 102721 LD is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located on the Laverton Downs Station, approximately 20km north of Laverton in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. It was registered in March 2022 and covers an expansive 197,894.81 hectares.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects involve establishing permanent native forests through assisted regeneration. Standard requirements for HIR methodologies dictate stopping or altering land management practices that previously suppressed vegetation growth, allowing the land to naturally regenerate and reach a native forest canopy. This particular project establishes permanent even-aged native forests from in-situ seed sources, including rootstock and lignotubers. The project takes place on land that was previously cleared of vegetation and where regrowth had been suppressed for at least 10 years prior to the project’s commencement. To achieve this regeneration, the project activities include the humane management of feral animals, the management of non-native plant species, and careful control over the timing and extent of livestock grazing.

The Goldfields-Esperance region surrounding Laverton is historically known for pastoral operations, specifically cattle and sheep grazing, alongside extensive gold and nickel exploration and mining activities. The region experiences a semi-arid to arid climate characterised by low annual rainfall. The environmental conditions feature red sandy earths, clay loams, and stony ironstone soils that support hardy saltbush and grassy plains.

As the "LD" in the project name suggests, the project area encompasses the historic Laverton Downs pastoral lease. The proponent, RegenCo Pty Ltd, is an active carbon developer managing several large-scale cattle conservation and carbon farming aggregations across Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Additionally, on 14 March 2022, this project was divided under section 77A of the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) Act, and on 2 August 2023, the project area underwent a variation to remove certain parcels of land from the registered project bounds.