Southern Downs Conservation Initiative - Site # 1

Southern Downs Conservation Initiative - Site # 1 is an Avoided Clearing of Native Regrowth project located in the Southern Downs region of Queensland, approximately 30km northwest of the town of Stanthorpe. It was registered in June 2022 and covers an area of 1,964.64 hectares.

Avoided Clearing of Native Regrowth projects involve protecting native forests from being cleared for agricultural or alternative land uses. Standard requirements for this methodology dictate that the project proponent must possess the legal right to clear the land, demonstrate that the property has a history of historical clearing, and commit to retaining the protected forest for a permanence period of either 25 or 100 years.

The Southern Downs region is a predominantly rural area, well known for livestock grazing, broadhectare cropping, and horticulture. The local environment features a temperate highland climate that typically receives between 650mm and 800mm of annual rainfall. The project area sits across the region's characteristic "Traprock" and "Granite Belt" zones, which are defined by sandy and stony loam soils derived from granitic and sedimentary rocks. These soils are naturally low in fertility but support robust grazing systems and native vegetation when managed appropriately.

The project proponent, Terra Carbon Pty Limited, is an active entity in the Australian carbon market and operates as a subsidiary of GreenCollar, which is one of Australia's largest environmental market developers. This specific project avoids greenhouse gas emissions by committing to not clearing native forest that is currently permitted to be cleared, specifically targeting land that has historically been subject to regular clearing operations.