Saltwater Creek Carbon Project

Saltwater Creek Carbon Project is an environmental planting project located near Miallo, approximately 7 kilometers north of Mossman in Far North Queensland. Registered in June 2022, the project covers a total area of 165 hectares. This region is situated within the Wet Tropics Bioregion, an area historically dominated by intensive agricultural land use, specifically sugar cane farming, due to its fertile alluvial soils and significant rainfall.

The project operates under the Reforestation by Environmental or Mallee Plantings-FullCAM methodology. This method requires the planting of native tree and shrub species endemic to the local area at densities sufficient to establish permanent forest cover (typically a minimum of 200 stems per hectare). The primary goal is to sequester carbon by converting cleared agricultural land back into native vegetation, using the FullCAM model to estimate the carbon stored in the growing trees over time.

Ecologically, the site is positioned in a high-rainfall zone characterized by wet tropical conditions. The project has attracted investment from the Queensland Government’s Land Restoration Fund (LRF), highlighting its co-benefits beyond simple carbon sequestration. By re-establishing rainforest and eucalypt communities, the project aims to improve water quality flowing into the Great Barrier Reef and create vital habitat corridors connecting to the nearby Daintree National Park (Mossman Gorge section). These corridors support threatened species such as the southern cassowary and spot-tailed quoll.