2022 Little Wattlebird Project

2022 Little Wattlebird Project is a plantation forestry project located across multiple plantation estates throughout Tasmania, with proximity to major regional centres like Burnie, Launceston, and Sorell. It was registered in December 2022 and covers 1,956.68 hectares, following a variation in December 2023 that amended the registered project areas.

Plantation forestry projects under this methodology earn carbon credits by altering standard forestry practices to store more carbon. This specific project generates credits by converting an existing short-rotation plantation forest into a long-rotation plantation forest for the commercial harvesting of wood products. This schedule typically involves shifting from a short pulpwood harvest cycle to a longer sawlog cycle, allowing trees to grow larger and ensuring that the sequestered carbon remains stored in solid wood products for a much longer period.

The regions encompassing the project area are well-known for extensive commercial forestry operations, agriculture, and conservation areas. The environment across these Tasmanian sites features a cool temperate climate with consistently high rainfall. The soils typically range from rich volcanic ferrosols (basalt) in the north-west to clay and sandy loams, providing ideal growing conditions for commercial timber.

Interestingly, the project's proponent, The Trust Company (Australia) Limited as the Trustee for Tasmanian Forest Operating Sub Trust, is the legal trust entity for the forestry estate managed by Forico. Forico is Tasmania’s largest private forestry management company, overseeing over 170,000 hectares of land. The company splits its vast estate between commercial wood fibre production and natural forest conservation, actively managing the land to enhance biodiversity and long-term carbon sequestration. Forico's management practices under this project framework ensure carbon storage is optimized through targeted thinning between 8 and 15 years, with the final harvest typically occurring at 25 years when CO2 sequestration is at its peak.