NT Cattle Conservation HIR Project #02142022 MUL

NT Cattle Conservation HIR Project #02142022 MUL is a large-scale Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located on Mulga Park Station in the Northern Territory. The project area spans 264,843 hectares near the South Australian border, situated approximately 90km southeast of Yulara (Uluru) and 280km southwest of Alice Springs. Registered in March 2022, the project is situated within the MacDonnell Regional Council area, a region dominated by vast pastoral leases and arid rangelands.

Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) projects generate carbon credits by regenerating native forests on land where vegetation growth has been suppressed for at least 10 years, typically due to agricultural activities. The standard requirement for this methodology involves identifying specific "Carbon Estimation Areas" where forest cover can be restored to achieve a canopy cover of 20% and a height of at least 2 meters. This specific project operates under a "cattle conservation" model, which integrates carbon farming with active cattle operations. This approach utilizes rotational grazing strategies to ensure vegetation recovery while maintaining agricultural productivity.

The environmental context of the region is defined by an arid climate with low and highly variable rainfall. The landscape is characterized by red earth and sandy soils supporting Mulga (Acacia aneura) woodlands and spinifex shrublands. The project activities focus on managing the primary suppressors of vegetation regrowth: grazing pressure and invasive species. This involves strictly managing the timing and extent of cattle grazing to allow trees to regenerate, alongside humane management of feral animals, a critical issue in this area where feral camels are known to cause significant degradation to waterholes and vegetation.

An interesting aspect of this project is its proponent, Regenco Pty Ltd, which employs a shared ownership model with pastoralists. For this specific project, ACCUs (Australian Carbon Credit Units) were reportedly pre-sold to fund the initial management costs, such as infrastructure improvements for grazing control. The project highlights a growing trend in the Australian outback where "carbon and cows" are managed simultaneously to diversify station income and restore landscape health.