Colty Downs Australian Sandalwood Project

Colty Downs Australian Sandalwood Project is a plantation forestry project located at the "Colty Downs" property, approximately 25km southeast of Badgingarra in the Shire of Dandaragan, Western Australia. It was registered in September 2022 and originally covered 530.96ha, though a variation in August 2025 removed some areas from the project.

Plantation forestry projects involve establishing and maintaining a new plantation forest for the commercial harvesting of wood products. Under the 2022 Methodology Determination, carbon credits are earned by sequestering carbon in the growing trees, accounting for the cyclical nature of commercial planting, management, and harvesting.

The Dandaragan and Badgingarra region is located in the WA Wheatbelt, an area predominantly used for mixed-farming agriculture, including sheep grazing and cropping of wheat, barley, canola, and lupins. The environment experiences a Mediterranean climate with a winter-dominant average rainfall of around 500mm. The soils in this area are generally characterized by deep yellow sands, sandy loams, and challenging non-wetting gravelly profiles.

This project specifically focuses on cultivating native Australian Sandalwood (Santalum spicatum). The project's agent, W.A. Sandalwood Plantations Pty Ltd (now operating as Silvalis Sandalwood), manages thousands of hectares of sandalwood across the central wheatbelt. Sandalwood produced from these plantations is highly prized in international markets, particularly for traditional incense in Asia and for essential oils used in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries.