Sustainable Timber Tasmania ERF Project two - conversion of 1,000 ha of plantation.

Sustainable Timber Tasmania ERF Project two is a plantation forestry project located across multiple regions in Tasmania, including sites near Geeveston and Dover in the Huon Valley, the Meander Valley near Deloraine, and the Dorset region near Scottsdale in the north-east. Registered on October 14, 2024, the project currently covers 753.69 hectares, having been reduced from an initial scope of approximately 1,000 hectares following a variation in early 2025.

The project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative, Plantation Forestry) Methodology Determination 2022. Specifically, it involves the conversion of existing plantations from a short-rotation cycle (typically harvested every 10-15 years for pulp or woodchips) to a long-rotation cycle (harvested after 25+ years for high-quality sawlogs). By extending the growth period and altering management practices, such as thinning to encourage diameter growth, the project increases the volume of carbon stored in the trees and in the resulting long-lived wood products.

The regions hosting these plantations are characterized by Tasmania's cool temperate climate and high rainfall, conditions that are ideal for rapid tree growth. The soil profiles in these areas are typically productive, ranging from the fertile red Ferrosols found in the north-east to the podzolic and dermosol soils common in the southern forestry estates. The surrounding land use is a mix of intensive forestry operations and agriculture, particularly grazing and dairy farming in the adjacent valleys.

Sustainable Timber Tasmania (STT), a Government Business Enterprise, is the proponent for this project. This initiative represents STT's continued expansion into the carbon market, following an earlier conversion project (Project one). In their 2024-2025 Annual Report, STT highlighted the delivery of four carbon projects generating over 26,000 carbon credits, underscoring a strategic shift to value carbon sequestration alongside traditional timber production.