Yellow Wattlebird 2022 Project

Yellow Wattlebird 2022 Project is a plantation forestry project spanning multiple estates across northern and north-western Tasmania, situated approximately 30km south of Burnie and up to 80km east of Launceston. It was registered in August 2023 and covers 1339.46ha.

Plantation forestry projects operating under the avoided conversion method involve retaining land as a plantation forest rather than allowing it to be harvested and reverted to non-forested land (such as agricultural pasture). Standard requirements for this methodology include demonstrating that the plantation was originally established for commercial harvest, holding the legal forestry rights, and maintaining continuous forest cover over the nominated permanence period.

The northern Tasmanian region is widely known for commercial forestry operations, dairy farming, and cropping. The area is considered a high rainfall zone, and the soils are highly productive, generally consisting of rich red basalts (krasnozems) in the north-west and granitic sandy loams or dermosols in the north-east.

An interesting note about this project is that the proponent, The Trust Company (Australia) Limited as Trustee for the Tasmanian Forest Operating Sub Trust, acts as the legal entity behind Forico. Forico is Tasmania's largest private forest management company. By avoiding the conversion of these recently harvested or existing plantations, the project actively ensures that carbon remains sequestered in the ecosystem across their estate, feeding into their broader natural capital and sustainability goals.