Catchment Conservation Alliance - Great Barrier Reef Initiative Site # 22

Catchment Conservation Alliance - Great Barrier Reef Initiative Site # 22 is an avoided clearing of native regrowth project located approximately 17km southeast of Eidsvold, in the North Burnett region of Queensland. It was registered in January 2024 by proponent Terra Carbon Pty Limited and covers an area of 1,937.41 hectares. The surrounding Eidsvold area, famously known as the "Beef Capital of the Burnett", is predominantly utilised for cattle grazing on native vegetation and other pastoral operations.

Avoided clearing of native regrowth projects involve protecting native forests that are legally permitted to be cleared. Standard requirements for this methodology dictate that the landholder must demonstrate the land has been comprehensively cleared for grazing or cropping at least twice in the past, and that they possess unrestricted legal rights to re-clear the land for agricultural use. The project is credited based on the carbon sequestered by keeping the forest intact over its selected permanence period, which for this site is 25 years.

The North Burnett environment experiences a sub-tropical to semi-arid climate with a distinct summer-dominant rainfall pattern averaging around 635mm annually. The soils in this district are diverse, varying from fertile alluvial deposits near the Burnett River to lighter sandy loams and medium-to-deep cracking clays on the surrounding higher slopes and interfluves.

This project avoids emissions by ceasing the permitted clearing of native forest on historically cleared land. In January 2025, a variation was made to the original project boundary, resulting in the removal of certain areas. Notably, a carbon market report from June 2025 highlighted this project as a major producer, noting it received a single issuance of 87,000 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs), the largest parcel issued that month. Additionally, the project site overlaps with an Accounting for Nature (AfN) certified Native Vegetation Asset Account, which identified a moderate overall condition of native vegetation but highlighted strong biodiversity in local shrub and tree species richness.