Carline Regeneration Project

Carline Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration project located at Carline Station, situated approximately 50km north-east of Cobar in central-western New South Wales. It was registered in March 2023 and covers an area of 7,299.40 hectares.

Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) projects involve modifying land management practices to allow native vegetation to recover and eventually form a permanent, even-aged native forest. The standard requirement is that trees must have the potential to reach at least 2 metres in height and achieve 20% crown cover. This specific project establishes permanent native forests through assisted regeneration from in-situ seed sources, including rootstock and lignotubers. This is being achieved on land that was previously cleared of vegetation and where regrowth was suppressed for at least 10 years prior to the project commencing. The primary project activity involves managing the timing and the extent of livestock grazing to relieve suppression on the regenerating native trees.

The Cobar region is widely known for extensive pastoral grazing, primarily involving sheep, cattle, and goats. The area features a semi-arid climate characterized by low, highly variable rainfall and is typically dominated by red earth and sandy loam soils suited to pastoral systems rather than intense cropping.

Interestingly, Carline Station is a working pastoral property run by the Francisco family. Like many properties in the region, the station is required to actively manage significant feral pig populations that can aggressively impact local agriculture, muddy water infrastructure, and damage regenerating native ecosystems. The carbon project is administered with the support of project agent Climate Friendly Pty Ltd and secured an optional delivery contract (CAC766856) with the Australian Government committing 124,529 tonnes of carbon abatement over a 10-year delivery period. According to the Clean Energy Regulator, the project has already been issued over 12,600 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) for its successful regeneration milestones.