The Nicholson River Carbon Project (Revoked)

The Nicholson River Carbon Project (Revoked) was a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located at Benmara Station, approximately 345km northeast of Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory. Situated in the Barkly Tablelands region, about 100km west of the Queensland border, the project covered a massive expanse of 452,542 hectares. The area is defined by large-scale pastoral operations, specifically cattle breeding, which utilizes the region's vast grasslands and open woodlands.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects involve regenerating native forests by identifying and removing suppression mechanisms, in this case, managing the timing and extent of livestock grazing to allow vegetation to recover. To generate credits, the land must show potential to reach forest cover (20% canopy density at a height of 2 meters).

The environment in this region is characterized by a semi-arid to tropical savanna climate with a distinct wet and dry season. The landscape features diverse soil types, ranging from the cracking clay soils (black soil) typical of the Barkly Tablelands to lateritic and sandstone plains, as well as alluvial floodplains along watercourses like the Nicholson River.

This project is notable for its short lifespan and the context surrounding its revocation. Registered in September 2023 by Benmara Pastoral Pty Ltd, the project was revoked in December 2025 under section 30 of the CFI Rule (voluntary revocation). Reports from the agricultural sector indicate that the property was listed for sale in early 2025 by its owners, Hartree Partners, citing uncertainty regarding the transition from the sunsetted HIR methodology to the delayed Integrated Farm and Land Management (IFLM) method as a key factor in the decision to exit the investment.