Warriup Project

Warriup Project is a plantation forestry project located in the Wellstead locale of the Great Southern region, approximately 60 kilometres northeast of Albany in Western Australia. Registered in February 2024, the project covers a registered area of 198.68 hectares. The regional land use around Wellstead primarily consists of broadacre agriculture, including cropping and livestock grazing, alongside forestry operations and significant conservation reserves.

The project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative, Plantation Forestry) Methodology Determination 2022. Plantation forestry projects of this type involve sequestering carbon by transitioning an existing short-rotation commercial plantation forest into a permanent forest. This specific activity is undertaken when the plantation is at risk of being harvested and converted into non-forested land, such as returning it to agricultural use. Standard requirements for these projects dictate that commercial harvesting must cease, and the trees must be managed to maintain permanent forest cover and adequate stocking density to ensure continuous carbon sequestration.

The environment in the Great Southern region near Albany experiences a temperate, Mediterranean climate characterised by moderate to high winter-dominant rainfall. The soils in this coastal and sub-coastal area are typically a mix of sandy duplex soils over clay, lateritic gravels, and deep sands, which support both diverse native flora and forestry.

An interesting aspect of the Warriup Project is its position within the globally recognised Gondwana Link corridor on Menang Noongar Country. It connects directly with the Green Range and Tinkelelup Nature Reserves, creating a vital wildlife corridor that supports habitat recovery for endemic and threatened species, including reported local populations of the quokka and forest red-tailed cockatoo. Originally partnered with Carbon Neutral Pty Ltd, the project's participant name was updated in March 2025 to The Trustee for Warriup Carbon Trust. By transitioning the plantation to a biodiverse permanent native ecosystem, the project allows for high-yield carbon drawdown while supporting significant ecological restoration.