Otway Silva 2024 Carbon Project_2

Otway Silva 2024 Carbon Project_2 is a commercial plantation forestry project located in the Otway Ranges region of southwest Victoria. The project area spans approximately 1,087 hectares across multiple sites, with key locations positioned roughly 6km east of Port Campbell and 25km south of Colac. Registered in May 2024, the project operates within the Colac Otway and Corangamite Shires, a region heavily utilized for dairy farming, grazing, and significant commercial timber production.

The project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative, Plantation Forestry) Methodology Determination 2022. Unlike environmental planting projects which are permanent and non-harvest, this methodology allows for commercial harvesting while generating carbon credits. The project activities include establishing new plantation forests (Schedule 1) and converting existing short-rotation plantations, typically woodchip crops, into long-rotation sawlog plantations (Schedule 2). This conversion increases the average carbon stock on the land over time by extending the growth period of the trees before harvest.

The Otway Ranges are characterized by a wet, temperate climate with high average rainfall, particularly in the southern fall where some sites receive over 1000mm annually. The soils in this region are generally fertile, consisting of acidic grey loams and red ferrosols derived from Cretaceous sediments and Tertiary volcanics, making them highly suitable for rapid Eucalyptus and Pinus growth.

This project is managed by Midway Plantations Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of the ASX-listed forestry company Midway Limited. Interesting to note is that the "Otway Silva" entity typically represents a collaborative investment structure; Midway has previously announced partnerships with global asset managers such as MEAG (the asset manager of Munich Re) to develop carbon forestry portfolios in this specific region, combining timber revenue with carbon credit generation.