'Otway Silva 2024 Carbon Project_2

Otway Silva 2024 Carbon Project_2 is a plantation forestry project located in the Colac Otway and Corangamite local government areas, approximately 40 to 50 kilometres south-west of Colac in Victoria. It was registered in May 2024 and covers an area of 1,087.32 hectares.

Plantation forestry projects generate carbon credits by establishing new commercial plantations, converting existing short-rotation plantations to long-rotation forests, or maintaining plantations at risk of conversion to agricultural land. Standard requirements include planting trees at a sufficient stocking density to achieve true forest cover and managing the forest specifically for the commercial harvesting of wood products.

The south-west Victoria and Otway Ranges region is well known for intensive dairy farming, sheep and cattle grazing, and extensive commercial forestry operations. The area experiences a temperate, high-rainfall climate, and soils are generally a mix of rich volcanic basalts, clay loams, and sandy loams over clay.

This project sequesters carbon by establishing and maintaining a new plantation forest alongside converting existing short-rotation crops to long-rotation forestry. Interestingly, the project proponent, Otway Silva Pty Limited (an entity backed by the German insurance giant Munich Re via its asset manager MEAG), acquired Midway Limited's 17,000-hectare Victorian plantation estate for $154.1 million in 2022. The proponent also committed a further $200 million to develop new hardwood plantations across the region. Midway Plantations Pty Ltd operates as a key participant and manager for this specific project.