AA2025R_PelhamP_S3

AA2025R_PelhamP_S3 is a Plantation Forestry project located in Pelham, approximately 50km northwest of Hobart in the Central Highlands of Tasmania. It was registered in August 2024 and covers 115.25 hectares. The Pelham region is situated within rolling pastoral country, and its land use is primarily a mix of sheep grazing, cropping, and extensive native and plantation forestry. The local environment features a cool-temperate climate with moderate rainfall, heavily influenced by the rain-shadow effects of the nearby Central Plateau. Soils in this region are diverse, commonly consisting of sandy loams, heavier clays, and some basalt-derived ferrosols, which are highly suitable for timber production and grazing.

This project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative, Plantation Forestry) Methodology Determination 2022. Plantation forestry projects of this type involve establishing or maintaining plantation forests that are managed specifically for the commercial harvesting of wood products. To meet standard scheme requirements, the planted commercial tree species must be grown at a sufficient stocking density to achieve true forest cover, generally defined as reaching a height of at least 2 meters and a minimum canopy cover of 20%. This specific project sequesters carbon by avoiding the conversion of an existing or recently harvested plantation to non-forested agricultural land. Instead, the land is retained as a plantation, establishing and maintaining a new forest for future commercial wood harvests.

An interesting note is the corporate structure behind the project. The proponent is The Trust Company (Australia) Limited acting as a trustee for The Tasmanian Carbon Afforestation Sub-Trust, with SFM Agribusiness Pty Ltd (part of the SFM Environmental Solutions group) acting as a participant and agent. This reflects a broader trend of institutional investment into Tasmanian farm forestry, where corporate entities partner with local land managers to secure long-term carbon offset revenue while preserving the region's active commercial timber supply.