Restoring Murray Woodlands 010 Biodiversity and Carbon Project

Restoring Murray Woodlands 010 Biodiversity and Carbon Project is an environmental planting project located approximately 25km north of the twin towns of Mulwala (NSW) and Yarrawonga (VIC). Registered in July 2024, the project covers roughly 18 hectares of land in the Riverina region of New South Wales. The area is historically dominated by agricultural land use, primarily cropping and grazing, which has led to the fragmentation of native vegetation over time.

This project operates under the "Reforestation by Environmental or Mallee Plantings" methodology. This involves establishing permanent planting of mixed native tree species on land that was previously cleared for farming. The specific goal of this project, as part of the broader "Restoring Murray Woodlands" tender, is to regenerate threatened ecological communities such as Box Gum Grassy Woodlands and Sandhill Pine Woodlands. Unlike commercial forestry, these plantings are designed for biodiversity and carbon sequestration, typically requiring a stocking density sufficient to achieve forest cover (often at least 200 stems per hectare).

The environmental conditions in this part of the Riverina are characterized by a semi-arid to temperate climate with an average annual rainfall of approximately 450mm to 500mm. The soil composition in the region varies from red earths and clay loams on the plains to sandy ridges where Sandhill Pine communities typically thrive.

A notable aspect of this project is its participation in a "first-of-its-kind" pilot program run by the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust (BCT) and Murray Local Land Services. This initiative allows landholders to bundle carbon credits (ACCUs) with annual conservation payments to ensure the financial viability of restoring small but critical habitat patches. Notably, the project has nominated a 100-year permanence period, indicating a commitment to protecting the restored woodland in perpetuity, significantly higher than the standard 25-year option often chosen by private landholders.