Otway Silva 2025_1

Otway Silva 2025_1 is a plantation forestry project located in the Otway Ranges region, approximately 40km southwest of Colac in Victoria. It was registered in October 2024 and covers 2,173.55 hectares.

Plantation forestry projects involve establishing and maintaining new plantation forests, or converting existing short-rotation plantations into long-rotation forests. Standard requirements for this methodology dictate that proponents must meet specific tree stocking densities and actively manage the forest structure to yield commercial timber, effectively sequestering carbon in the growing trees and the resulting harvested wood products.

The surrounding Colac Otway area is known for extensive native forests, commercial timber plantations, and agricultural land uses such as dairy farming and cattle grazing. The region is classified as a high-rainfall environment, recording some of the highest annual precipitation levels in Victoria. Soils are generally deep, brown gradational soils, predominantly consisting of productive clay loams and silty loams over heavier clay subsoils, providing ideal conditions for dense hardwood growth.

This project was set up to sequester carbon while continuing commercial timber operations in the region. Throughout 2025, the project underwent rapid expansion, with five separate variations officially adding new land to the project area between June and November. Interestingly, the proponent, Otway Silva Pty Limited, operates as a special purpose vehicle formed following the 2022 sale of Midway Limited’s 17,000-hectare plantation estate to MEAG, a subsidiary of Munich Re. Midway Plantations Pty Ltd, which originally owned the assets, continues to manage the estate on the ground and acts as an active participant and agent for the project.