2025 WA Schedule 3 Carbon Project

2025 WA Schedule 3 Carbon Project is a plantation forestry initiative located in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. The project area is highly dispersed, consisting of aggregated parcels spanning approximately 150 kilometers from west to east. These sites range from the vicinity of Rocky Gully and Frankland River in the west, past Mount Barker, to Boxwood Hill near Bremer Bay in the east. The nearest major regional city is Albany, which lies to the south of this extensive plantation belt.

Registered in February 2025, the project covers a total area of 3,545 hectares. It operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative, Plantation Forestry) Methodology Determination 2022, specifically utilizing "Schedule 3." This schedule is designed for "avoided conversion" projects. In this context, it implies the proponent had a commercially viable opportunity to harvest the existing plantation and convert the land to non-forested agricultural use, such as cropping or grazing, but instead chose to maintain the plantation forest. By doing so, the project credits the carbon that remains stored in the trees that would otherwise have been cleared.

The Great Southern region is a prime agricultural and forestry zone characterized by a Mediterranean climate with high annual rainfall, typically exceeding 600mm. This climate is ideal for Eucalyptus globulus (Tasmanian Blue Gum), the dominant plantation species in the area. The soil profile across these sites generally consists of lateritic gravels and sandy loams over clay subsoils, often referred to as "duplex soils." The project proponent, The Trust Company (Australia) Limited as trustee for Forestry Investment Trust (FIT), is an investment vehicle managed by New Forests, a major global nature-based real asset manager. This suggests the project is part of a significant institutional portfolio aiming to balance timber production with carbon sequestration revenue.