Cassowary Coast Carbon and Biodiversity Block

Cassowary Coast Carbon and Biodiversity Block is an environmental planting project located across sites at Ninds Creek and the Johnstone River, roughly 3 to 5 kilometres east of the major rural town of Innisfail in Far North Queensland. It was registered in September 2025 and covers an area of 73.41 hectares.

Environmental planting projects under the Reforestation by Environmental or Mallee Plantings - FullCAM (2024) methodology involve establishing permanent, mixed-species native vegetation. These projects generally require planting native trees and shrubs at a sufficient density (such as a minimum of 200 stems per hectare) to eventually reach forest cover, achieving at least 2 metres in height and 20% crown cover. The project activities for this specific block aim to establish permanent plantings of local native species, with a mix carefully chosen to reflect the natural structure and composition of the region's native rainforest vegetation community.

The Innisfail area of the Cassowary Coast is heavily utilized for traditional agriculture, primarily large-scale sugarcane and banana cropping. Situated within the Wet Tropics bioregion, the local environment is characterized by a high to very high tropical rainfall classification, making it one of the wettest regions in Australia. Because the project sites border the Johnstone River and Ninds Creek, the typical soil profiles are well-drained, fertile alluvial soils and coastal clay loams originating from the river catchment.

A highly notable feature of this project is that it is Australia's first officially registered "stacked" carbon and biodiversity project. By transitioning under-utilised council land, the proponent, Cassowary Coast Regional Council, is able to generate both Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) for atmospheric carbon storage and "Cassowary Credits," a specific regional scheme for biodiversity and nature-based solutions. Established as a landmark demonstration site in partnership with Terrain NRM, Eco-Markets Australia, the Mamu Traditional Custodians, and local school students, the project illustrates how landholders can stack environmental markets to achieve dual income streams while restoring critical rainforest habitats.