Cassowary Coast Carbon and Biodiversity Block

The Cassowary Coast Carbon and Biodiversity Block is a landmark environmental planting project located at Coquette Point, immediately adjacent to the town of Innisfail in Far North Queensland. Registered in September 2025, the project covers approximately 73 hectares of land situated near Ninds Creek and the Johnstone River estuary. The site is positioned within the Wet Tropics, a region renowned for its lush rainforests, though the immediate surrounding area is a mix of conservation land, rural residential properties, and agriculture, specifically sugar cane and banana farming.

This project operates under the "Reforestation by Environmental or Mallee Plantings" methodology, which involves establishing permanent native vegetation on land that was previously cleared. The method requires planting species local to the area at a density sufficient to achieve forest cover (typically at least 200 stems per hectare, though often much higher for rainforest restoration) and modelling the stored carbon using the Full Carbon Accounting Model (FullCAM). The region's environment is characterized by very high rainfall and fertile, often alluvial or basalt-derived soils, providing ideal conditions for rapid rainforest regeneration.

A key feature of this project is its status as a "stacked" environmental market project. It is reported to be the first in Australia to officially generate both Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) and "Cassowary Credits", a distinct biodiversity credit scheme designed to reward landholders for habitat restoration in the Wet Tropics. Initiated by the Cassowary Coast Regional Council in partnership with Terrain NRM and Eco-Markets Australia, the project serves as a demonstration site. Early planting activities involved community volunteers and local rangers, establishing thousands of native trees to connect remnant rainforest patches and improve habitat for the endangered Southern Cassowary.