Otway Silva 2025_2 Carbon Project

Otway Silva 2025_2 Carbon Project is a plantation forestry project located across the Upper Goulburn and North East regions of Victoria. The project area spans approximately 1,192 hectares, with sites situated roughly 60km northeast of Melbourne near Kinglake and Castella, and further north near Euroa in the Strathbogie Ranges. Registered in August 2025, the project is managed by Midway Plantations on behalf of Otway Silva Pty Ltd.

This project operates under the 2022 Plantation Forestry methodology, which allows for commercial harvesting while generating carbon credits. The project activities include both the establishment of new plantation forests on land previously used for other purposes (such as grazing) and the "avoided conversion" of existing plantations. Avoided conversion involves retaining plantation forests that were scheduled to be cleared and reverted to non-forest land use (e.g., pasture), ensuring the carbon stocks remain in the landscape.

The region is characterized by high rainfall and fertile soils, conditions that have historically supported both intensive cattle grazing and commercial forestry operations. The soils in the Kinglake and Strathbogie areas are typically acidic loams and granitic sandy loams, well-suited for radiata pine or blue gum rotations.

A notable aspect of this project is its corporate structure. Otway Silva Pty Ltd is reported to be a subsidiary vehicle for Munich Re (via its asset manager MEAG), a German insurance giant. This collaboration with Midway Plantations represents a significant institutional investment in Australian "greenfield" forestry, combining commercial timber production with carbon finance to expand Victoria's softwood and hardwood estate.