Arcturus Downs Biodiversity Restoration Project 1

Arcturus Downs Biodiversity Restoration Project 1 is an environmental planting project located at the Arcturus Downs aggregation in the Central Highlands of Queensland, approximately 32km from Springsure and 61km south of Emerald. Registered in October 2025, the project covers an expansive 12,501.80 hectares. The surrounding region is highly regarded for its large-scale mixed farming, predominantly featuring broadacre dryland and irrigated cropping, such as cotton, sorghum, and wheat, alongside significant beef cattle breeding and backgrounding operations.

The project operates under the Reforestation by Environmental or Mallee Plantings (FullCAM) methodology. Environmental planting projects involve establishing and maintaining permanent vegetative cover using native tree and shrub species. Under standard Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) scheme requirements, these projects mandate planting at a density of at least 200 stems per hectare to achieve a mature forest canopy cover of at least 20% and a minimum height of two meters. For this specific project, the species mix is carefully selected to reflect the natural structure and composition of the local native vegetation community.

The Central Highlands environment features a semi-arid to subtropical climate characterized by summer-dominant rainfall. Because this rainfall can be highly variable, water harvesting from overland flows and river systems like the Comet River is a crucial part of regional land management. The local soils across the Arcturus Downs property are highly productive, primarily consisting of deep alluvial scrub soils and fertile brigalow clay plains, which will support both the ongoing extensive agricultural activities and the successful re-establishment of native flora.

Notably, this project represents a major shift toward integrating natural capital with traditional agriculture. The Arcturus Downs portfolio was recently acquired as part of a $250 million transaction by the Meldora platform, a joint venture involving the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) and the Canadian investment group CDPQ. The proponent, Meldora Land Management, is explicitly focused on blending regenerative agriculture and livestock operations with high-integrity carbon credit generation. Additionally, in February 2026, the project already underwent a formal variation to add further land to the project area, highlighting the growing scale of this biodiversity restoration initiative.