Dart Plantation Forestry Carbon Project

The Dart Plantation Forestry Carbon Project is a plantation forestry project located in the Surrey Hills region of Northwest Tasmania, approximately 30km south of the port city of Burnie. Registered in December 2025, the project covers a net area of 216.14 hectares. The site sits within a significant forestry belt near the locality of Hampshire, an area characterized by a patchwork of industrial timber plantations and native forest reserves.

The project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative, Plantation Forestry) Methodology Determination 2022, specifically utilizing the "transition to permanent forest" activity. This approach involves taking an existing commercial plantation, typically Eucalyptus nitens or Pinus radiata in this region, that is at risk of being cleared and converted to non-forest land (such as pasture for dairy or beef grazing) and instead managing it as a permanent forest sink. By committing to maintain the forest cover indefinitely rather than harvesting and clearing the trees, the project generates carbon credits for the stored biomass that would otherwise have been removed.

Ecologically, the region falls into a high-rainfall zone, receiving substantial annual precipitation that supports rapid tree growth. The landscape is dominated by fertile Ferrosols (red basalt soils), which are deep, well-drained, and highly prized for both forestry and agriculture in Tasmania. This combination of soil and climate makes the land highly productive, which often drives the economic pressure to convert plantations back to agricultural use, a pressure this carbon project is designed to counteract.

The project proponent is John Dart Pty Ltd, working in conjunction with carbon service provider Climate Friendly Pty Ltd. Public records suggest the proponent has held interests in private timber reserves across Tasmania. By transitioning to a permanent carbon project, the landholders secure a long-term revenue stream from carbon abatement while preserving the established forest canopy.