Jandra/Nulty Native Forest Regeneration Project, Australia

About the location

The Jandra/Nulty Native Forest Regeneration Project is located in the Northwest of NSW, approximately 20km Southwest of Bourke on the Darling River. The project is located across 2 properties, Jandra and Nulty which are located adjacent to each other. Jandra/Nulty is a working sheep and cattle station has been in the same family since 1870.

Vast areas of Australia, including Jandra/Nulty are grazed by livestock and overrun with feral animals, such as goats and pigs. While livestock grazing is an important economic activity for rural Australia, it can suppress forest growth as tree saplings are often damaged or eaten by livestock before they can grow. However, leaving land to regenerate means sacrificing agricultural production and hence income for landholders.

Human Induced Regeneration (HIR)

The Human Induced Regeneration (HIR) method is currently being used in Jandra/Nulty to help restore the native forest. Project activities include excluding livestock and managing feral animals and non-native plants. By allowing native forests to regenerate, HIR projects sequester carbon and generate carbon credits, creating alternate revenue streams that allow landholders to supplement lost agricultural productivity. In addition, by excluding livestock and controlling pests, native species are allowed to proliferate which improves the quality of land and water as well as biodiversity in the area. As the trees get larger, greater shade is provided to not only the local wildlife, but also the livestock that can be reintroduced.

The Impact

Since the project commenced in April 2012, approximately 457,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gases have been sequestered from the atmosphere (or an average of 50,778 tCO2e every year for nine years). The climate impact reduction of this project is equivalent to removing 17,367 cars* for each year this project has been operating.

*Based on an average Australian petrol passenger car that uses 11.1L/100km and travels 11,067km year (abs.gov.au 2020) and Petrol EF of 2.38 kgCO2e/L (industry.gov.au 2021), we calculate emission generated at 0.26418 kgCO2e/km travelled and 2,923.68 kgCO2e per car/per year.

Environmental Initiatives Contribution

This project helped in our following initiatives.

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