Australian Forest CoOp Project

Australia

ACCU Scheme

Using pine plantations to sequester carbon, support local communities and build a resilient forestry industry for regional Australia.

Project Snapshot

Supporting local sustainable forestry

Using pine plantations to sequester carbon, support local communities and build a resilient forestry industry for regional Australia.

Location

Tasmania & Victoria States, Australia

Project type

Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use

Project size

437 Hectares

Annual Projected Emissions Reductions

10,428 tCO2-e

Carbon Standard

The Challenge

Since 2007, Australia’s forestry industry has seen a decline in new plantation forests, and Australia’s national plantation estate is gradually diminishing.

With the phase out of incentives from older managed forest investment schemes, rising production costs, difficult market conditions and attractive sale values, land is transitioning from carbon-sequestering plantations into to fallow or agricultural land.

With the phase out of incentives from older managed forest investment schemes, rising production costs, difficult market conditions and attractive sale values, land is transitioning from carbon-sequestering plantations into to fallow or agricultural land. Australia is losing plantation forests and subsequently a timber asset that will be much needed as the demand for sustainable housing increases.

Single species forest plantations on short rotation sequester a minimal amount of carbon and can negatively impact biodiversity and other ecosystem services when compared to more diverse mixed species and native forests. However, the forestry industry is an important employer and contributor to the local and national economies, and innovative models must be explored to ensure the industry can become more sustainable, and contribute to national community and economic outcomes in the future.

Our solution

Over the next 15 years, we aim to work with eight landholders across Tasmania and Victoria, Australia, to develop forestry plantations that sequester carbon and provide jobs and sustainable timber to the local economy.

This project’s carbon finance will support the establishment of new plantations on cleared land, and convert shorter-rotation forests towards a longer harvest cycle – meaning trees are in the ground for longer, and more carbon is removed from the atmosphere than would normally occur.

Eucalyptus seedlings in nursery

Aerial Shot of plantation

Key Outcomes

Although single species plantation forests do not contribute to biodiversity outcomes as significantly as mixed species or native forests, they nevertheless contribute to important environmental, social and economic outcomes for the local region and national market.

Climate Action

This project will sequester 156,422 tonnes of carbon dioxide across 437 hectares of pine forest plantations over the life of the project.

Ecosystem Services

This project will support ongoing enhancement of regional ecosystem services including:

Improved below and above-ground soil health and water filtration;
Landscape resilience and regional temperature stability; and
Habitats and feeding grounds for birds, bats, small mammals, insects and fungi.

Community & Economic Development

This project will strengthen communities and livelihoods in Victoria and Tasmania. These impacts include support for:

safe and stable employment in the region, which support the longevity of local communities.
forestry and manufacturing industries that contribute to the local economy and provide valuable timber products for the wider Australian housing market.

Tree growth and health is monitored throughout the life of the project.

Geography

This project covers approximately 437 hectares of plantation forest, planted across eight privately owned landholdings in the states of Tasmania and Victoria, Australia. Although all activities take place in south-eastern Australia, in cooler, more temperate climates with higher rainfalls than the rest of the country, the geography is varied.