Applications for the Carbon + Biodiversity (C+B) Pilot are closed.
The C+B Pilot is trialling planting protocols that deliver biodiversity improvements and carbon abatement.
The C+B Pilot was designed and delivered in partnership with the Australian National University (ANU) and Natural Resource Management (NRM) organisations in each trial region.
This pilot is being run in conjunction with the Enhancing Remnant Vegetation Pilot. It is informing the Nature Repair Market.
How it works
Landholders participating in the C+B Pilot are delivering long-term biodiversity improvements. This is done by planting native trees and shrubs in conjunction with an Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCU) Scheme project.
Plantings deliver benefits including:
- shelter for stock or other animals
- protecting dams and waterways
- reducing soil erosion.
Projects provide habitat for a variety of native species and can contribute to vegetation corridors in otherwise cleared landscapes. This contributes to improving regional biodiversity.
C+B projects meet ACCU Scheme requirements and C+B pilot planting protocols.
The ACCU Scheme method requires planting or direct seeding of native tree and shrub species on land that has been clear of forest for more than 5 years. The purpose of these plantings is to store carbon.
C+B planting protocols set out rules about the location, dimensions, configuration, and composition of plantings to ensure projects generate biodiversity benefits.
Participants must maintain C+B projects for at least 25 years but may opt for a 100-year period under the ACCU Scheme.
ACCU Scheme
All C+B participants are required to register with the ACCU Scheme and carried out new mixed-species environmental plantings projects using the Reforestation by environmental or mallee plantings Full Carbon Accounting Model (FullCAM) method.
Carbon credits
Participants report on progress to the Clean Energy Regulator and can be issued with ACCUs. One ACCU equates to one tonne of carbon abated or sequestered.
Participants may sell their ACCUs to generate income by advertising their project on the Platform for Land and Nature Repair (PLANR) or through auctions administered by the Clean Energy Regulator. More information can be found on the Clean Energy Regulator website.
Regions
C+B pilots are in the following NRM regions:
- Burnett-Mary in Queensland
- Central West in New South Wales
- North Central in Victoria
- NRM North in Tasmania
- Eyre Peninsula in South Australia
- South West in Western Australia
- Fitzroy Basin in Queensland
- Riverina in New South Wales
- Goulburn Broken in Victoria
- Southern in Tasmania
- Northern and Yorke in South Australia
- South Coast in Western Australia
Projects are in various stages planting and management.
Contact us
Enquiries about the C+B pilot can be directed to agstewardship@dcceew.gov.au.