New carbon farming opportunities will help us put new life back into the environment

Biodiverse Carbon Conservation (BCC) (now Canopy) is a new partnership initiative that will bring together landholders, biodiverse carbon farming opportunities and Australian companies of all shapes and sizes to play an important role in mitigating climate change.

Under the new partnership, landholders will be able to receive financial benefits for putting back biodiverse habitat and forests; creating new habitat for threatened native animals; and improving the health, value and productivity of land for people and nature to thrive.

‘The partnership brings together the skills and expertise from our team of scientists, restoration ecologists and project manager with project partners, Australian Integrated Carbon Financial Services (AI Carbon),’ said Greening Australia CEO, Brendan Foran.

AI Carbon uses new markets to help land managers and companies reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and provide advice to navigate new and emerging environmental markets. AI Carbon develops projects with partners that deliver financial return to stakeholders while providing a social and environmental outcome.

Carbon farming in Australia through native forests can be achieved through a number of approaches; avoided deforestation, planting, and native forest regeneration. However, the assessment and administration process for many landholders is prohibitive, in terms of cost and complexity, keeping many who want to participate on the fringes and unable to help create meaningful environmental improvements.

BCC is working with landholders and stakeholders with varying levels of exposure to carbon markets who are seeking additional forms of revenue that can be earned from improved land management and rehabilitation of degraded land.

‘Landholders with smaller holdings will now be able to measure and monetise planned revegetation. They will be rewarded for protecting or putting biodiversity back into high conservation value land and will be provided with opportunities for rehabilitation of land to high biodiversity and conservation value for a future income stream,’ said Mr Foran.

‘BCC is about enabling landholders to be rewarded through selling biodiverse carbon as part of a broader aggregation where the quantity of carbon involved isn’t large enough to justify trading in their own right. BCC brings economics of scale to environmental rehabilitation,’ said Mr Foran.

Biodiverse Carbon Conservation (now Canopy) has a shared focus on measurable and lasting impact in the rehabilitation of Australian landscapes, science based decision making and innovation to deliver conservation outcomes consistent with landholder’s interests.

For landholders, Biodiverse Carbon Conservation (now Canopy) will

• Assess existing ‘historical’ carbon holdings if already registered under Federal legislation
• Provide land rehabilitation with significant biodiversity and conservation value that has the capacity to monetize the carbon value
• Measure carbon sequestration value of vegetation using accepted methodologies
• Provide administration of carbon measurement and trading obligations
• Participate in Emissions Reduction Fund auctions and other secondary carbon markets, maximizing returns.

For government and larger landholders, BCC will also

• Establish a replicable process for future land rehabilitation projects to participate in the Emissions Reduction Fund and other carbon markets
• Build capacity to engage carbon service providers and fund public land management through carbon market activity at portfolio scale.

Why Biodiverse Carbon?

As well as sequestering carbon, biodiverse native plantings also deliver substantial environmental and positive social outcomes in the rural and regional landscape of Australia.

All plantings are undertaken in Greening Australia’s priority landscape programs across the country. We seed or plant tree and shrub species native to the area which help to restore large areas of marginal and degraded land.

Our best-practice approaches are scientifically informed and have been refined over decades of experience across thematic land areas all across the country.

For landholders, biodiverse carbon farming means improved productivity, efficiency gains, better soil health, decreased salinity and more efficient water use.

Additionally, co-benefits and environmental benefits include healthier more productive forests, ensured habitat for native animals, cleaner water ways and improved air quality.

Interested in finding out more? Please feel free to send us an online query.