Initiative to secure effective carbon sinks

Many individuals and organisations investing in carbon sink plantation programs fail to recognise that the programs may have limited value to the environment.

A new Western Australian initiative titled ‘Trees for Tomorrow’ aims to set new standards in sustainable funding to ensure carbon sink plantations also recognise biodiversity and that reckless monoculture planting is stopped.

The program is an initiative of Carbon Neutral, a not-for-profit carbon advisory firm and carbon offset retailer, and involves a revolving system whereby Carbon Neutral purchases ecologically fragile landscapes, restores them with strategic revegetation, secures carbon credits and ultimately sells on the estate to finance further purchases.

Matt Porter, Chairman of Carbon Neutral, said the purchase of this land would contribute to a cycle that ensures that biodiversity remains an important factor of carbon sink programs. He said a number of public-listed companies create carbon sink plantations using Mallee eucalypt trees and, while the trees sequester carbon, the benefit to the environment is limited.

“Southern Western Australia is one of the world’s significant biodiversity hotspots, and carbon abatement programs, or biosequestration activities, are an incredible opportunity to also conserve and restore natural woodlands and forests,” he said.

“By allowing monoculture plantings in this fragile environment, we ignore the complexity and sensitivity of the area’s ecosystem. A much more comprehensive approach would incorporate biodiverse plantings to recreate natural habitats and reconnect native species.”

Porter said the same area is also facing enormous pressures through land clearing and climate change, which underscores the importance of the work Carbon Neutral is doing, as biodiversity helps ecosystems build resilience and adapt to changing climatic conditions.

The ‘Trees for Tomorrow’ initiative was launched on 2 June 2011 with the release of three parcels of land, all located in rural Western Australia.

The sites include a 404-hectare site at Badgebup, 45 km east of Katanning, which is only partially planted with 160 hectares to give the owner options for land use.

The Cranbrook site is 251 hectares and well located close to the Albany Highway. It has a building envelope, views to the Stirling Ranges and incorporates beautiful remnant vegetation with lovely orchards and wildflowers.

Finally, there are 326 hectares in Boxwood Hills, half an hour from Bremer Bay, with a good aspect of Bluff Knoll, near two National Parks and directly adjacent to reserves on two of its sides.

Keith Bradby, Director of Gondwana Link, an organisation that supports the work of Carbon Neutral to restore biodiversity across Southern Western Australia, said the new initiative is commendable.

“Ecological restoration is an essential but expensive exercise that needs more than donations and occasional government grants. Carbon has to become a major part of the solution to our challenges in south-western Australia,” he said.

“The prevailing carbon offset system is flawed as it can permanently lock up land with little regard for biodiversity and the very significant ecological values we achieve by linking habitats. I encourage anyone who has a commitment to the environment to support Trees for Tomorrow.”

Two of the three properties being offered for sale contribute significantly to achieving Gondwana Link, a strategic approach filling critical gaps in our remaining wildlife habitat.

Exclusive Trees for Tomorrow selling agent Marc Drexel is using the Carbon Neutral land release to launch his new environmental-focused real estate company, ARCeden. He says the opportunity to invest in the state’s future is by far the most unique in his 25-year career.

“It is truly a privilege to be working on such a worthwhile project and with an organisation as professional and credible as Carbon Neutral,” he said.

“I cannot remember another time when such a significant investment opportunity was made available. However, it is not merely an ethical and moral investment, or even a well-located lifestyle opportunity. The new owner may have potential for some of the carbon sequestration benefits and a future income from carbon sink tree plantings. It is an investment that will resound through the generations.”