A big win for our project at Canna in WA’s Wheatbelt with the issuance of 4,173 ACCUs in its first reporting round!
Our biodiverse environmental planting carbon project, Canna, recently received great news with the issuance of 4,173 ACCUs over its first reporting round. The project, located in the northern wheatbelt of Western Australia, has demonstrated that environmental planting projects can be successful in low rainfall areas. Let’s start with some quick facts about the project:
- Project Size: 3,340 ha
- Planting Area included in Offset Report: 777 ha
- Rainfall: 320 mm annual
- Permanence Period: 100 years
- Location: Wheatbelt, Western Australia
- Project Type: Reforestation by Environmental and Mallee Plantings Method
About the project
The project operates under the ACCU Scheme’s Reforestation by Environmental and Mallee Plantings – FullCAM method. The project activity stipulated by this method involves planting and maintaining mixed native tree and shrub species on areas that have been clear of forest cover for the last 5 years. The Canna projects consist of 777 Ha of native plantings spread across three farms. The first planting began in 2016, however was completed before the project was registered and therefore could not be included in the offset report. The project was officially registered in June 2018. The CFF was engaged in December 2020 to coordinate and support a second round of plantings in 2021. Along with proving that the method is viable in low rainfall areas, another major priority for the project was to attract biodiversity back into the zone. This involved tweaking the planting plans and species mix to appeal to the displaced flora and fauna we sought to attract back into the area.
Specifically, this was achieved through:
- Integrating wildlife corridors across the farm that connect to the remnant vegetation.
- Seeking advice from citizen scientists about the best planting & species mixes for the local bird populations.
- Trialing three different species mixes across the property.
- Engaging knowledgeable reforestation experts with experience of previous revegetation in the area.
For more background on the project, including lessons learned, check out our Canna case study.
Producing the offset report
This offset report was prepared to cover the period of the 23rd of December 2019 to the 28th of Feb 2023. If you’re not familiar with what an offset report entails, it is a mechanism to reconcile the carbon abatement of your project over a reporting period. It outlines the manner and processes you have used to demonstrate compliance with the methodology determination that your project operates in. To read more about the process, head to our Offsets 101 blog post for an introduction.
To prepare the offset report, we were required to collate all planting, maintenance and monitoring data. This included:
Comprehensive planting records for:
- Seed and seedling species lists
- Detailed notes outlining how site preparation and planting was conducted
- Spatial files defining areas of planting
- Photos as supporting evidence (i.e. for management and monitoring events)
- Historical imagery demonstrating that the planting area did not previously contain forest cover
- Records of the amount of carbon generated by project activities during this period (22.7 t of CO2 produced)
The CFF coordinated a final monitoring event prior to producing the offset report. This involved gathering on-ground field surveys by a Certified Forester to identify areas of ‘tree failure’ that hadn’t yet been flagged or weren’t visible with satellite imagery.
Once compiled, the planting areas were uploaded into GIS software where they were ‘stratified’. The stratification process involves grouping or separating the planting areas into ‘Carbon Estimation Areas’ (CEAs) based upon the demands of the method. All plantings in a CEA must have been consistently prepared and planted (i.e. same stocking densities, species mixes and fertiliser treatments etc), and are located on a similar soil type, aspect and slope. This is called meeting “uniformity requirements.” The Canna project had 22 distinctive CEAs, ranging in size from 4.74 Ha to 170.59 Ha.
Each CEAs carbon yield was then modelled in the Full Carbon Accounting Model (FullCAM), in accordance with the method’s FullCAM Guidelines. The FullCAM outputs for the reporting period were tallied, with project emissions (in this case, fuel use was the only project emission) deducted to produce a total abatement figure for the reporting period. This total abatement figure determines the number of credits that will be earned for the duration of the offset reporting period, in this case approximately 3 years. However, the timeframe between offset reports can be between 6 months and 5 years, which must be maintained for the duration of the project’s crediting period (25 years).
The audit
As is laid out by the ACCU Scheme, an initial offset report must be accompanied by an audit report. This involves a site visit by an accredited auditor to verify the contents of the offset report and CEA mapping.
The audit for the Canna project was conducted successfully by an independent auditor, with the auditor satisfied that the project had been operated in accordance with the methodology.
Submission to the CER and issuance of ACCUs
Once the auditors final Assurance Report was received, this was appended to the Offset Report with the supporting documents and submitted to the Regulator via the CER portal alongside a request for credit issuance.
After undergoing the 90-day assessment process, the Offset Report was approved by the auditor and the ACCUs were deposited in the proponents ANREU account. Curious about what an ANREU account is? We’ll be covering that off in our next FAQ of the month, so stay tuned.
If you read our Offsets 101 blog post, you might remember we shared a few hot tips to ensure the auditing process goes smoothly. Here were our key learnings:
- Keep good records from project commencement – it will make collating the report much easier. A good carbon service provider has templates and documentation to assist you in consolidating this information.
- Start prepping early. Offsets reports can take some time to produce, so give yourself a good head start. This includes engaging with expert services well in advance – they can sometimes be booked out months ahead of time!
- Make sure you have all of your consents in place! If your project received a conditional approval, you must ensure you have addressed all conditions prior to submitting your offsets report.
Ready to find out more?
Explore our range of educational resources in our Carbon Farming Education Hub where we frequently publish educational articles, webinars, and guidebooks.
When you’re ready to explore the feasibility of undertaking a carbon project on your property, email us at hello@carbonfarming.org.au or give us a bell at (08) 6835 1140 to be connected with one of our project facilitators.
