Eligible Aussie farmers are invited to apply for round 2 of the Carbon + Biodiversity Pilot.
Applications are open from Thursday 16 December 2021 and will close on Thursday 3 March 2022.
The Pilot is a key part of the Australian Government’s $66.1 million Agriculture Biodiversity Stewardship Package and will reward farmers for the stewardship of their land, storing carbon and improving Australia’s biodiversity.
This round of the pilot builds on the success and learnings of round 1 to further test market arrangements to reward farmers for their biodiversity stewardship in 6 new regions. The first round showed that there is a real opportunity – farmers are keen to sell, and there are willing buyers.
Farmers who plant native trees and shrubs, in line with a biodiversity protocol developed by the Australian National University, can receive payments for biodiversity in addition to any earnings from selling the carbon credits.
Plantings also have on-farm benefits to farmers such as providing shelter for animals, protecting dams and waterways, and reducing erosion.
The Pilot is being run in 6 new eligible Natural Resource Management (NRM) regions, allowing more farmers across Australia to take part in the opportunity. Eligible regions are:
- 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.
Farmers can apply for the pilot through the National Stewardship Trading Platform. The trading platform also enables farmers to map their C+B project on an interactive map, receive carbon abatement estimates, and will provide a way for farmers to find a business partner looking to buy environmental outcomes.
For more information on the pilot and how to submit an application, visit https://www.awe.gov.au/agriculture-land/farm-food-drought/natural-resources/landcare/sustaining-future-australian-farming/carbon-biodiversity-pilot
Enquiries about the program can be directed to the Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment at [email protected] or you can call them on 1800 329 055.