Regional Queensland communities have a clear need for further economic opportunity. The LRF is supporting landholders to generate new, regular income streams through carbon farming projects.
How you can benefit
Opportunities and benefits for Queenslanders
Queensland is well placed to be Australia’s major source of ‘premium’ carbon credits over the next two decades. Our large and diverse landscape gives us an advantage in the use of carbon farming methods that also deliver environmental, socio-economic and First Nations co-benefits.
Demand for Queensland-sourced carbon credits is likely to come from national and international governments, organisations and businesses. As carbon abatement increases over time, landholders, farmers and First Nations peoples can earn an ongoing income and gain a range of other benefits through carbon farming.
The Land Restoration Fund (LRF) is benefitting Queensland landholders, businesses and communities through:
Active, on-ground management is crucial to maintaining Queensland’s natural landscapes which contribute to the prosperity of regional, rural and remote communities.
The jobs generated by carbon farming include:
- labour for tree planting and fencing to keep cattle out of creeks and rivers
- suppliers of goods and services for fencing, irrigation and watering infrastructure, and pest, weed and fire management
- new enterprises that deliver drone services and IT infrastructure to monitor and report on project outcomes
- carbon, land management and financial advisory services
- grazing land and cattle management
- specialist services such as soil carbon measuring, water quality monitoring and ecological surveys
- nurseries and seed collection
- carbon project developers and advisory services
- research and science services for on-the-ground research and monitoring.
The LRF builds on the work of the Carbon Plus Fund, which supported the Aboriginal Carbon Foundation to increase Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ participation in carbon markets.
Using knowledge passed down from generation to generation, Queensland’s First Nations peoples are combining Indigenous land management knowledge and science with modern technology to create carbon offsets and new economic opportunities. Income from carbon farming can support Indigenous landholders to invest in other ventures that benefit their communities.
The LRF is:
- investing in projects delivered by First Nations peoples
- increasing coverage of carbon farming projects linked to Queensland’s regional and remote communities
- supporting cultural and customary connections
- valuing Indigenous land management practices including traditional fire stick burning.
Queensland is home to extraordinary biodiversity, including many species and ecosystems found nowhere else in the world. The LRF is supporting projects that sequester carbon and deliver additional benefits such as:
- supporting the health of Queensland’s wetlands
- improving catchment condition including those flowing to the Great Barrier Reef
- reducing the risk of continued species loss, particularly from habitat loss, climate change, and cumulative development impacts
- restoring habitat for koalas
- improving the amount and condition of habitat available to threatened species and ecosystems.
As the global economy shifts towards a cleaner future, emitters will be looking for new and secure supplies of credits to offset their carbon impact. There is opportunity for industry and organisations to begin or continue offsetting their emissions by supporting Queensland-based carbon farming projects.
Regional-specific opportunities
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Environment and community
- Diverse ecosystems: rainforest, eucalypt forests, coastal heath, savanna, woodlands
- Long history of agricultural activity: grazing, dairying, horticulture
- Strengths
- Indigenous knowledge of land management and agriculture, including managing protected areas
- Potential for scale and new business opportunities
- Challenges
- Natural hazards and changing climate
Most relevant carbon methods
- Savanna fire management methods
- Environmental plantings
- Human-induced regeneration
- Native forest from managed regrowth
- Avoided clearing
- Soil carbon methods
- Beef herd method
Co-benefit opportunities
- Environment: Threatened wildlife (animals and plants), threatened ecosystems, native vegetation, soil health, Great Barrier Reef, wetlands and coastal ecosystems.
- Socio-economic: Employment and skills, community resilience and environmental connection, diversity and human rights
- First Nations: Location and participation
Environment and community
- Diverse ecosystems: rainforest, eucalypt forests, coastal heath, savanna, eucalypt woodlands
- Strengths
- Indigenous knowledge of land management and agriculture, including managing protected areas
- Potential for scale and new business opportunities
- Challenges
- Natural hazards and changing climate
Most relevant carbon methods
- Savanna fire management methods
- Environmental plantings
- Human-induced regeneration
- Native forest from management regrowth
- Avoided clearing
- Forestry
- Soil carbon methods
- Beef herd method
Co-benefit opportunities
- Environment: Threatened wildlife (animals and plants), threatened ecosystems, native vegetation, soil health, Great Barrier Reef, wetlands
- Socio-economic: Employment and skills, community resilience and environmental connection, diversity and human rights
- First Nations: Location and participation
Environment and community
- Diverse ecosystems
- Long history of agricultural activity
- Strengths
- Established industries: beef, cropping, forestry
- Close to protected areas
- Strong and growing communities
- Challenges
- Changing climate: hotter days, less rainfall
- Ageing population: median age~57
Most relevant carbon methods
- Environmental plantings: mixed species plantings
- Human-induced regeneration
- Native forest from management regrowth
- Soil carbon
Co-benefit opportunities
- Environment: Threatened wildlife (animals and plants), threatened ecosystems, native vegetation, wetlands and soil health
- Socio-economic: Employment and skills, community resilience and environmental connection, diversity and human rights
- First Nations: Location and participation
Environment and community
- Diverse ecosystems: coral reefs, wetlands, hinterlands, forests
- Long history of agricultural activity, particularly grazing and cropping
- Strengths
- Expertise in agriculture and tourism
- Potential for scale
- Strong, stable, and diverse communities
- Challenges
- Natural hazards and a changing climate
- Managing coastal population and fragile landscapes
Most relevant carbon methods
- Environmental plantings
- Human induced regeneration
- Native forest from management regrowth
- Avoided clearing
- Soil carbon
Co-benefit opportunities
- Environment: Threatened wildlife (animals and plants), threatened ecosystems, native vegetation, soil health, Great Barrier Reef, wetlands and coastal ecosystems
- Socio-economic: Employment and skills, community resilience and environmental connection, diversity and human rights
- First Nations: Location and participation
Environment and community
- Diverse ecosystems: rainforest, coastal heathland, woodlands, grasslands, wetlands
- Long history of agricultural activity, particularly grazing and cropping
- Strengths
- Expertise in agriculture and tourism
- Potential for aggregation
- Strong, stable, and diverse communities
- Challenges
- Natural hazards and a changing climate
- Urbanisation and competition for land
Most relevant carbon methods
- Environmental plantings
- Human-induced regeneration
- Native forest from management regrowth
- Avoided clearing
- Soil carbon methods
Co-benefit opportunities
- Environment: Threatened wildlife (animals and plants), threatened ecosystems, native vegetation, soil health, wetlands and coastal ecosystems
- Socio-economic: Employment and skills, community resilience and environmental connection, diversity and human rights
- First Nations: Location and participation