Extended Impact: NSW Biodiversity Credit + April Salumei Rainforest Conservation

For businesses looking to make a verifiable global and local impact. 

Ecosystems around the planet are under threat from farming, logging and invasive species.  

This “Extended Impact” project solution from TEM in partnership with Wilderlands enables businesses to support the permanent protection of Australian native ecosystems in specific locations, while also investing in rainforest protection in Papua New Guinea through an independently verified carbon project. 

Combining these two projects meets the requirements of the Australian Government’s Climate Active Program, with each unit retired on an independent registry. 

April Salumei Rainforest Community Conservation 

The April Salumei Community Conservation project is located in Papua New Guinea, a country which contains ~7% of the world’s biodiversity in less than 1% of the world’s total land area. ​ 

The project protects and sustainably manages nearly 200,000 hectares of globally significant pristine rainforest in the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea. The project area has previously been recognised as an exceptional biodiversity hotspot by the Climate Community and Biodiversity Standard (SCS, 2011). Before becoming a carbon project, the area was planned to be cleared for logging. Additionally, it contributes to a myriad of benefits to local communities and biodiversity. 

For more details on the April Salumei Rainforest Community Conservation project please visit: April Salumei Rainforest Community Conservation: 2014-2015 vintage 

Sustainable Development Goals

Alleena Woodland Protection 

Situated in the heart of New South Wales’ Riverina, this project spans 497.58 hectares, adjacent to national parkland and revegetated forests, and is home to a diverse range of endangered bird communities and native plants. .

Alleena has served as a dedicated conservation reserve since 2020, with five conservation areas protected in perpetuity by a Conservation Agreement through the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust (BCT).

Home to over 98 bird species, it aims to address the decline of the suite of birds dependent on intact woodland ecosystems for foraging and nesting with these once common woodland birds, such as the Dusky Woodswallow, now found almost exclusively in small, scattered remnants of habitat on private land, within State Forests or Nature Reserves.

The Alleena project offers landscape-scale connectivity for species movement and dispersal, as well as habitat for a variety of threatened woodland bird species, including the Brown Treecreeper, Dusky Woodswallow, Gilbert’s Whistler, Grey-crowned Babbler, Pink Cockatoo, Scarlet Robin, Spotted Harrier, Superb Parrot, and White-fronted Chat.

The project features a rich native plant diversity with a total of 171 species recorded, including the noteworthy addition of the Spiny Peppercress, a species classified as vulnerable under both Commonwealth and State legislation.

It also includes two state listed threatened ecological communities: Mallee and Mallee-Broombush dominated woodland and shrubland; and Inland Grey Box Woodland in the Riverina, NSW South Western Slopes which is also listed under National legislation.

A variety of native mammals can also be found across the property including Yellow-footed Antechinus and Dunnart species, often spotted exploring the fallen timber in the understory.

For more details on the Alleena project, visit our project partners at Wilderlands: Alleena, NSW | Wilderlands.earth

How are the Woodlands protected?

Typical of many such farms within the region, areas of the property were historically utilised for cropping and grazing. The remnants on the property remained at risk of continual degradation and decline. Permanent protection of these sites was the only way to ensure they would be conserved forever.

The property, owned and managed by Wilderlands’ conservation partner, Cassinia Environmental, is now operating as a dedicated conservation reserve. Alleena’s five conservation areas have been protected using a Conservation Agreement made under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (NSW) and administered by the Biodiversity Conservation Trust.

What are BDUs and how are they created and verified? 

At the Alleena site, one BDU equates to one square meter of land permanently protected and actively managed to maintain and enhance the integrity of its biological diversity.

Wilderlands geotags each unit and registers the now “voluntary” units on the independently managed Vegetation Link registry – effectively creating the Biological Diversity Units. When you purchase these units, each purchase is linked to a certificate of Sale issued by Vegetation Link.

Periodic inspections are conducted by the Biodiversity Conservation Trust, with additional monitoring conducted by Wilderlands Ecologists in accordance with the Wilderlands Project Monitoring Plan.

Sustainable Development Goals