A new trust will leverage $142 million for sustainable forestry plantations in Tasmania that are expected to create local jobs, injecting significant capital into the regional economy and generating high-integrity Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs).
To achieve these objectives, the new Tasmania Natural Asset Trust (TNAT) platform has secured investments from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), Aviva Investors, and Gresham House Limited.
Set up as an afforestation and natural capital platform, the TNAT will be managed by Gresham House Asset Management (GHAM).
With the secured funding, the platform will focus on converting degraded farmland in the Ramsar wetland into a production model that will boost Australia’s forestry industry.
As shared in the announcement, the initiative will cover a 21,745 ha property in northern Tasmania Rushy Lagoon, home to ecologically significant wetlands and threatened species.
With part of the purchase area, the project is intersecting the internationally recognized Floodplain Lower Ringarooma River Ramsar Site.
In this part of Tasmania, the platform will support activities that will combine commercial softwood plantations on low-productive land with large-scale conservation and ecological restoration and sustainable grazing.
Moving forward, this effort is expected to provide a major boost to Tasmania’s forestry industry.
Specifically, it is expected to create over 190 new job opportunities over the life of the project and is expected to generate approximately 5 million tonnes of timber and 3.2 million ACCUs.
Relevant: Land Life, Carbon2Nature Roll Out Major Reforestation Project In South Australia
The developers point out that timber will be grown under Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) certification or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), and it will be processed by Tasmanian sawmills.
“This is an important project in Tasmania with the potential to create real economic benefits for the region and repair a degraded area of land through considered and sensitive afforestation,” said Greta Talbot-Jones, director of Natural Capital at Aviva Investors and co-portfolio manager of the Carbon Removal Fund.
She added, “We think it will be a great example of how our investment activity can deliver long-term investment outcomes while having a positive and real-world benefit on the surrounding habitat and within local communities.”
Read more: Cibus Capital Launches A$300M Fund Targeting Forest Carbon Credits Across Australia
