Cassowary Credits Scheme Field Testing

The Cassowary Credit Scheme has reached a new phase in its development, with field testing at more than 30 revegetation sites now happening across the Wet Tropics region.

New funders on board

Terrain NRM’s Bronwyn Robertson said new co-funding from the Queensland Department of Environment and Science and the World Wide Fund for Nature-Australia was welcomed as the biodiversity market scheme progressed to an on-ground testing stage.

Designed by Terrain NRM, the scheme will enable Far North Queensland land managers to generate tradable units of habitat restoration, known as a ‘Cassowary Credits’, which will be sold on environmental markets to investors ranging from philanthropists to governments and corporates.

Ms Robertson said Cassowary Credits focused on restoration of Far North Queensland tropical rainforest habitat. She said up to 50,000 hectares of land had potential to be part of the scheme.

“This is land that’s considered unsuitable for agriculture based on soil type, slope or closeness to watercourses,’’ she said.

Team work to design new ecosystems services market scheme

Terrain NRM has been working with private industry, government, scientists, indigenous groups and wildlife experts to design and develop the new ecosystem services market scheme.

Ms Robertson said the new funding would also be used to build regional capacity for larger scale restoration projects and to incorporate Accounting for Nature methodology into the scheme to widen its scope to include carbon projects with environmental co-benefits.