The Australian government has agreed on a new rule for native forest regeneration projects under the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF).
The new rule allows the Agriculture Minister from 8 April 2022 to prevent native forest regeneration projects from going ahead if they will have an adverse impact on agricultural production or regional communities.
It applies to proposed new projects, and expansions of existing projects, under 2 ERF methods:
- human-induced regeneration
- native forest from managed regrowth.
The new rule will apply to native forest regeneration projects covering more than 15 hectares and more than one third of a farm.
All native forest regeneration projects will also be required to report on their compliance with state, territory and local government laws on managing pests and weeds.
The new rule was adopted following public consultation.
