An Australian land management company has partnered with an international restoration tech company to restore and protect 20,000 hectares of land in Victoria, as part of the state government’s Bushbank programme.

Dutch-headquartered Land Life announced it has partnered with Cassinia Environmental, the delivery partner of Bushbank, to restore and protect private land across the state over a 10-year period to support wildlife and address climate change.

Land Life will support Cassinia with implementing restoration projects by leveraging the latest science and applying technology along the way, the group said, adding that it would provide the funding to deliver the projects.

The two companies have been working together since 2019, reforesting some 2,600 hectares of private land across Victoria, New South Wales, and South Australia.

Land Life said the new collaboration would help build new long-term relationships with private landowners and leave a large-scale and meaningful legacy to Victoria’s natural environments.

“We are incredibly motivated that our partnership and impact with Cassinia is reaching the next level of scale,” Land Life CEO Rebekah Braswell said.

“The recognition of the Victorian government in our teamwork and its potential to restore degraded land in Victoria means volumes to us and we look forward to implementing this public-private partnership.”

Land Life uses drone-based terrain analysis and information from local landowners to create blueprints of the land it aims to restore, and uses its Cocoon design to protect seedlings through its first year, according to its website.

It then uses on-the-ground remote sensing to track the impact of reforestation over time.

The Victorian government has committed A$77 million in funding to the Bushbank programme, however Cassinia also sources co-funding from its partners, including from carbon markets and philanthropic biodiversity-focussed partners, as part of its work.

The government estimates the restoration programme will capture some 3.5 MtCO2e.

“It’s great to see the Victorian government demonstrate its commitment to climate change and biodiversity through the ambitious Bushbank project, and it’s great to continue working with reliable, competent partners like Land Life as we work together to restore Victoria’s biodiversity,” Cassinia Managing Director Paul Dettmann said.

The news follows the Victorian government’s announcement that its local logging industry will shut down at the end of the year, six years earlier than planned.

The state provided a A$200-mln just transition package for timber workers, as part of its latest budget.

By Mark Tilly – mark@carbon-pulse.com

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