$15M CEFC investment backs Indigenous wetland restoration for carbon storage and biodiversity in Murray Darling Basin

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation has committed $15 million through Bank Australia to back the Nari Nari Tribal Council's restoration of the Great Cumbung wetland in southwest NSW. The 34,000 hectare site at the junction of the Murrumbidgee and Lachlan Rivers is one of the largest reed and river gum wetlands in the Murray Darling Basin. Restoration work will focus on removing floodplain barriers and regenerating native vegetation including river red gum and black box species, with the goal of storing carbon, regulating greenhouse gases, and protecting habitat for over 130 bird species. This investment follows the NNTC's acquisition of Juanbung and Boyong Stations from The Nature Conservancy. The project neighbors the Gayini Conservation Area already managed by the Nari Nari Tribal Council and supported by Commonwealth Indigenous Rangers. The CEFC's role here is to use public finance to catalyze private lending for projects that deliver measurable emissions reductions alongside environmental and cultural co-benefits. For carbon market watchers, this is a concrete example of how nature based solutions get funded at scale with Indigenous stewardship as the delivery mechanism.