CEFC commits $15 million to Indigenous-led wetland restoration in NSW for carbon and biodiversity gains

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has committed $15 million through Bank Australia to support the Nari Nari Tribal Council in acquiring and restoring The Great Cumbung wetland in New South Wales. The project covers around 34,000 hectares at the junction of the Murrumbidgee and Lachlan Rivers in the Murray-Darling Basin. Restoration will focus on removing floodplain barriers, regenerating native vegetation, and sequestering carbon through wetland rehabilitation, while also protecting threatened species like the Australasian Bittern. This investment is part of the CEFC's broader natural capital portfolio, which has exceeded $900 million. The project expands Indigenous-led stewardship of Country, adjoining the 90,000-hectare Gayini property already managed by the Nari Nari Tribal Council. It demonstrates a practical model for combining climate finance with traditional land management to deliver measurable environmental outcomes.