Natural Heritage Trust Annual Reports 2009–10 and 2010–11

This annual report is prepared in accordance with section 43 of the Natural Heritage Trust of Australia Act 1997 (NHT Act) and reports on the operation of the NHT Act for the periods 1 July 2009 to 30 June 2010 and 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011. The NHT Act requires the report to include the financial statements relating to the operations of the Account and the Auditor-General’s report on the financial statements. This information is in the appendices.

Activities carried out under the NHT Act are integral to achieving the department’s outcomes on biodiversity and ecosystems. Consequently, some of these activities are reported on elsewhere in this annual report (cross reference to Program 1 of Outcome 1 – Caring for our Country) and in the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts Annual Report 2009–10.

Purpose and objectives of the Natural Heritage Trust

The Natural Heritage Trust was established by the Natural Heritage Trust of Australia Act 1997 to conserve, repair and replenish Australia’s natural resources. It is administered by the Natural Heritage Ministerial Board, which in 2009–10 and 2010–11 comprised the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population, and Communities¹ and the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

The objectives of the Natural Heritage Trust are:

• Biodiversity conservation—to protect and restore Australia’s terrestrial, freshwater, estuarine and marine ecosystems and habitat for native plants and animals.
• Sustainable use of natural resources—to use and manage Australia’s land, water and marine resources in ways that maintain and improve the productivity and profitability of resource-based industries.
• Community capacity building and institutional change—to support individuals, landholders, industry and communities by giving skills, knowledge, information and institutional frameworks to promote biodiversity conservation and sustainable resource use and management.

Caring for our Country

Investments through the Natural Heritage Trust in 2009–10 and 2010–11 contributed to a number of outcomes under the Caring for our Country program². The government established Caring for our Country in 2008 to conserve, protect and restore the Australian environment by making it healthier, better protected, well-managed and resilient; secure our farming resource base and support sustainable food and fibre industries by focusing on protecting ecosystems and promoting biodiversity, clean air and water and healthy soils and ensure that, in a changing climate, we can continue to provide a diversity of ecological services that Australians rely on.

Caring for our Country is managed jointly by the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

Caring for our Country strategic goals are to be achieved by focusing on six national priority areas:

• Natural Reserve System (NRS)—the NRS will be expanded to ensure a comprehensive, adequate and representative system of reserves to conserve Australia’s unique landscapes, plants and animals.
• Biodiversity and natural icons—to increase native habitat and protect biodiversity and natural icons, actions will be taken to protect World Heritage Areas, tackle weeds and pest animals that threaten biodiversity, and improve outcomes for nationally threatened species and communities.
• Coastal environments and critical aquatic habitats—coastal and wetland initiatives, including those under the Great Barrier Reef Rescue Program, will protect and rehabilitate areas of critically endangered and endangered species and migratory shorebirds, improve the quality of water discharged into coastal environments and protect Ramsar wetlands.
• Sustainable farm practices—farmers and land managers will be encouraged to adopt sustainable on-farm land management practices that maintain and improve production and deliver ecosystem services for the whole community.
• Community skills, knowledge and engagement—investment in the skills and knowledge of Indigenous people, volunteers and communities will enable these groups to work collaboratively with regional and other organisations to deliver landscape-scale change.

Specific strategies to achieve the five-year outcomes for each of these national priority areas are outlined in the Caring for our Country Outcomes 2008–2013 available on the Caring for our Country website.

The Caring for our Country report cards for 2009–10 and 2010–11 are currently being prepared for release. The report cards detail achievements and progress on the Caring for our Country five-year outcomes, including contributions made by projects funded under the Natural Heritage Trust. Once they are released, the report cards will be available on the NRM or Caring for our Country website.

The government recognises that many different groups must work together to bring about change and that a diverse range of stakeholders who are working and volunteering in Natural Resource Management (NRM) are making important contributions. In 2009–10 and 2010–11, Caring for our Country projects were delivered through:

• regional NRM organisations
• community groups
• non-government organisations
• state and territory governments and local governments
• Indigenous groups
• research organisations and academic institutions.

2010–11 Natural Heritage Trust expenditure³

Total expenditure under the Natural Heritage Trust in 2010–11 was $213 million. The breakdown of this expenditure by Caring for our Country national priority area is presented in Table 1. A breakdown of Trust expenditure in each state and territory is presented in Table 2.

Table 1: Natural Heritage Trust expenditure by Caring for our Country national priority area 2010–11

National priority areas and other budget items	Expenses (GST exclusive) $ million
National Reserve System	56.5
National Reserve System	45.4
Indigenous Protected Areas	11.1
Biodiversity and natural icons	26.1
Natural icons and World Heritage	9.1
Biodiversity protection	17
Tasmanian devils	0
Cane toads	0
Coastal environments and critical aquatic habitats	62.1
Reef Rescue	34
Community Coastcare	17.9
Aquatic habitats	1.5
Gippsland Lakes and Eastern Creek Wetlands	6.2
Tuggerah Lakes	2.5
Sustainable farm practices	5.8
Land management change	5.8
Northern and remote Australia	0
Community skills, knowledge and engagement	29.4
Caring for our Country facilitators	8.1
Indigenous rangers	7.5
Indigenous emissions trading scheme	2.4
Community Action Grants	3.7
Monitoring, evaluation, reporting and improvement	5.6
Community skills, knowledge and engagement	2.1
Regional baseline funding	0
National Reserve System	0
Biodiversity and natural icons	0
Coastal environments and critical aquatic habitats	0
Sustainable farm practices	0
Community skills, knowledge and engagement	0
Implementation	33.1
Implementation	33.1
Other	0
Administration of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999	0
Core departmental priorities	0
TOTAL expenditure (GST exclusive)	213

Table 2: Natural Heritage Trust expenditure by state and territory 2010–11

State/territory	Expenses (GST exclusive) $ million
New South Wales	21.5
Victoria	8
Queensland	81.6
Western Australia	8.5
South Australia	6.9
Tasmania	4.4
Australian Capital Territory	0.3
Northern Territory	15.4
Non-state specific	66.4
TOTAL expenditure (GST exclusive)	213

In 2010–11, the Natural Heritage Ministerial Board approved a number of multi-year projects. As a result, grantees can plan for and secure the resources they need to achieve agreed project outcomes. At 30 June 2011, the Natural Heritage Ministerial Board had approved projects to a total of $1 093 million, including forward year project commitments in 2010–11. Figure 1 shows the distribution of approved funds by Caring for our Country national priority area, including forward commitments made to 30 June 2013. The audited financial statements for the Natural Heritage Trust are presented in the Financial Statements section of the annual report.

Figure 1: Approved funds by Caring for our Country national priority area at 30 June 2011, including forward commitments to 30 June 2013.

Note: Regional base-level funding attributed against other National Priority Areas in 2008–09. Reduction in budget from 2009–10 due to transfer of budget for regional base-level funding to the Department of Treasury.

Figure 1 text version (Excel 21 KB)

2009–10 Natural Heritage Trust expenditure⁴

Total expenditure under the Natural Heritage Trust in 2009–10 was $217 million. The breakdown of this expenditure by Caring for our Country national priority area is presented in Table 3. A breakdown of Natural Heritage Trust expenditure in each state and territory is presented in Table 4.

Table 3: Natural Heritage Trust expenditure by Caring for our Country national priority area 2009–10

National priority areas and other budget items	Expenses (GST exclusive) $ million
National Reserve System	46.7
National Reserve System	7.8
Indigenous Protected Areas	38.9
Biodiversity and natural icons	32.2
Natural icons and World Heritage	17.2
Biodiversity protection	12
Tasmanian devils	2
Cane toads	1.1
Coastal environments and critical aquatic habitats	62.5
Reef Rescue	39.6
Coastcare	10.1
Aquatic habitats	2.2
Gippsland Lakes and Eastern Creek Wetlands	5.6
Tuggerah Lakes	5
Sustainable farm practices	10
Land management change	10
Community skills, knowledge and engagement	22.9
Caring for our Country facilitators	8.1
Indigenous rangers	6.9
Indigenous emissions trading scheme	4
Community Action Grants	3.9

Table 4: Natural Heritage Trust expenditure by state and territory 2009–10

State/territory	Expenses (GST exclusive) $ million
New South Wales	20.9
Victoria	10.1
Queensland	77.4
Western Australia	8.9
South Australia	5.8
Tasmania	13.6
Australian Capital Territory	0.1
Northern Territory	12.6
Non-state specific	67.6
TOTAL expenditure (GST exclusive)	217

In 2009–10 the Natural Heritage Ministerial Board approved a number of multi-year projects. As a result, grantees can plan for and secure the resources they need to achieve agreed project outcomes. At 30 June 2010, the Natural Heritage Ministerial Board had approved projects to a total of $899.3 million, including forward year project commitments in 2009–10. Figure 2 shows the distribution of approved funds by Caring for our Country national priority area, including forward commitments made to 30 June 2013. The audited financial statements for the Natural Heritage Trust are presented in the Financial Statements section of this annual report.

Figure 2: Approved funds by Caring for our Country national priority area at 30 June 2010, including forward year project commitments in 2009–10.

Note: Regional base-level funding attributed against other National Priority Areas in 2008–09. Reduction in budget from 2009–10 due to transfer of budget for regional base-level funding to the Department of Treasury.

Figure 2 text version (Excel 21 KB)

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