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Protected and threatened plants in the cut-flower industry: Sustainable management plan 2008–2012

Department of Environment and Climate Change NSW, 2008
ISBN 978 1 74232 036 6

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Summary

The Protected and threatened plants in the cut-flower industry: Sustainable management plan 2008–2012 outlines a system to facilitate and regulate the sustainable harvesting and production of material for the cut-flower industry in New South Wales. The tools and strategies in this plan support the long-term conservation of plant species used in the cut-flower industry, in both their natural habitat and as part of a viable cultivated native flora industry.

This document details the status of native flora under NSW legislation and the licensing and reporting requirements in the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 (NPWA), and is an important reference for the cut-flower industry. It will also help to raise the awareness of the general public and the cut-flower industry to the issues affecting the management and conservation of protected and threatened native plants used in the cut-flower industry.

This management plan has been prepared under section 115A of the NPWA, which provides for the preparation of management plans for protected native plants where the Director General of the Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC) believes that harvesting native plants has the potential to adversely affect the conservation of a protected species or group.

The plan is based on the following four principles.

  1. The maintenance of viable wild populations on private land is a priority.
  2. Cooperative arrangements with the industry to promote cultivated or sustainable wild harvested products in preference to picked products are encouraged.
  3. The industry is to be self-sustaining and self-regulating through improved awareness of biodiversity issues and ecological sustainability.
  4. Landholders should maintain native vegetation as a resource on their property. Harvesting may be possible if it can be conducted in a sustainable manner.

DECC will develop cooperative arrangements with the industry to promote cultivated or sustainable wild-harvested products in preference to picked products. A specific aim of this plan is to encourage the commercial cultivation of plants from seed or other propagating material and, where appropriate, allow products harvested from such plants to be traded with minimum restrictions.

The sustainable harvest of some plant species from naturally occurring stands on private land is supported by the plan, acknowledging that there are conservation and biodiversity benefits associated with the maintenance of this vegetation.

The plan provides for the harvest of cut-flower products where:

This plan targets high risk products and areas in the cut-flower industry. In addition, it significantly reduces the regulatory burden on lower risk sectors of the industry through reduced tagging requirements and increased licence terms. A streamlined process for harvest records and monitoring has been developed to assist licensees. There are also tools provided for the assessment of populations within harvest areas that will be of significant assistance to licensees and regulators.

This management plan has been developed to meet the standards of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cwlth) for a wildlife trade management plan relating to the regulation and monitoring of a class of native wildlife product proposed for export. It supersedes the Protected and threatened plants in the cut-flower industry: Management plan 2002–2005 that was approved by the Australian Government in 2002.

Cover of Protected and threatened plants in the cut-flower industry

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