Tasmanian Forest Conservation Fund

Protection of Forested Private Land

Enhanced conservation of forests on private land is a priority for the Australian and Tasmanian Governments. With nearly 30 per cent of Tasmania's forests on private land, conservation goals for forests cannot be met without the support of private landowners. Included in this 30 per cent are many forest communities that are threatened as a result of their rarity or past land clearing.

The Forest Conservation Fund (FCF) was developed under the 2005 Supplementary Regional Forest Agreement (Tasmanian Community Forest Agreement). The FCF was a program using market-based incentives to target old growth and under reserved forest communities on private land.

The goal of the FCF was to protect up to 45 600 hectares of forested private land, including a minimum of 25 000 hectares of old growth forest and up to 2 400 hectares to protect karst values in the Mole Creek area (Clause 21 of the Supplementary Regional Forest Agreement).

The FCF supported private landowners to manage and conserve forest on their land using;

  • voluntary conservation arrangements, secured through agreements with landowners,
  • development of conservation management plans with the landholder, and
  • provision of ongoing advice and assistance to manage protected areas.

Conclusion of the Forest Conservation Fund

The FCF concluded in June 2009 having secured, with the commitment of over 150 landowners, around 28 000 hectares of forest including approximately 11 000 hectares of old growth forest. The Revolving Fund established as an element of the FCF has been extended until 2014, to further contribute to achieving the goals of the program. Properties continue to be purchased, covenanted then sold to conservation-minded individuals who commit to the ongoing management of the properties.

Further information about Regional Forest Agreements, including the 2005 Tasmanian Community Forest Agreement, can be found at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry website at: www.daff.gov.au

More information about programs under the Tasmanian Community Forest Agreement:

Outcomes of the Forest Conservation Fund

  • By December 2009, over 28 000 hectares of forest has been secured, including approximately 11 000 hectares of old growth forest, through over $43 million of conservation covenants, land purchases and support for ongoing management.
  • The protection of 537 hectares of high value forest and karst landscape, secured with $2.9 million of Forest Conservation Fund (FCF) funding for landowners, as part of the Mole Creek Karst Forest Programme.

Under the FCF, a Revolving Fund has been established until 2014 and extended to assist with the purchase of properties that meet the objectives of the FCF. The Revolving Fund allows properties to be bought, covenanted for conservation purposes and then on-sold to willing landowners on the open market.

Tender process and conservation covenants

The FCF Program developed a competitive tender process within which landowners could apply for funding to covenant their forested land. The program commenced in March 2007.

  • Round One of the tender process was completed in April 2008 and achieved protection for 8,950 hectares at a cost of $9.6 million.
  • Round Two was completed in January 2009 and protected 4,750 hectares at a cost of $7.9 million.

Building on the original tender rounds, the program also engaged landowners directly with fixed price offers for conservation covenants. This process secured some 8600 hectares of forest at a cost of $13.8 million. The program closed on 30 June 2009.

The FCF also provided co-investment to the Maintaining Australia's Biodiversity Hotspots program, for the Tasmanian Midlands project. The additional funding for the Hotspots tender process resulted in the protection of around 4200 hectares at a cost of $5.5 million.

In order to protect the conservation values of each property, conservation covenants were registered on the land titles of individual properties or specific areas of properties, under the Tasmanian Nature Conservation Act 2002. Nature Conservation Plans were also developed in consultation with each landowner as part of their agreement with the Australian Government, to provide guidelines for the maintenance of the covenanted land.

An independent review of the Forest Conservation Fund has been completed and outlines the key features and successes of the program and identifies improvements that could be made for future programs.

Revolving Fund

A revolving fund encourages nature conservation on private land, with a specific focus on threatened and priority habitats and ecosystems. Revolving funds purchase properties of high conservation value, place a conservation covenant over the property to protect the conservation values and then resells the property to sympathetic landowners. In this way the fund 'revolves' and the value of the fund is largely retained.

In 2007, a Revolving Fund was established under the FCF to assist with the purchase of properties that meet the objectives of the FCF. The Revolving Fund was extended in January 2009 by the Environment Protection Minister for a further five years to June 2014. The objectives of the Revolving Fund were also broadened to include matters of national environmental significance.

The Revolving Fund is managed by the Tasmanian Land Conservancy Inc. To December 2010, 20 properties had been purchased securing some 2432 hectares of forest. Sales of the first of the properties in the Revolving Fund have been finalised with further properties under contract for sale.

Proceeds from the sale of these properties are returned to the fund, allowing for the purchase of additional properties. For more information regarding the Revolving Fund please contact the Tasmanian Land Conservancy on (03) 6225 1399 or visit their website at www.tasland.org.au.

Market-based approaches used in the Forest Conservation Fund

The Forest Conservation Fund (FCF) employed a range of market approaches, commencing with a competitive tender process, followed by direct price offers and the establishment of a Revolving Fund . The Australian Government has uses market-based approaches to achieve biodiversity conservation objectives because they:

  • complement the regulatory approach
  • use incentives to stimulate innovation and better management
  • recognise the role of private landholders in biodiversity conservation, and
  • ensure the right mix of instruments is available for different biodiversity objectives.

Design elements of the FCF

The success of the FCF was reliant on the ability to create and run an efficient market for the protection of forest on private land in Tasmania. The implementation of the FCF was supported by rigorous analysis by a number of experts with the appropriate skills and experience in ecology, forest practices, geographical information systems and ecosystem mapping, economics and market based instruments. Methods of assessment and market approaches were considered before a decision on the final design of the FCF was established.

The Conservation Value Index (CVI) - program metric

A Conservation Value Index (CVI) was developed to allow for the objective comparison of different proposals. The metric developed to calculate the conservation value of each property was based on the objectives outlined in the FCF Strategic Plan with input from nationally recognised experts.

The CVI was developed to assess three particular aspects of the landholder's proposal:

  • significance of the proposal in contributing to the conservation objectives of the FCF
  • conservation management provided by the proposal in relation to current conditions and risks that would not have been undertaken in the absence of the FCF, and
  • security of the proposal measured as the covenant length offered (12, 24, 48 years and in-perpetuity).

The competitive tender process

Landowners interested in the FCF were offered the opportunity to have their forested land assessed and were assisted to develop a draft tender. Field officers undertook the site assessments and worked with landowners to develop tenders that included a Nature Conservation Plan and the landowners agreement to a conservation covenant being placed on their property title to protect their high value forest.

These investments were secured with approval from the Environment Minister through agreements between the landowners and the Commonwealth.

Direct offers

In addition to the competitive tender process, direct, fixed-price offers were made to some landowners who had expressed interest in the FCF and who were prepared to accept the in perpetuity covenant option.

The FCF also used direct offers to target large landholdings with high proportions of old growth forest. Eligible landowners were identified by the service provider (Tasmanian Land Conservancy ) and, if interested in a fixed price offer, were assisted to develop a proposal to protect the forest on their land. An assessment of their properties was conducted and the CVI rating developed. The field methodology and CVI calculations used for these proposals were consistent with those used in the tender rounds.

Direct offers were based on a comparative analysis of the value of the successful Round 1 tenders.

The use of direct offers added substantial areas of forest protected through the use of in-perpetuity covenants and increased the number of properties supporting between 500 and 1500 hectares of forest. The direct offer approach would have been more difficult without the knowledge of market responses gained through the first competitive tender process.

Revolving Fund

In 2007, a Revolving Fund was established under the FCF to assist with the purchase of properties that meet the objectives of the FCF.

For more information regarding the Revolving Fund contact the Tasmanian Land Conservancy on (03) 6225 1399 or visit their website at www.tasland.org.au.

Monitoring and Evaluation

The Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (DPIPWE) provide ongoing monitoring and management support services to owners of properties covenanted under the FCF program. For management support with covenants please contact DPIPWE's Private Land Conservation Program on 1300 368 550 or view their website at www.dpipwe.tas.gov.au/plcp.

An independent review of the Forest Conservation Fund has been completed and outlines the key features and successes of the program and identifies improvements that could be made for future programs.

Contacts and Ongoing monitoring and management support

The Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (DPIPWE) provide reserve monitoring and management support services to owners of properties covenanted under the Forest Conservation Fund. For more information please contact DPIPWE's Private Land Conservation Program on 1300 368 550 or view their website at: www.dpipwe.tas.gov.au/plcp.

For information regarding the Revolving Fund and the Mole Creek Karst Forest Programme please contact the Tasmanian Land Conservancy on (03) 6225 1399 or www.tasland.org.au.

For further information regarding the Forest Conservation Fund please contact the Australian Department of the Sustainability, Environment, Water, Populations and Communities on (02) 6274 1111 or via email.

Information about Regional Forest Agreements, including the 2005 Tasmanian Community Forest Agreement, can be found on the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry website at: www.daff.gov.au.

Further information about the Forest Conservation Fund