Indicator: BD-06 Measures taken to conserve species or ecological communities on land that is not part of the national reserve system
Data
In South Australia's upper south-east, landholders will pay a compulsory contribution towards salinity drainage works in the region and will be able to offset the levy with biodiversity credits. The approach is designed to protect up to 64 000 hectares of remnant vegetation and wetland areas on private land. Under the plan, landholders will be able to claim biodiversity credits for protecting remnant vegetation on their properties and use the credits in lieu of a compulsory contribution to the upper south-east dryland salinity and management program.
Up to $11 million worth of landholder contributions to the salinity drainage works will be exchanged for management agreements covering the uncleared farmland.
The landholders' contributions are part of a $49.3 million package that includes $38.3 million invested in the program by the Australian and SA Governments from the $1.4 billion National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality.
The package will result in a total of 605 kilometres of salt interception drains being completed by 2008 and protection of up to 64 000 ha of wetlands and remnant vegetation through fencing and other measures.
Source: Australian Landcare 2004, Biodiversity credits serve salinity assault, Edition News: Agribusiness and General, viewed 4 Mar 2005, http://landcare.farmonline.com.au/news.asp?editorial_id=57233.
From ABC's wildwatch survey:
- Nearly 30% of people who responded fed wildlife, and 6 out of 10 have bird baths.
- Lorikeets, rosellas and other parrots, as well as magpies are the most commonly fed birds.
- Australians have one of the highest levels of pet ownership in the world - this survey found just over 50% of people own a cat or a dog or both.
- Most people (63%) who responded considered domestic pets to be the biggest threat to wildlife in their garden.
- 50% of dog owners keep their dogs inside at night. 71% of cat owners keep their cats inside at night.
- The well-known technique of putting a bell on cats (40% of cat owners do this) was reported to work very well for frogs and reptiles and birds but not for mammals.All wildlife groups were much more commonly seen in gardens close to bushland.
- Gardens with native plants, and especially local native plants, supported a significantly greater diversity of wildlife than gardens with more exotic plants.
- If you want less snakes, but can cope with more centipedes & millipedes, earthworms & flatworms, and snails, then you need to go to the Wet Temperate Coasts.
- If you want to increase your chances of having more types of mammals in your garden, you need to live in the Northern Wet-Dry Tropics.
- You're more likely to have wombats in your garden in the Temperate Highlands.
- The Subtropical slopes/plains region appears to make the most effort attracting wildlife - with more nestboxes, feeding and birdbaths than anywhere else.
- People living in the Arid Interior are more likely to control their cats - putting bells on them and keeping them inside at night.
- Gardens in the Semi-arid Tropical/subtropical Plains are more likely than anywhere else to have snakes and birds of prey.
Source: Australian Broadcasting Commission 2005, Wildwatch2 Quest for Pests, viewed 4 Mar 2005, http://www.abc.net.au/wildwatch/default.htm.
Victorian Trust for Nature
The Victorian Trust for Nature purchases properties with significant native habitat or of cultural value, and then resells the land to conservation-minded people wishing to own a native habitat property.
Source: Whitten, S van Bueren, M and Collins, D 2004, 'An overview of market-based instruments and environmental policyin Australia', in Market-based tools for environmental management, Proceedings of the 6th annual AARES national symposium 2003, Whitten, S, Carter, M, and Stoneham, G (eds), RIRDC Publication No 04/142, RIRDC Project No WS034-01, Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, Canberra, viewed N/A, http://www.rirdc.gov.au/reports/AFT/04-142sum.html.
Community management of environmental water for wetlands
Since 1993 the NSW Murray Wetlands Working Group - a community-based conservation group - has been managing 30 000 megalitres of environmental water on behalf of the NSW Government. The program is aimed at improving and rehabilitating degraded wetland ecosystems along the Murray and Lower Murray-Darling catchments in NSW. The 30 000 ML was derived through infrastructure improvements during the privatisation of a large irrigation company in southern-central NSW and funded by the NSW Government.
To date the environmental program has:
- extended a natural flood event through the Barmah-Millewa Forest and ensured successful bird-breeding of more than 30 000 waterbirds
- watered a remnant stand of Common Reeds (Phragmites australis) within the Werai Forest
- watered approximately 120 isolated floodplain wetlands on private properties within southern-central NSW
Source: D'Santos, P 2004, 'Water = Ecology + Money: Community management of environmental water for wetlands', in Market-based tools for environmental management, Proceedings of the 6th annual AARES national symposium 2003, Whitten, S, Carter, M, and Stoneham, G (eds), RIRDC Publication No 04/142, RIRDC Project No WS034-01, Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, Canberra, viewed N/A, http://www.rirdc.gov.au/reports/AFT/04-142sum.html.
Nature refuges in Queensland
A nature refuge in Queensland results from a voluntary conservation agreement between a landholder and the Government that leads to the protection of land under the Nature Conservation Act 1992. Each agreement is tailored to suit the management needs of the particular area and the needs of the landholder. A nature refuge can cover part or all of a property protecting wildlife and wildlife habitat.
At 31 December 2004, there were 138 nature refuges, protecting 188 183 ha of habitat, while maintaining and enhancing property enterprises as diverse as grazing, cropping, horticulture and ecotourism.
Landholders and purchasers of land who enter into a Conservation Agreement with the Government are eligible for financial incentives.
Source: Environmental Protection Agency, Queensland 2004, Nature refuges, viewed 4 Mar 2005, http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/nature_conservation/nature_refuges.
NSW Conservation Partners Program
The Conservation Partners Program supports landholders in voluntarily protecting and managing native vegetation, wildlife habitat, geological features, historic heritage and Aboriginal cultural heritage on their properties. Landholders choose from a range of protection options that recognise and formalise their commitment to conservation on their properties.
| Key measures/year | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of voluntary conservation agreements in place | 133 | 159 11 946 ha |
182 13 603 ha |
| Number of wildlife refuges in place | 587 | 599 1 712 821 ha |
620 1 715 135 ha |
| Percentage of private land in NSW managed for conservation | 2.07 | 2.15 | 2.16 |
| Hectares of private land managed for conservation | 1 661 166 | 1 724 767 | 1 728 738 |
Source: NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service 2006, Statistics about the Conservation Partners Program, NSW Department of Environment and Conservation, Sydney, viewed 30 May 2006, http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/npws.nsf
/Content/conservation_partners_statistics.
Envirofund
The Envirofund is the local action component of the Australian Government's Natural Heritage Trust. It helps communities undertake local projects aimed at conserving biodiversity and promoting sustainable resource use. Community groups and individuals can apply for grants of up to $50,000 to carry out on-ground and other actions to target local problems.
| Type of on-ground outputs | Output reported to June 2005 from projects for which final reports have been submitted |
|---|---|
| Protection or rehabilitation of native vegetation | |
| Area of native vegetation protected by fencing | 15 496 ha |
| Area of native vegetation enhanced or rehabilitated | 5 286 ha |
| Area revegetated with native vegetation | 2 622 ha |
| Area revegetated with exotic vegetation | 3 737 ha |
| Number of conservation agreements or covenants established | 39 |
| Area covered by conservation agreements or covenants | 2 670 ha |
| Riparian, waterway and wetland health | |
| Length of river or stream bank stabilised and protected | 249 km |
| Number of stream bank or stream led structures installed | 100 |
| Number of off stream stock watering sites installed | 771 |
| Area of wetlands protected or enhanced | 2 630 ha |
| Management of significant species or ecological communities | |
| Area of habitat management | 6 769 ha |
| Number of seed banks managed | 5 |
| Weight of seeds collected | 207 kg |
| Control of weeds and pests | |
| Area of weed control | 5 750 ha |
| Area subject to pest animal control | 9 019 ha |
| Soil management | |
| Area treated for soil management | 2 223 ha |
| Salinity control measures | |
| Area treated for dryland salinity | 38 ha |
| Length of drains | 23 km |
| Water contamination and water use efficiency | |
| Number of properties with contaminant management systems | 3 |
| Number of farmers using improved irrigation practices | 7 |
| Volume of water saved | 2 ML |
| Stormwater control and reuse systems implemented | 2 |
Source: Centre for International Economics 2005, Evaluation of the Australian Government Envirofund, DEH & DAFF, viewed 30 May 2006, http://www.nrm.gov.au/monitoring/national-evaluations/envirofund.html.
| Organisation | Area of land (hectares) | Number of reserves | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Bush Heritage Fund | 372 156 | 19 | Own and manage |
| Australian Wildlife Conservancy | 917 000 | 14 locations | Own and manage |
| Australian Landscape Trust | 340 000 | Research, restore and manage | |
| Trust for Nature | 35 000 hectares of natural bush | 56 bush properties in Victoria | Own and manage |
Source: Data from ABHF, AWC, Trust for Nature and ALT May 2006
What the data mean
There is a trend towards greater community involvement in biodiversity planning and management, with assistance from Governments. Substantial areas of land are managed by conservation organisations.
Data Limitations
The list of measures is not comprehensive.
Effectiveness of most of the projects described above have not been evaluated, either in terms of their own objectives, or in terms of resulting improvements or pressures on biodiversity and the environment more broadly.
Issues for which this is an indicator and why
Biodiversity - Species, habitats and ecological communities - Community action on species and ecological communities
An inventory of measures taken and their effectiveness in engaging useful community involvement is a direct indicator for this issue.
Other indicators for this issue:
- BD-07 Examples of Indigenous knowledge of species and ecological communities and their utilisation for management by Indigenous and non-Indigenous managers and for other purposes by Indigenous and non-Indigenous people
- BD-02 Conservation status of nationally significant species and ecological communities, compared with previous years
- IW-36 Willow removal
Biodiversity - Landscapes - Community action on landscape protection
An inventory of measures taken and their effectiveness in engaging useful community involvement is a direct indicator for this issue.
Other indicators for this issue:
Biodiversity - Utilisation and value of biodiversity - Incentives for biodiversity management
Measures taken to conserve species or ecological communities on land that is not part of the national reserve system include incentives for biodiversity management. An inventory of measures taken will include incentive measures and is therefore an indicator for this issue.
Other indicators for this issue:
Land - Societal responses - Responses to vegetation loss, carbon loss, species loss and species change
Because so much of Australia's remaining vegetation and biodiversity is not within protected areas, off reserve measures are critical to protecting vegetation and biodiversity.
Other indicators for this issue:
- LD-27 Area and proportion of agricultural land under various aspects of "best practice"
- LD-28 Percentage and area of farms with planted trees
- LD-29 Area and proportion of forest under "best practice"
- LD-30 National area under plantation forestry
- LD-31 Success of programs to reduce carbon loss and increase carbon sequestration
- LD-38 Regions with investments having a major focus on salinity
- BD-17 Institutional response to loss of native vegetation
Further Information
Urban biodiversity
Incentive Measures for Conserving Freshwater Ecosystems
- Incentive Measures for Conserving Freshwater Ecosystems (Whitten et al. 2002)
- Proposal for a new National Biodiversity Initiative
- Australian Cotton CRC - Homepage
- Market-based tools for environmental management, Proceedings of the 6th Annual AARES National Symposium 2003
- Conservation agreements
- Envirofund
- Conservation Incentives
- National Evaluations of the Natural Heritage Trust and the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality
Key
Links to another web site
Links to data in the DRS
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