Cut-flower Sustainable Management Plan 2018–22

About the Management Plan

The Cut-flower Sustainable Management Plan 2018–22 continues the system to facilitate and regulate sustainably harvesting and producing material for the cut-flower industry in NSW. 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 plants industry.

This plan details the status of protected plant under NSW legislation and the licensing and reporting requirements in the Biodiversity and Conservation Act 2016 (BC Act). It is an important reference for the cut-flower industry and will also help make the public and the cut-flower industry more aware of 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 the Biodiversity Conservation Regulation 2017 (BC Regulation), which provides for the preparation of management plans for protected native plants where the Environment Agency Head believes that harvesting native plants has the potential to adversely affect the conservation of a protected species or group.

The plan is based on 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.

The Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) 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 plan supports sustainably harvesting some plant species from naturally occurring stands on private land, while at the same time acknowledging there are conservation and biodiversity benefits associated with maintaining this vegetation.

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

• material is to be harvested from plants cultivated for the purpose of producing cut-flower products (grower licence)
• material is to be harvested from naturally occurring stands of native vegetation on freehold lands of which the applicant or licensee is the owner, and where the harvest is at such a rate that the harvest is considered by OEH to be sustainable (wild harvest licence).

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 assessing populations within harvest areas that will significantly assist 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.