Investing in Our Natural and Cultural Heritage

	Document Index 1999-2000 Ministerial Statements Investing in our Natural and Cultural Heritage Chapter 4

OFF-RESERVE CONSERVATION

Some 500 million hectares, or more than two-thirds of Australia's land area, are currently managed by private landholders, while about 40 million hectares are within the terrestrial reserves system. Conservation of biodiversity through reserves alone is clearly inadequate. Biodiversity outside reserves has, for many years, been affected by vegetation clearance and modification. For large parts of Australia only scattered remnants of the original natural vegetation exist.

Box 4.2: Bushcare

The objectives of Bushcare are to reverse the long-term decline in the quality and extent of Australia's native vegetation cover by working cooperatively with communities, industries and governments to:

conserve remnant native vegetation;
conserve Australia's biological diversity; and
restore, by means of revegetation, the environmental values and productive capacity of Australia's degraded land and water.

The historic and ambitious goal of Bushcare can only be achieved through the actions of land managers, supported through enabling institutional frameworks, technical advice and public investment consistent with achieving public benefits.

To date Bushcare has achieved a range of outcomes including:

funding or approved funding through the Natural Heritage Trust `one-stop-shop' of 1,292 Bushcare projects with community involvement or support;

strategic national projects were initiated, including Florabank and the new Atlas of Australian Birds;
establishment of a Bushcare extension network to support the community in sustainable native vegetation management;
establishment of the Council for Sustainable Vegetation Management, which has met nine times to discuss and prepare advice for the Minister for Environment on a range of issues;
extensive community consultations have been undertaken through the Bushcare Link Consultancy, and increased Local Government involvement in Bushcare has been pursued through the National Local Government Bushcare Facilitator; and
publication of a series of landmark reports on issues such as incentives to promote sound vegetation management, opportunities for local government to conserve native vegetation, and the introduction of tax incentives for the protection of high conservation native vegetation.

This has led to problems with both biodiversity conservation and the long-term viability of Australia's agriculture sector. Bushcare aims to address this situation by promoting activities that integrate sustainable native vegetation management principles with mainstream agriculture.

Bushcare

The Commonwealth provided funding of $74 million for Bushcare in 1998-99 which allowed community groups, local and State Governments to work on improving the protection, management and re-establishment of native vegetation. Of this $26.9 million was provided for 684 new projects through the `one-stop-shop' process, with $15.4 million provided for continuation of 319 existing projects; these figures include $2.4 million for 14 new projects in Cape York. The remainder was used nationally to develop institutional and community frameworks and to support an increase in the extent and quality of native vegetation. Around 15 per cent of Bushcare funding in 1998-99 was invested in urban Bushcare.

The Commonwealth, through the Natural Heritage Trust has provided funding of $4 million over the life of the Natural Heritage Trust for the employment of twelve Indigenous Land Management Facilitators. The Indigenous Land Management Facilitators are employed to assist indigenous communities to access the suite of Natural Heritage Trust programmes and to support sustainable land management practices on Aboriginal land and on those public lands where indigenous people have a local interest.

Funding for this project has been sourced through the Landcare and Bushcare Programmes and is administered by the Indigenous Policy and Coordination Section, within the Biodiversity Group of Environment Australia.

Recruitment of the twelve Indigenous Land Management Facilitators was completed in October 1998. The facilitators have to date focussed on assisting indigenous communities to develop Natural Heritage Trust proposals for the 1999-2000 funding round.

The Commonwealth has established contracts with regionally based agencies including indigenous land councils, representative bodies and State land management agencies to host these positions and to oversee their activities in their regions.

Contact: Environment Australia, Biodiversity Group: -- 02 6274 2257

Cape York Peninsula

The Cape York Natural Heritage Trust Plan will provide up to $40 million to protect the outstanding environmental and heritage values of Cape York. The Plan was developed by the Commonwealth, in consultation with the Queensland Government, and is being delivered by both Governments in partnership with key stakeholders from industry, indigenous communities and conservation organisations.

Key elements of the Cape York Natural Heritage Trust Plan include up to $23 million for a comprehensive voluntary property planning process and an enhanced and expanded network of protected areas. Funding is being provided to develop and implement strategies to protect and conserve natural and related cultural values on land managed by indigenous people. The Cape York Property Plan Technical Group advises both Governments on the implementation of these key elements. Pilot properties for the property planning process have been identified and activities through this component will intensify during the 1999 dry season.

The Plan also provides community grants to complement the work of both Governments and their agencies in sustainable production and the conservation of natural and related cultural values on the Cape.

The Cape York Regional Advisory Panel has facilitated community implementation of the Plan, providing advice and recommendations to both Governments on the implementation of the Plan, and assessing Natural Heritage Trust funding applications.

Contact: Environment Australia, Biodiversity Group -- 02 6274 2538