 |
||||||||
|
|
|||||||
6.2 Terrestrial reserve system and conservationThere has been a substantial increase in the overall area of the reserve system, with significant additions in under-represented areas. At January 2006, the NSW terrestrial reserve system covered 6.5 million hectares or 8% of the State. During the reporting period, the reserve system has grown by 604,346 hectares, an increase of 9.3%. The representativeness of the protected area system is improving, but some subregions and vegetation classes are still under-represented, particularly in the Central and Western regions. Conservation on private and other public lands is also important as it complements the public reserve system, improves connectivity, and buffers existing protected areas. NSW indicators
IntroductionProtected areas are the cornerstone of conservation (ESA 2003). The NSW protected area system includes formal reserves that are consistent with World Conservation Union (IUCN) management categories: reserves under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974; flora reserves; the Lord Howe Island Permanent Park Preserve (under the Lord Howe Island Act 1953); certain Crown reserves and forest management zone 1 (FMZ1) reserves. The primary purpose of the NSW reserve system is to provide security in perpetuity for the State's natural and cultural heritage. The conservation of natural values through the reserve system is also important in maintaining ecosystem services, such as clean air and water, and climatic stability (NRMMC 2005). Experience in Australia has shown that it is seven times more cost-effective to conserve intact native ecosystems than to re-establish them after they have been cleared or significantly degraded (NRMMC 2005). Reserves on their own, however, are unable to achieve all of the desired conservation outcomes, with over 90% of the NSW landscape outside the reserve system. Measures to protect and maintain biodiversity on other Crown and private lands are therefore important to complement the reserve system. In fragmented landscapes, Crown lands, such as travelling stock routes (TSRs), reserves and road reserves, are often the last remnants of native vegetation and thus prime candidates for inclusion in reserve systems. These connections are vital for the movement of species throughout entire landscapes, allowing genetic exchange and adaptation to environmental changes, such as global warming. Current status and trendsNationally, the establishment and management of a comprehensive, adequate and representative (CAR) reserve system is a central strategy in conserving biodiversity and arresting its decline. In its Directions for the National Reserve System (NRMMC 2005), the Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council:
Areas protected under the NSW National Parks and Wildlife ActBy January 2006, the area of the NSW reserve system protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 (NPW Act) had grown to 751 parks, a total of 6,477,018 hectares (ha) representing 8.08% of the State (Table 6.4). This growth has occurred rapidly: since 1995 almost 2.5 million ha has been added to the park system. Since 2003, the area protected under the NPW Act has increased by 604,346 ha (a 9.3% increase in the total reserve area). This includes major additions of over 352,000 ha in the Brigalow Belt South and Nandewar bioregions, as well as increases to the areas of Mungo and Gundabooka national parks, Darcoola State Conservation Area and Nombinnie Nature Reserve. Table 6.4 provides details of protected terrestrial areas in NSW, under State and international systems. Table 6.4: Types of NSW terrestrial protected areas
Source: DEC data February 2006 Notes: (a) The majority of terrestrial protected areas in the formal reserve system of NSW are managed in the national parks estate under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974. In February 2006, the NSW Government announced a further 21 new national parks and reserves and more than 50 additions to existing reserves. The new areas, totalling about 24,000 ha, include protection for 5000 ha of old growth forest, 650 ha of rainforest, 3000 ha of wilderness and 300 ha of coastal wetlands. The NSW Government has a long-term objective of establishing a comprehensive, adequate and representative conservation reserve system across the State. The size of this reserve system in each IBRA subregion will vary depending on the extent and condition of the native vegetation ecosystems remaining and opportunities for reservation. In highly cleared areas, such as Central Western NSW, parts of the tablelands and many coastal valleys, relatively fewer viable vegetation remnants are available for inclusion in the reserve system. In these regions, the size of future reserves and the reserve system as a whole will be smaller than in regions where native vegetation and ecosystems are more extensive. Despite significant progress, half of all NSW terrestrial ecosystems remain poorly protected and there are regional imbalances. The bioregion with the highest proportion of land reserved within the park system is the Australian Alps. Almost 90% of this area is protected in Kosciuszko National Park. In contrast, some NSW bioregions, such as the Riverina, NSW South-western Slopes and the Darling Riverine Plains, have less than 2% of their area within the NSW reserve system. At all scales, progress towards meeting reservation objectives is more advanced in the east of the State than the west. Achievement of the reservation objectives in the Far and Central Western bioregions is generally below 40% while in the Eastern Coastal and Ranges bioregions it is around 90%. Reservation of Tablelands and Southern Slopes bioregions falls somewhere between these two levels. However, there are exceptions to this general pattern – some ecosystems in the west are better conserved, and some in the east are less well conserved. Map 6.4 displays progress towards a representative reserve system on a finer basis, by IBRA subregions, but generally reflects the pattern for bioregions. Many of the most poorly conserved and highly threatened ecosystems occur on private land. Map 6.4: Progress towards a representative reserve system for each IBRA subregion in NSW(a) Source: DEC 2006 Note: (a) The subregions are defined under the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation of Australia (IBRA) (Environment Australia 2000). Overall, approximately 45% of the original distribution of rainforest communities is protected in the NSW reserve system. This varies from about 80% of the cool temperate rainforests to less than 2% of western vine thickets. The alpine complex and heathlands are well represented in reserves with between 60% and 95% of their original distribution currently protected. However, some unprotected heathland types on the coast and tablelands may be exposed to future development pressures associated with urban expansion (Keith 2004). Between 40% and 74% of dry sclerophyll forests remain in various bioregions and approximately 10–25% of their original distribution is protected in NSW reserves. Some classes of dry forest, however, have less than 2% of their original extent represented within parks. Both semi-arid and arid woodlands are under-represented within reserves, with between 1% and 4% of the pre-European distribution protected (Keith 2004). Conservation on other Crown landsState forests are managed under the Forestry Act 1916 and the Forestry and National Park Estate Act 1998 for multiple outcomes, one of which is biodiversity conservation. Dedicated reserves – including flora reserves – (FMZ1) are included as part of the calculations for progress towards CAR objectives. FMZ2 and FMZ3a categories are equivalent to a state conservation area (see SCA description in Table 6.4). Table 6.5 outlines the areas of each of these forest management zones managed for conservation and their proportion of the total forest area. Table 6.5: Areas of NSW forest management zones managed for conservation
Source: Forests NSW 2005 Note: (a) Decreases are a result of transfer of some lands to national parks or field verification of appropriate zoning classification. The NSW Government administers about 40 million ha of Crown land in NSW under the Crown Lands Act 1989 and Western Lands Division Act 1901, including Crown reserves, Western Land Division leases and Crown leases. In more fragmented landscapes, Crown land may contain the last remnants of native vegetation. For example, approximately 80% of TSRs have vegetation communities with high or very high conservation status. Around 30,000 Crown reserves totalling 3% of the State and 2.5 million ha are reserved or dedicated for a public purpose. They include:
About 4% of the State, or approximately 3.3 million ha, is covered by Crown leases in the Central and Eastern regions. A process to assess the conservation status of these Crown lands is being developed, with a view to ensuring the protection of lands of very high conservation value. Conservation on private landThe NSW reserve system is complemented by a range of measures to protect values on private and other public lands. Conservation agreements These are agreements between private and other public landholders and the Minister for the Environment which provide permanent protection for areas of high conservation value. They are voluntarily established under the NPW Act. The lands covered by conservation agreements typically have at least one of the important conservation values shown in Table 6.6. At June 2006, 204 agreements had been established covering an area of 17,049 ha in NSW. This represents an increase of 81 agreements and an additional 7809 ha since December 2002. Table 6.6: Recorded values protected by conservation agreements and wildlife refuges approved since July 2001(a)
Source: DEC data 30 June 2006 Notes: (a) Some values have not been recorded as yet for agreements established prior to 2001 and are being progressively updated. (b) Each conservation agreement and wildlife refuge may protect more than one conservation value. Wildlife refuges Wildlife refuges are voluntary commitments for part or all of a property where the land has native wildlife and habitat values. Landholders can continue to integrate agricultural and other compatible land uses with the conservation of wildlife. At June 2006, 633 refuges had been established in NSW, covering an area of 1,930,885 ha, an increase of 47 agreements and over 270,000 ha since December 2002. About 10% of this area is managed exclusively for conservation, and 85% for integrated conservation management, while the remainder includes infrastructure, such as barns, sheds and buildings. Conservation values may be highly variable. Nature Conservation Trust of NSW The Nature Conservation Trust of NSW is an independent body established under the Nature Conservation Trust Act 2001 to provide a community-based alternative for private landholders and donors wanting to protect the conservation values of their property. A function of the Trust is to purchase private land, establish legal conservation controls over it, and sell it back for private ownership. This has been made possible with initial funding of $2 million from the NSW Native Vegetation Fund and the Commonwealth Government's Natural Heritage Trust. By June 2006, the Trust had purchased two properties of high nature conservation value. Both have ecosystems under-represented in the public reserve system on the north-western slopes of NSW: 'Euroka' on the western margin of the New England Tablelands (1802 ha) and 'Sandy Wells' on the northern edge of the Warrumbungles National Park (385 ha). Indigenous protected areas Indigenous protected areas are areas of land managed by their traditional Aboriginal owners for biodiversity conservation and cultural values. There are currently two in NSW, funded and supported by the Commonwealth Government. Local Aboriginal land councils across the State also own a number of other areas, some of which are being managed for conservation outcomes. Other protection mechanisms Non-government conservation organisations, such as the Australian Bush Heritage Fund (ABHF) and Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC), also contribute to biodiversity conservation on private land. The ABHF currently owns three reserves in NSW (Tarcutta Hills, Burrin Burrin and Brogo) and the AWC owns and manages 'Scotia' (65,000 ha) in Western NSW, which contains threatened and endangered species. Land for Wildlife is part of a national scheme to encourage conservation of wildlife on private properties, which is coordinated by DEC in NSW. It relies on accredited third-party providers such as local government and community organisations to deliver the program. Currently, the scheme operates in only a few locations in NSW due to the limited number of providers. In June 2006, 396 landholders were registered with a total area of 40,411 ha committed to wildlife conservation. Conservation values and condition are assessed and management recommendations made, although these are non-binding. The level of management and condition of the properties is unknown. Local government supports a wide range of mechanisms to promote conservation on private land. These include rate exemptions, grants, local award schemes, training, technical support and material, development concessions/bonus development rights, management agreements, revolving funds, environmental levies, and contributions from developers. The contribution of these mechanisms to the conservation of biodiversity has not been quantified. Response to the issueDirections for the National Reserve System: A Partnership Approach (NRMMC 2005) outlines how the NRS will be developed through a mixture of reserved public lands and secure conservation measures on private land. The statement identifies the main short-term priority as filling key gaps in the comprehensiveness of the NRS at the national scale and establishes new targets for achieving this. The NSW Government is committed to building a comprehensive, adequate and representative reserve system in line with commitments it has given to the Commonwealth Government. The NSW Government has made a concerted effort to acquire land with under-represented ecosystems in Central and Western NSW for inclusion in the reserve system. It has allocated $13 million of Environmental Trust funds under the Government's City and Country Environment Restoration Program for the voluntary purchase or covenanting of high-conservation perpetual Crown leases over four years. In addition, $9 million over four years will be used to acquire leases that will complement the recent Brigalow/Nandewar reservations. Funding for future land acquisitions will come primarily from the Government and the NSW Environmental Trust, supplemented by the Natural Heritage Trust's National Reserves System Program. Priorities for acquisition for inclusion in the public reserve system include:
The NSW Government is developing regional planning strategies to determine where new development and infrastructure should occur in high-growth coastal areas. The strategies are accompanied by regional conservation plans which identify biodiversity priorities for the region and how regional biodiversity values can be improved or maintained. Under the Native Vegetation Act 2003, landholders are able to negotiate property vegetation plans with their local catchment management authority (see Biodiversity 6.1). Future directionsThe ongoing commitment to building the NSW public reserve system and improving its representativeness in line with national CAR targets should be maintained. Because of extensive clearing of some ecosystem types, opportunities to reserve areas suitable for conservation are often limited, particularly in regions under-represented in the reserve system. A strategic framework – currently being developed – will identify priorities and guide future acquisitions. One possible source of land with high conservation values is land held in perpetual Crown leases or other public tenures, and this is currently being examined. Conservation measures on private land and other public tenures complement the public reserve system. New models are being developed to facilitate conservation on private land by providing landholders with options that are commercially attractive and practically appealing. New mechanisms for habitat protection are also being developed, including property vegetation plans and BioBanking (see Biodiversity 6.3). These provide opportunities for broader protection across the whole landscape and the range of tenures. Land-management practices that maintain and enhance habitat requirements on private land and increase continuity across landscapes should be encouraged and actively promoted. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
