Nature conservation

Native vegetation

Brigalow Belt South Bioregion Assessment and Project Reports

The region

Located in the central north of the state, the Brigalow Belt South Bioregion extends from Dubbo to the Queensland border (the bioregion also extends well into Queensland but only the NSW part was included in the assessment). The region includes the major towns of Merriwa, Coonabarabran, Gunnedah, Narrabri, Moree and Warialda, and covers an area of 52,000 square kilometres in NSW, which is 6.2% of the area of the State

The assessment

In 1999 the NSW Government initiated a western regional assessment (focusing on the Brigalow and Nandewar regions) to guide future planning and encourage partnerships to protect the environment. The assessment of the Brigalow Belt South ran from 1999 to 2002. The Nandewar assessment followed soon after.

The Brigalow region was assessed over two stages. The initial assessment (Stage 1) focused on the Pilliga and Goonoo group of forests south of Narrabri. Stage 2 built on the first stage and included the wider bioregion in NSW. A range of projects included fauna and vegetation surveys, wood resources inventory, geology, minerals exploration potential, social and economic studies, Aboriginal heritage and community consultation.

The resources, maps, figures and data assembled from the Nandewar and Brigalow assessments have assisted the development of a whole-of-Government approach to land use and natural resource management.

Read a summary of the Brigalow and Nandewar decision and read about the Brigalow and Nandewar Community Conservation Area Act 2005.

Community consultation

Community participation in the Brigalow Belt South Bioregion assessment was substantial. It included detailed workshops with stakeholders and agencies and intensive options-development. A liaison officer based in Dubbo was also in regular contact with community groups and individuals across the region.

Additional consultation with Aboriginal groups was coordinated by the Resource and Conservation Unit at Dubbo. Representatives of 17 Local Land Councils and two Traditional owner groups participated. The Aboriginal Consultation project delivered:

  • Forest Management meetings with traditional owners
  • Oral history and archival investigation
  • Cultural heritage field survey
  • Land management options development

Brigalow Project Reports

State-wide Projects

  • WRA01 'Patterns of invertebrate biodiversity across a natural edge'
    Authors: Dangerfield J.M.1; Pik A.J.1; Britton D.1; Holmes A.1; Gillings M.1; Oliver I.1; Briscoe D.1; Beattie A.J.1 Source: Austral Ecology, Volume 28, Number 3, June 2003 , pp. 227-236(10). Available from www.interscience.wiley.com
  • WRA 02 Western Data Audit and Gap Analysis
    - a statewide western assessment project.
  • WRA 03 Planning and Consultation Processes
    - a statewide western assessment project.

Brigalow Projects Stage 1

Project reports of the first stage of the BBSB Western Region Assessment program, completed in 2000:

Brigalow Projects Stage 2

Project reports for the Stage 2 assessment program completed in 2002:

Stage 2 Project Report Summaries - PDF (81k)

Page last updated: 27 February 2011