Environmental Trust
The Environmental Trust is an independent statutory body established by the NSW government to support exceptional environmental projects that do not receive funds from the usual government sources. The Trust is empowered under the Environmental Trust Act 1998, and its main responsibility is to make and supervise the expenditure of grants. The Trust is administered by the Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC).
The Trust is chaired by the Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Water. Members are the Director-General of DECC and representatives from the Local Government and Shires Associations, the Nature Conservation Council and NSW Treasury.
Objectives
The objectives of the Environmental Trust are:
- to encourage and support restoration and rehabilitation projects
- to promote research into environmental problems of any kind
- to promote environmental education in both the public and private sectors
- to fund the acquisition of land for the national parks estate
- to fund the declaration of areas for marine parks and for related purposes
- to promote waste avoidance, resource recovery and waste management (including funding enforcement and regulation and local government programs)
- to fund environmental community groups and
- to fund the purchase of water entitlements for the purpose of increasing environmental flows for the State's rivers and restoring or rehabilitating major wetlands.
The Trust also reimburses NSW Treasury for approved forestry restructuring payments under the Forestry Restructuring and Nature Conservation Act 1995.
Grants for 2008
The Trust offered ten competitive grant programs in 2008. All grant programs are now closed and applications and expressions of interest are currently being assessed. The Education and Research (major and minor categories) programs have a two-stage application process. See below for a summary of the programs and amounts being offered in 2008.
| Summary of Environmental Trust Grant Programs - 2008 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Program | Detail | Closing Date | Funding Available 2008 |
| Education | Expression of Interest | Closed | $500,000 |
| Education | Expression of Interest | Closed | $500,000 |
| Research | Expression of Interest | Closed | $900,000 |
| Research | Application | Closed | $100,000 |
| Application | Closed | $150,000 | |
| Application | Closed | $500,000 | |
| Restoration and Rehabilitation | Application | Closed | $1,500,000 |
| Restoration and Rehabilitation | Application | Closed | $1,500,000 |
| Urban Sustainability Program | Application | Closed | $21,000,000 |
| Urban Sustainability Program | Application | Closed | $9,000,000 |
For further information on any of these programs, select the relevant link above.
Information on grants awarded in previous years can be accessed by selecting the relevant program from the side menu.
For further information, please contact the Environmental Trust on (02) 8837 6093.
Environmental Trust
PO Box 644, PARRAMATTA 2124
Phone: (02) 8837 6093
E-mail:info@environmentaltrust.nsw.gov.au