NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment

Nature conservation

Biodiversity Reform

High security conservation-oriented mechanisms

NameLegislationDescriptionSecurity
Nature Reserve National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 (NPW Act) 49(3)-8(2) areas of special scientific interest containing wildlife or natural environments or natural phenomena Revocation requires Act of Parliament.
National Park NPW Act 8(2)(a) spacious areas containing unique or outstanding scenery or natural phenomena Revocation requires Act of Parliament.
Karst Conservation Reserve NPW Act 58K(3)-8(2) (c2) areas of scientific, recreational, aesthetic or historical value within karst regions Revocation requires Act of Parliament.
Historic Site NPW Act The "sites of buildings, monuments or events of national significance or areas in which relics, or Aboriginal places, of special significance are situated" (s. 8(2)(b)). Historic sites can consist of Crown Land, land owned by government bodies and land especially acquired for the purpose (s. 33(1)). Revocation requires Act of Parliament.
Flora Reserve Forestry Act 1916 (S. 25A) Flora Reserves are areas of Crown land or parts of State Forests designed to preserve native flora. Revocation requires Act of Parliament.
Declared Wilderness Wilderness Act 1987 S3 - to provide for the permanent protection and proper management of wilderness. To restore and to protect the unmodified state of the area and its plant and animal communities; to preserve the capacity of the area to evolve in the absence of significant human interference; and to permit opportunities for solitude and appropriate self-reliant recreation. Revocation requires Act of Parliament.

 

MechanismGoverning legislationPurpose as defined in legislationConservation effectiveness. Is nature conservation the primary purpose of the mechanism?Security of mechanism. How easily can protection offered by the measure be circumvented or varied?IUCN protected area category if applicable
Special areas or catchment areas on land managed under the NPW Act NPW Act and various pieces of legislation controlling catchment and special areas in catchments including:

 

Water Management Act 2000 and Sydney Water Act 1994

 There are additional restrictions on activities within these areas.

 

Under the NPW Act S74 a plan of management for lands reserved or dedicated under the NPW Act or which comprise wilderness within the meaning of the Wilderness Act 1987 are wholly or partly in a catchment area or special area of a water authority, or the waters from any lands so reserved or dedicated that drain into a catchment area, special area or structure of a water authority, must be referred to the relevant water authority for its information, and also referred to the Director-General (DG) of the Department of Water Resources if the relevant water authority is the Hunter Water Corporation.

S185 NPW Act. (4) prevents the issuing of a lease, license, or right of way under the NPW Act in a catchment area or special area within the meaning of the Water Board (Corporatisation) Act 1994, except with the concurrence of Sydney Water Corporation, or

(b) the Hunter Water Board (Corporatisation) Act 1991, except with the concurrence of the Hunter Water Corporation and the Director of the Department of Water Resources.

Neither Sydney Water Corporation nor the Hunter Water Corporation nor the DG of the Department of Water Resources shall, except with the concurrence in writing of the DG, undertake or arrange for the cutting and marketing of timber of commercial value on lands within a national park, historic site, state recreation area, regional park, nature reserve, state game reserve, karst conservation reserve or Aboriginal area that are also lands within a catchment area or special area.

 Yes Revocation requires an Act of Parliament I-III where management includes management under the NPW Act


From Smart 2002

Page last updated: 18 April 2016