The NSW Government is proud to be making a major contribution to the conservation of important native species and habitats by supporting private landholders to enter into conservation agreements with the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust.
Trust's annual report shows that in the last financial year, the NSW Government committed ongoing funding to 16 new landholders to manage more than 91,000 hectares of protected land.
"The total area protected by private property owners across NSW is nine times the size of Sydney Harbour," Minister for Climate Change and the Environment Penny Sharpe said.
"Private landholders across NSW are making a major contribution to conservation. We thank these landholders for their commitment and for contributing to biodiversity outcomes for NSW," Minister Sharpe said.
Of those, the 55,000-hectare Gayini Conservation Area is the largest funded conservation agreement the Trust has entered into, demonstrating the NSW Government’s commitment to support caring for country obligations of Aboriginal landholders.
A further 16,481 hectares has been protected through 56 conservation partnership agreements with landholders.
In the last financial year, the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust added 4500 hectares of protected koala habitat on private property, surpassing program targets and bringing the total number of hectares voluntarily managed for conservation by landholders under the NSW Koala Strategy to 8333 hectares.
"With each new area brought into a conservation agreement, the number of threatened species we protect grows," NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust CEO Erin Giuliani said.
"Right now, we protect more than 200 threatened species and more than 130 important landscapes that aren't well-protected by conservation areas like National Parks or reserves," she said.
"We will continue to add to these numbers using our rigorous monitoring methods, recently accredited by the globally recognised Accounting for Nature framework."
The Trust’s four-year investment plan will target areas of significant biodiversity and support the state’s goals to halt biodiversity loss and protect species.
For more information, interested landholders can visit www.bct.nsw.gov.au