2020 – 2022
Landcare NSW and the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust (BCT) have established an agreement to work together to raise awareness and support private land conservation efforts across the state. The BCT recognises that local Landcare groups have been mobilising communities and taking action on a range of issues for decades now, biodiversity conservation being one of them. Which is why the BCT and Landcare will now work together to strengthen our efforts.
There will be three components of this project:
1. Building understanding and capacity
This phase will involve staff and volunteers from Murrumbidgee Landcare, Holbrook Landcare and the Riverina-Murray branch of the BCT. Through a series of workshops (being held online, due to Covid restrictions), the three organisations will plan how best to work together, so that we can utilise and complement each other’s knowledge and skills.
This phase will be completed in the form of a series of online workshops, to be held during October and November 2020.
2. Building biodiversity conservation knowledge
This phase will involve communication and education initiatives with local landholders. Through grant funding, eligible Landcare and other groups will be able to apply to deliver agreed events, targeting the key aspects determined in phase one. Activities may include:
- Events, workshops and field days to raise awareness of, and support landholders in biodiversity conservation, and
- Activities to champion and support existing Private Land Conservation agreement holders.
This phase will commence in late 2020 and continue through until mid-2022.
3. Increasing the participation of landholders in private land conservation programs.
Through increased understanding and collaboration, Landcare will provide information on BCT and other land conservation programs to interested landholders.
About the Biodiversity Conservation Trust (BCT)
The BCT is a statutory not-for-profit body established under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. The organisation began operating in 2017.
The role of the BCT is to promote and support private landholders in conserving and managing biodiversity on their land. This is done through agreements, funding and grants:
- Conservation Management Program – If you own a property in a high priority area, you can apply for a funded conservation agreement by participating in the fixed price offer or a conservation tenders You may identify an area on your land to be actively managed for conservation, and receive annual conservation management payments for agreed management activities
- Conservation Partners Program – The BCT also offers voluntary agreements. Under these agreements, you may identify an area on your land to be conserved for biodiversity conservation and apply for grants to undertake conservation management activities.
- Biodiversity Offsets Program – If you wish to generate and sell biodiversity credits, you can enter into a Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement with the BCT. Under this program, you will receive annual payments for carrying out conservation management actions on the site. You may sell your biodiversity credits to developers, the BCT (which secures offsets on behalf of developers who choose to pay into the Biodiversity Conservation Fund) or to any other third party.
More information on each of these programs is available on the BCT website. You can also click here to watch a short video on the importance of the BCT’s work.
