Goal
To reverse the long-term decline in the quality and extent of Australia's native vegetation cover.

Objectives

Work with all levels of government, industry and the community to:

• conserve remnant native vegetation;
• conserve Australia's biological diversity; and
• restore, by means of revegetation, the environmental values and productive capacity of Australia's degraded land and water.

Process

Under the first phase of the Trust, Bushcare:

• Provided Support and Advice through the Bushcare Network
• Funded Projects
• Consulted Stakeholders
• Measured progress (Monitoring and evaluation)
• Encouraged conservation (Incentives, Bush for Wildlife, Awards)
• Supported urban conservation
• Funded Research and Development
• Worked with other organisations (Local and State Governments, Industry Bodies)
• Contributed to national policies and programs (Farm Forestry, Greenhouse, Rangelands, Land and Water Resources Audit, Property Management Planning, ANZECC)
• Supported Regional Initiatives (Regional planning, Cape York, Tasmanian forests)

Priorities

Bushcare funded projects which:

• addressed the Bushcare national goal and objectives;
• were strategic and addressed priority issues, ideally consistent with a regional strategy if one exists;
• showed long-term commitment beyond commonwealth funding;
• involved partnerships with the community, state agencies, regional organisations;
• demonstrated practical on-ground achievements; and
• demonstrated that there was technical and financial ability to support the project.

Bushcare gave priority to projects at a regional or catchment scale which integrated management of remnant vegetation with extensive revegetation for a range of purposes, including:

• conserving biodiversity;
• rehabilitating degraded areas, on and off reserves;
• safeguarding and improving agricultural production;
• enhancing greenhouse gas sinks;
• lowering saline watertables;
• improving water quality and wetlands management;
• conserving wildlife habitat; and/or
• providing products including timber, flowers, foliage, oils, fruits, nuts, honey, and services including shade, shelter, pest control and amenity.

Projects

• Australian Capital Territory
• New South Wales
• Northern Territory
• South Australia
• Tasmania
• Queensland
• Victoria
• Western Australia
• National Projects

The majority of projects funded by Bushcare were assessed through the Natural Heritage Trust 'One-Stop-Shop' process.

This involved reviewing projects at regional, State and national levels, including technical assessment. It was called the One-Stop-Shop as applicants didn't need to apply separately for funding from each program to which their proposal may fit. Only one application form was filled out and all proposals were assessed at the same time. The One-Stop-Shop process covered a number of Trust programs and initiatives.

In the first phase of the Trust, Bushcare funded more than 1800 projects through the One Stop Shop, in which it has invested over $127 million. The projects varied widely in objectives, context, groups involved and funding provided. About 70% of Bushcare funding was invested directly in on-ground works to improve native vegetation management.

For detailed information on selected case study projects follow the links below. Text and images for case studies were provided by project proponents, members of the Bushcare network and Commonwealth State team leaders.

Australian Capital Territory

• Vegetation Investment Program

New South Wales

• Integrated Ecological Restoration of Western Sydney Corridors 'Greening Western Sydney'
• Grassy White Box Woodlands: Taking Action Now!

Northern Territory

• Conservation and Management of the Coolibah Swamp
• Roper Catchment Preservation Fencing Warloch Ponds Elsey Creek
• Seed Bank and Plant Provenance Coordinator/Educator
• Fire Management of Western Arnhem Land

South Australia

• Habitat Restoration for the Brush-tailed Bettong - Venus Bay
• Conservation and Sustainable Management of Native Grasslands in the Mid-North
• South Australia Threatened Plant Action Group Project Officer

Tasmania

• Fencing Incentive Scheme Tasmania (FIST)
• Implementing the Midland Vegetation Management Plan
• Understorey Promotion

Queensland

• Land for Wildlife Pilot Program - South East Queensland
• Trees for the Evelyn & Atherton Tableland - Peterson Creek Revegetation Project
• Accelerated on Farm Nature Conservation

Victoria

• Ballarat to Barwon Project (Leigh River Catchment Management)
• Project Hindmarsh

Western Australia

• Pallinup-North Stirling Bushlands and Wetlands Management Plan
• Living Landscapes: Integrating Nature Conservation, Actions into the Agricultural Landscape

National Projects

• National: Case Study Bushcare Projects

Evaluation

A final evaluation of the overall achievements of the first phase of the Natural Heritage Trust will soon be conducted. Information about the final evaluation will be put on this web site when it becomes available.

Bushcare was included in the Mid Term Review of the Natural Heritage Trust - 1997-1999

More Information

The extension of the Natural Heritage Trust will fund activities that will contribute to conserving and restoring habitat for our unique native flora and fauna from all investment levels (national/state, regional and the Australian Government Envirofund).

• More information about the extension of the Trust ...
  • Australian Government Envirofund

Information about Australian Government biodiversity, land and vegetation policy development and implementation is available from the Department of the Environment and Heritage web site.