This Briefing Paper is an update of the 2003 Briefing Paper
Native
Vegetation: Recent Developments. Since that paper, considerable changes
have occurred in the regulation of native vegetation – including new
legislation and regulations gazetted in November 2005.
In late 2002, a group of leading Australian environmental scientists (the
Wentworth Group) developed the
Blueprint for a Living Contintent, which
outlined the changes necessary to ensure a sustainable future. In a further
development, the Group proposed a radically new way of managing native
vegetation in NSW. The Wentworth Model for Landscape Conservation had five
interdependent components:
- Strengthening and simplifying native vegetation regulations, ending the
broadscale clearing of remnant vegetation and protected regrowth;
- Setting environmental standards and clarifying responsibilities for native
vegetation management which will, over time, create healthy rivers and
catchments;
- Using property management plans to provide investment security, management
flexibility and financial support for farmers;
- Providing significant levels of public funding to farmers to help meet new
environmental standards and support on-ground conservation; and
- Restructuring institutions by improving scientific input into policy
setting, improving information systems, and regionalising administration.
The Wentworth Group’s plan for native vegetation was favourably received
by the NSW Government. In the lead up to the 2003 State election, then Premier
Bob Carr announced a $120 million plan to help farmers protect native
vegetation, and promised the formation of a Native Vegetation Reform
Implementation Group. The Implementation Group made 46 recommendations on how
to implement the Government’s native vegetation policies. Principal
recommendations included: establish a Natural Resources Commission; establish a
Natural Resources Advisory Council to provide a high level forum for
stakeholder participation in natural resource management; establish Catchment
Management Authorities to prepare and implement catchment plans; a new property
vegetation plan system be developed.
In response, the Government introduced a suite of new bills to implement the
new natural resource management regime. Legislation passed together in the
second half of 2003 included:
Catchment Management Authorities Act 2003;
Natural Resources Commission Act 2003; and
Native Vegetation
Management Act 2003.
Demonstrating the complexity and competing interests of native vegetation
management, regulations to the
Native Vegetation Act 2003 took almost
two years to develop, and were gazetted on 18 November 2005. The Briefing
Paper reviews these regulations and the natural resource management regime
implemented by the above Acts.
The Paper concludes on the challenges facing Catchment Management Authorities
and the implementation of market based instruments to manage native vegetation.
