Flood-affected landholders who hold private land conservation agreements with the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust are being encouraged to apply for flood recovery grants.
Minister for Environment James Griffin said the grants will help to reduce any further biodiversity loss after the initial impact of the flood disaster.
‘The landholders who have conservation agreements with the BCT [Biodiversity Conservation Trust] all protect critically important biodiversity,’ Mr Griffin said.
‘BCT grants of up to $15,000 per year are being offered to help landholders with initial protection or rehabilitation of their land so they are not further degraded, and to provide initial support to wildlife such as shelter.
‘The overall impact of these floods on the environment is difficult to measure, but these grants are helping to reduce any further loss to biodiversity.’
Grant funding is offered through the BCT’s Conservation Partnership Program on an ongoing basis, and the BCT is available to support immediate conservation needs resulting from natural disasters.
Activities eligible for funding include fence and erosion repair, track maintenance and native revegetation. Once landholders have had time to assess restoration needs, the grants can also help with weed and pest infestations to give native biodiversity the chance to recover.
The BCT provided financial support to landholders affected by the 2019–20 bush fires through a similar grant offering.
During that time, 290 of the 2,000 properties in the BCT private land conservation network were affected by bush fires. The BCT provided more than $500,000 in grant funding to these landholders.
