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.
The NSW Biodiversity Conservation 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.
That’s an area sixteen times the size of Botany Bay, south of Sydney.
Of those, the 55,000-hectare Gayini Conservation Area is the largest funded conservation agreement the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust (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 Trust added 4,500 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 8,333 hectares.
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.
