Continual improvement in
Victoria’s Net Gain policy
for native vegetation
David Parkes
Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services Division
Department of Sustainability & Environment
June 2007
Drivers and challenges
for native vegetation conservation
Land protection remains a major issue
Biodiversity is inherently diverse and complex
¾
100’s of major ecosystems, 1000’s of species (higher plants & animals)
Climate change
Across all tenures and land uses
- 1000’s of land managers
Limited awareness, scientific knowledge & investment
=> approaches must be sound but very pragmatic
- strong DSE focus on vegetation information
(location, type, cons. status, condition, use by species)
Victoria prior to
European settlement?
• 58% of Victoria has been cleared
• 63% of Victoria is private land
of which about 90% has been cleared
• alienation and associated clearing
has been highly selective
Private land now has a crucial role,
particularly for some species and vegetation types
grasslands
Bush Stone-curlew
Growling Grass Frog
Striped Legless Lizard
Native Vegetation policy context
• reverse the decline in the extent and
quality of native vegetation and habitat,
leading to a net gain
Victoria’s Native Vegetation Management
- A Framework for Action 2002
to be achieved in the context of other goals
• maintain and recover biodiversity
• maintain and recover catchment values
• Ecologically Sustainable Development
• community capacity
The key aspects of the Framework
Net Gain is not just about control of clearing
For planning:
• three step approach to avoid, minimise & offset
• adopting a standardised approach to valuing and
measuring native vegetation in regional and local planning
processes
• adopting a strategic landscape approach to assisting
avoidance and determining offsets
• whole of Government policy & broadly applies to all
industries & land uses
For investment:
• use of the same criteria / tools for cost-benefit decisions
Reversal of long-term decline in extent & quality
of native vegetation leading to Net Gain
LOSSES
clearing
allowed by
exemption
LOSSES & GAINS
“balanced across time”
loss of quality
• permitted uses
• pest plants & animals
• intensive fuel reduction
• tree decline legacies
(salinity, exposure, age)
illegal
natural disturbance
• wildfires
harvest & regen.
GAINS
voluntary &
Govt-assisted
management &
revegetation
on public land
on private land
clearing by permit
& related offsets • agency management
• Friends Groups
• Land for Wildlife, Landcare
clearing
• incentives
“no net loss” over space / time
Net Gain will depend on the balance of these
NATIVE VEGETATION
Net Gain
FINANCES
pre-settlement cover
Inheritance?
original family fortune
past decisions
past decisions
current options / legacies
current options / liabilities
• Net Gain ‘whole of landscape’
Investment Portfolio?
• property
• shares
• superannuation
• cash account
• revegetation
• clearing
• recovery of existing • use
Dynamics?
Increases
Decreases
(incremental)
• income
• interest
• expenditure
• depreciation
Habitat hectares (of what?)
• avoid / minimise / offset
• Like for Like criteria
• clearing thresholds / exemptions
• permitted uses
• BushBroker
• permit conditions
• management contracts
Net Gain accounts
(Environmental Accounts)
Measuring amounts?
Dollars (of what?)
Trading?
• “Not for Sale”?
• core assets
• tradable within criteria? • portfolio balance
• operating costs?
• business expenses
• Broker?
• investment advisor
Governance?
Accounting?
• contracts
Business accounts
(National Accounts)
NATIVE VEGETATION
Net Gain
FINANCES
pre-settlement cover
Inheritance?
original family fortune
past decisions
past decisions
current options / legacies
current options / liabilities
• Net Gain ‘whole of landscape’
Investment Portfolio?
• property
• shares
• superannuation
• cash account
• revegetation
• clearing
• recovery of existing • use
Dynamics?
Increases
Decreases
(incremental)
• income
• interest
• expenditure
• depreciation
Habitat hectares (of what?)
• avoid / minimise / offset
• Like for Like criteria
• clearing thresholds / exemptions
• permitted uses
• BushBroker
• permit conditions
• management contracts
Net Gain accounts
(Environmental Accounts)
Measuring amounts?
Dollars (of what?)
Trading?
• “Not for Sale”?
• core assets
• tradable within criteria? • portfolio balance
• operating costs?
• business expenses
• Broker?
• investment advisor
Governance?
Accounting?
• contracts
Business accounts
(National Accounts)
Refinements – March 2006
• internal review of Framework implementation “improving the clarity and flexibility of native
vegetation management, reduce the
administrative burden on local government,
provide greater certainty for development, both
rural and urban, and improve biodiversity
outcomes” - included targeted consultation with
local Government, peak developer groups and
leading vegetation consultants
• an improved mix of tools - taking advantage of
emerging approaches and datasets
Achievements – 2006/07
• key technical documents available on the
website – these include the ‘Gain Scoring
Guide’ and the ‘DSE Guide to Assessment of
Referred Planning Permit Applications’
• formal training on the technical aspects of the
Framework provided to 170 DSE, DPI, local
government, CFA and Alpine Resort staff and
town planning and environmental consultants
across the State
Achievements – 2006/07
• Burden of assessing the more complex
applications transferred from local govt to DSE:
- between July 2006 & April 2007, DSE has
processed 481 cases referred under section 55.
- of these, DSE has objected to 18 cases and
has applied conditions in 295 cases. This has
resulted in avoidance of 1,009 ha of proposed
clearing, permitted clearing of 245 ha (with
associated offsets being the incremental change
over 1,424 ha). Similar for scattered mature
trees.
Achievements – 2006/07
• Bush Broker offset registration and trading
scheme established.
• For example, has facilitated provision of offsets
for VicRoads Credit Auction, the Gippsland
Water Factory and the protection of the most
significant areas of Barnbam Swamp.
• The register now holds 91 Expressions of
Interest for 374 vegetation patches covering
8,300 ha. The first completed BushBroker
trade, between a developer and a landholder
with native vegetation to be protected as an
offset, has just been finalised.
Achievements – 2006/07
Improving information
• revised statewide mapping of the extent
of native vegetation has been
completed and a new modelled
condition (quality) map (mid 2007)
• finer scale mapping in priority Urban
Growth Areas
• first approximation report of the Net
Gain Accounting System (later 2007)
BushTender: market-based incentives for
private land native vegn improvement
Targeted BushTender
Area under agreement 2807 ha
North East/North Central Trial
Gain Accrual 500 HabHa
Area under agreement 3163 ha
Landholder Payments $1,192,831
Gain Accrual 336 HabHa
Landholder Payments $400,000
2007/08
BushTender
target
zones.
Gippsland Trial
Area under agreement 1684 ha
Gain Accrual 316 HabHa
Landholder Payments $800,000
South West
Gippsland
Area under agreement 1059 ha
Area under agreement 952 ha
Gain Accrual 218 HabHa
Gain Accrual 133 HabHa
Landholder Payments $616,563
Landholder Payments $571,200
Further development – 2006/07
• DSE has commenced development of Native
Vegetation Precinct Plans (e.g. priority areas
in the Casey/Cardinia growth area).
• a strategic approach to identify areas to
protect or to allow clearing (with offsetting
mostly outside the Urban Growth Boundary)
will apply the NVMF at the precinct level and
the rezoning phase, thus avoiding the need
for site by site application that currently
applies & reducing red tape in relation to
these development approvals.