Protected Areas and Conservation 2021

The NSW terrestrial reserve system covers about 7.59 million hectares or approximately 9.6% of the state. Around 6.4% of the NSW marine estate is protected within sanctuary zones of marine protected areas.

Why protected areas and conservation are important

The state’s terrestrial reserve system has a substantial network of protected areas, such as national parks and flora reserves, that:

• conserve representative areas of habitats and ecosystems, plant and animal species and significant geological features and landforms
• protect significant Aboriginal and European cultural heritage
• provide opportunities for recreation and education.

A network of marine-protected areas span the NSW marine estate which conserve marine biodiversity and maintain ecosystem integrity and function. They also:

• enable resources to be used in an ecologically sustainable manner
• enable parks and reserves to be used for scientific research and education
• provide opportunities for public appreciation and enjoyment
• support Aboriginal cultural uses.

Status and Trends

Since the NSW State of the Environment 2018, there were 84 additions to NPWS parks and reserves, by June 2021, totalling 304,629 hectares. The comprehensiveness and representativeness of formal protected areas in NSW is improving with significant additions of underrepresented areas, but some bioregions and vegetation classes are below target levels, particularly in the central and western regions.

At 30 June 2021, terrestrial reserves covered about 7.59 million hectares, approximately 9.6% of NSW. Although this is below the rate of some other Australian states and territories such as Tasmania (42%), South Australia (30%), Northern Territory (24%), Western Australian (23%), and Victoria (18%), NSW also has a substantial State forest network managed by the Forestry Corporation which is subject to comprehensive regulatory prescriptions, exclusion arrangements and forestry practices based on ecologically sustainable forest management principles.These measures make a significant contribution to the overall protection of the environmental values of native forests in NSW. Almost 70,000 hectares of State forest are protected in formal reserves while 872,000 hectares are excluded from harvesting.

Conservation on private land and Crown land supplements the protected areas, provides vegetation corridors linking larger public reserves and protects some natural ecosystems that are under-represented or not present in public reserves.

Public land jointly managed or owned by Aboriginal people has increased through whole-of-government Indigenous Land Use Agreements. By June 2021, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) had 33 joint management agreements with Aboriginal traditional owners, covering approximately 2.28 million hectares.

The network of marine protected areas includes marine parks (around 345,000 hectares), aquatic reserves (around 2,000 hectares) and national park and nature reserve areas below the high tide level (around 20,000 hectares). Over the past three years there has been a focus on improving the management of existing marine parks and aquatic reserves.

Spotlight figure 14 shows annual additions in thousands of hectares to national parks and reserves since 2009. In 2020–21, 226,000 hectares of land had already been added to protected areas by January 2021.

Pressures

Pest animals and weeds are some of the greatest threats to threatened species and ecological communities in reserves and other protected areas, and also have impacts on Aboriginal Country and cultural sites. Other pressures include illegal activities on reserves (such as waste dumping) and land-use changes, including clearing of natural vegetation on private land near reserve boundaries which can make it difficult to maintain habitat connectivity between protected areas. Climate change impacts on plants and animals that have a restricted range or diminished capacity to adapt to significant temperature changes, and increases the likelihood and frequency of damaging bushfires.

Pressures on marine protected areas include modifications to estuary entrances, the clearing of riparian and adjacent habitat including wetland drainage (in estuaries), diffuse source runoff from agriculture and urban areas to estuaries, climate change including increased impacts on coastal reserves from storms and sea level rise, modified freshwater flows in estuaries and boating and foreshore development. These pressures, as well as others, have been indentified as priority threats to the NSW marine estate by the Marine Estate Management Authority ().

Responses

Every year, NPWS acquires land for national parks by purchasing private land and through public land transfers, donations and bequests. In August 2019, the Minister for Energy and Environment committed to expanding the NSW reserve system by 200,000 hectares in two years. When this target was achieved in October 2020, the Minister committed to an additional 200,000 hectares, raising the overall target to 400,000 hectares by 2022.

Since 2018, an additional 30,901 hectares of State forest have been dedicated as flora reserves, also contributing to the formal reserve system.

Legislation, policies and programs protect the land and water in the NSW’s public reserve system. For example, the Marine Estate Management Act 2014 provides for strategic and integrated management of the entire NSW marine estate, and the marine parks and aquatic reserves within the marine estate. Reforms to Aboriginal cultural heritage and initiatives such as Our Place on Country Strategy provide legal and policy frameworks to improve management, conservation and participation of Aboriginal people in protecting Aboriginal cultural heritage in NSW and providing access to Country.

Threatened species are protected in public reserves through the Saving our Species program and partnerships with private and not-for-profit environment groups. For example, work is under way on turning 555 hectares of Shanes Park in the Blacktown Local Government Area into a predator-free area. Up to 30 locally extinct or threatened mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians – including the eastern quoll and brush-tailed phascogale – will be reintroduced, making it one of the biggest urban wildlife restoration projects in the world.

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Protected areas that meet formal reserve standards under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Protected Areas Categories System are depicted in Map 14.1.

At 30 June 2021, formal reserves covered about 7.59 million hectares, approximately 9.6% of NSW. This compares with other Australian states and territories: Tasmania 42%; South Australia 30%; Northern Territory 24%; Western Australian 23%; Victoria 18%; and Queensland 8.7% (National Reserve System data).

Formal reserves include:

• a total of public reserves protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 (NPW Act), covering 7.56 million ha or approximately 9.44% of the state
• land reserved for conservation as flora reserves under the Forestry Act 2012
• land reserved for environment and heritage protection as formal Crown reserves, such as Barigan Heritage Lands Reserve east of Mudgee (25,774 ha) (Crown lands not shown on Map 14.1).

Reserves established under the National Parks and Wildlife Act include national parks, nature reserves, state conservation areas, karst conservation reserves, historic sites and Aboriginal areas. State conservation areas allow resource exploration and mining as well as protecting natural and cultural values.

Flora reserves are established under the Forestry Act and managed by either Forestry Corporation of NSW or the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) to reflect the management values of adjoining lands. Each flora reserve has a working plan that outlines how the area will be managed to protect and maintain the high conservation values in the area and the activities that are permitted.

Other types of land protected for nature conservation are considered later in this section.

Additions to land-based national parks and reserves since 2018

Since the NSW State of Environment 2018 (), there were 84 additions to NPWS parks and reserves, by June 2021, totalling 304,629 hectares. The largest areas of additions included:

• the new Narriearra Caryapundy Swamp National Park (153,682 ha)
• the new Mutawintji State Conservation Area (56,954 ha)
• additions to Sturt National Park (17,479 ha)
• the new Mount Grenfell National Park (9,189 ha)
• additions to Mungo National Park (7,074 ha)
• the new Mount Grenfell State Conservation Area (6,096 ha).

Figure 14.1 shows yearly additions to national parks and reserves since 2009 by number. The Spotlight figure in the Summary shows yearly additions to national parks and reserves since 2009 by area.

Additional flora reserves managed by NPWS since 2018

Since the NSW State of Environment 2018 (), NPWS was appointed to manage an additional 14 flora reserves by June 2021, totalling 19,090 hectares. Flora reserves are declared under the provisions of the Forestry Act and do not form part of the NPWS estate. Forestry Corporation continues to manage 29,393 hectares of flora reserves.

Fourteen new Flora Reserves under the Forestry Act have been created with NPWS appointed as manager:

• Barrington Tops Flora Reserve (163 ha managed)
• Chaelundi Flora Reserve (274 ha)
• Comleroy Flora Reserve (2,531 ha)
• Corrabare North Flora Reserve (774 ha)
• Corrabare South Flora Reserve (56 ha)
• Dampier Forest Reserve (263 ha)
• Forest Land Flora Reserve (728 ha)
• Guy Fawkes River Flora Reserve (1,304 ha)
• Jellore Flora Reserve (1,400 ha)
• Kilprotay Flora Reserve (1,490 ha)
• Koolewong Flora reserve (1,874 ha)
• Oakwood Flora Reserve (318 ha)
• Washpool Flora Reserve (725 ha)
• Wollemi Flora Reserve (7,190 ha).

Representation of protected land in NSW bioregions

Development of the NSW reserve system is guided by the conservation principles of comprehensiveness, adequacy and representativeness (CAR):

• ‘comprehensiveness’ refers to conserving samples in protected areas of all regional ecosystems in each bioregion
• ‘adequacy’ refers to how much of each regional ecosystem should be protected to provide ecological viability and adequately conserve populations, species and communities by consideration of general reserve design principles to achieve this
• ‘representativeness’ means protecting the full range of biological variation across each regional ecosystem’s geographic range, achieved by conserving samples of each regional ecosystem per subregion (IBRA) in protected areas (Map 14.2).

Bioregions are relatively large land areas characterised by natural features and environmental processes that influence the functions of entire ecosystems. Currently, the most comprehensively protected ecosystems in NSW are those on the steep ranges of eastern NSW, parts of the coast and the Australian Alps. Poorly protected ecosystems include most ecosystems in far western NSW, the northern, central and southern highlands and on the western slopes and those on the richer soils of the coastal lowlands.

Map 14.2 shows the proportion of land in public reserves in each of the 18 bioregions of NSW in June 2021. The bioregions of eastern NSW are generally well represented compared with bioregions in the centre and far west of the state which are mostly underrepresented.

The east coast of NSW has the highest proportion of land in reserves (over 10%), while some other areas (including the Murray Darling Depression, Brigalow Belt South and New England Tablelands) have between 5–10% protected. Reservation of land in central and inland NSW is lower still and mostly sitting at 2–5%. Recent reservation in the north-west of the state has given a substantial boost to the protection of the Channel Country.

Much of the land underrepresented in protected areas has been heavily fragmented agricultural land, particularly in Central West NSW (see Map 14.3). Although private land conservation agreements may play a part in the conservation of these lands, there has been ongoing interest in adding new, larger areas of land to the reserve system when opportunities arise in underrepresented areas. This is particularly important given future threats from climate change, such as fire and drought, which could reduce the amount of viable land.

Observations on the overall representativeness of protected lands in NSW bioregions include:

• Of the 18 bioregions, five still have fewer than 50% of their regional ecosystems included in public reserves.
• 28 of the 131 subregions in NSW have under half their regional ecosystems protected in reserves.
• Many poorly represented bioregions, particularly in central NSW, incorporate large areas of highly fragmented vegetation. With extensive areas used for other land uses, adding further lands to the reserve system may involve restoration.

Private land conservation can help protect additional ecosystems in conservation priority investment areas.

With more than 70% of the state under private ownership or Crown lease, private land conservation plays a vital role in conserving additional biodiversity in NSW. Around 4% of NSW has some form of private land conservation management in place. Private land conservation mechanisms include:

• Conservation agreements
• Wildlife refuges
• Nature Conservation Trust agreements
• Incentive property vegetation plans
• Registered property agreements
• Biodiversity stewardship agreements
• Land for Wildlife (Community Environment Network)
• Indigenous Protected Areas
• Covenants on converted perpetual leases that protect environmental values

Forest management zoning by Forestry Corporation of NSW

Forestry Corporation protects native forests in State forests through ecologically sustainable forest management, which makes a significant contribution to the overall protection of the environmental values of native forests in NSW. The Corporation uses a forest management zoning system in State forests that categorises management intent areas, including reserves.

Through this zoning system almost 70,000 hectares of State forest are protected in formal reserves while 872,000 hectares are excluded from harvesting altogether. These areas, 40% of the total area of forests under Forestry Corporation management, make a significant contribution to protected areas in NSW.

In addition to these areas, native forests in the remaining zones are protected under the Forestry Act 2012 and Integrated Forestry Operations Approvals, which set rules to protect environmental values during native forestry operations on public land and underpin ecologically sustainable forest management.

Travelling stock routes

Travelling stock routes (TSRs) are authorised thoroughfares on Crown land for moving stock from one location to another. Grass verges are wider on TSRs and property fences are set back further from the road than usual, providing feeding stops for travelling stock.

TSRs are often found in environments that are poorly represented in public reserves (). Although narrow and modified, TSRs tend to be well vegetated and in better condition than the surrounding land.

The Marine Estate Management Act 2014, provides for the declaration and management of marine parks and aquatic reserves. The Marine Estate Management (Management Rules) Regulation 1999 sets out management rules for marine parks and the Marine Estate Management Regulation 2017 also supports implementation of the Act.

An aquatic reserve notification gazetted in 2020 under the Marine Estate Management Act sets out the activities prohibited in each aquatic reserve.

Extent and types of marine protected areas

The network of marine protected areas shown in Map 14.4 include:

• six multiple-use marine parks, which cover around 34% (approximately 345,000 hectares) of the NSW marine estate
• 12 aquatic reserves covering around 2,000 hectares of the NSW marine estate
• national park and nature reserve areas below the high tide level, accounting for around 20,000 hectares of the NSW marine estate.

A range of education, research, compliance, environmental assessment and other programs support the management of marine parks. Zones are one tool used in marine park management, with four types of zones in place which also align with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Protected Areas Categories System:

• ‘sanctuary’ (IUCN category II) – the highest level of protection for biodiversity and natural and cultural features
• ‘habitat protection’ (IUCN category IV) – protects physical and biological habitats by reducing high impact activities
• ‘general use’ (IUCN category VI) – provides for a wide range of environmentally sustainable activities
• ‘special purpose’ (IUCN category VI) – special management arrangements, such as for protection of Aboriginal and other cultural features, marine facilities and specific park management.

The total area of sanctuary zones in marine parks is around 65,630 hectares. In June 2018 the total area of sanctuary zones in marine parks decreased slightly as a result of the NSW Government’s decision to rezone 10 sites from sanctuary to habitat protection zone, making shore-based recreational line fishing lawful. This decision resulted in a 0.05% reduction in sanctuary zone area to 6.44% of the NSW marine estate.

In December 2019, the NSW Government announced changes to provide for recreational fishing access in six of the sanctuary zones in Batemans Marine Park. The proposed changes would reduce the area of sanctuary zone in the park from 18.8% to 18.2% with a corresponding increase in the habitat protection zone area from 43.5% to 44.1% if enacted.

In 2017, the NSW Marine Estate Management Authority completed a statewide risk assessment of the threats to the environmental assets of the marine estate and the social, cultural and economic benefits derived from it. The assessment was divided into three regions along the NSW coastline: northern, central and southern.

The ten greatest residual risks to the environmental assets of the northern region of the NSW marine estate (which includes Cape Byron, Solitary Islands and Port Stephens-Great Lakes marine parks) identified in the assessment came from the following threats (ranked in priority order) ():

1. estuary entrance modifications
2. clearing riparian and adjacent habitat, including wetland drainage (in estuaries)
3. agricultural diffuse source runoff (in estuaries)
4. climate change over 20 years
5. urban stormwater discharge (in estuaries)
6. modified freshwater flows (in estuaries)
7. boating and boating infrastructure (in estuaries)
8. four-wheel driving
9. foreshore development
10. navigation and entrance management and modification and harbour maintenance and dredging (in estuaries).

The central region of NSW considered in the threat and risk assessment related specifically to the Hawkesbury Shelf marine bioregion. Ten of the twelve NSW aquatic reserves are in this region. The top ten residual risks to the environmental assets of the central region arose from the following threats (ranked in priority order):

1. urban stormwater discharge
2. foreshore development
3. estuary entrance modifications (in estuaries)
4. shipping – large commercial vessels and associated port activities and industries (trade ships, cruise ships, etc.)
5. agricultural diffuse source runoff (in estuaries)
6. clearing riparian and adjacent habitat, including wetland drainage
7. climate change over 20 years
8. recreational boating and boating infrastructure (in estuaries)
9. sewage effluent and septic runoff
10. navigation and entrance management and modification, harbour maintenance, etc.

The ten greatest residual risks to the environmental assets of the southern region of the NSW marine estate (which includes Jervis Bay and Batemans marine parks) identified in the assessment came from the following threats (ranked in priority order):

1. agricultural diffuse source runoff (in estuaries)
2. estuary entrance modifications
3. urban stormwater discharge
4. modified freshwater flows (in estuaries)
5. clearing riparian and adjacent habitat including wetland drainage (in estuaries)
6. climate change over 20 years
7. boating and boating infrastructure (in estuaries)
8. foreshore development
9. navigation and entrance management and modification, harbour maintenance, dredging etc. (in estuaries)
10. stock grazing of riparian and marine vegetation (in estuaries).

The Marine Estate Management Act 2014 requires the development of management plans for marine parks. The management plans must state the environmental, economic and social values to be conserved by the marine park and identify threats to those values. The statewide threat and risk assessment will inform the development of the management plans. Management plans are optional for aquatic reserves under the Marine Estate Management Act. A draft 10-year Network Management Plan which includes the Cape Byron, Solitary Islands, Port Stephens-Great Lakes, Jervis Bay and Batemans marine parks has been released for consultation.

Community values

Surveys of the community conducted as part of the NSW Marine Estate Management Authority’s five-step decision-making process identified that the community cares about the health of the state’s estuaries and marine waters. The community considered that clean water, healthy habitats and abundant and diverse marine biodiversity underpins the NSW community's social and cultural wellbeing (). Priority threats were considered to be:

• littering and marine debris
• oil and chemical spills
• water pollution from sediment or runoff.

Overcrowding, conflicting use and lack of public access were also recognised as potential social threats.

Perceived threats to economic viability were identified as water pollution, loss of natural areas and increasing costs of accessing the marine environment. The diversity and abundance of marine life and the natural beauty of the marine environment were seen as being key economic values for nature-based and regional tourism.

This work continues to inform management of the marine estate and marine protected areas.

The pressures that affect protected areas on private land are similar to those affecting public reserves. These include pest animals and weeds, fire, habitat isolation, illegal activities including unauthorised clearing of native vegetation, the impacts of stock encroachment and neighbouring land uses.

Land managers may need to address potential threats from other land uses, such as agriculture when they are not compatible with conservation values. Unpredictable events, such as bushfires and sustained drought, may exacerbate these threats.

Review of marine-based conservation legislation

The Marine Estate Management Act 2014 provides for strategic and integrated management of the entire NSW marine estate, including the marine waters, coasts and estuaries and marine parks and aquatic reserves. The Minister for Agriculture and the Minister for Energy and Environment were required to review the Act five years after its commencement.

The review involved targeted consultation with 28 peak stakeholder groups, advisory committees and state agencies. The submissions received raised a variety of issues, relating broadly to the objects and terms of the Act and ranged from generally satisfied to recommending changes to the legislation. Some of the issues identified were already being achieved or could be through regulation, policy or procedure. In other cases, the current settings remained valid to achieve the purpose of the Act.

Following review of the submissions by the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) and the Environment Energy and Science Group of the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE), the final report was tabled in December 2020 and is available on the Parliament of NSW website.

In April 2020, a notification covering the 12 NSW aquatic reserves was gazetted to continue pre-existing aquatic reserve management arrangements. These notifications are made for a maximum period of five years under the Marine Estate Management Act.

Land-based conservation legislation

More than 70% of NSW is under private ownership or Crown leasehold. Under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016, landholders have an array of choices to manage native vegetation on their property to improve agricultural productivity and biodiversity outcomes.

The Local Land Services Act 2013 regulates rural native vegetation and land management. Land is categorised according to whether or not vegetation management needs approval as follows:

• Category 1 – exempt land, where clearing can be carried out without an approval or notification processes
• Category 2 – regulated land, where landholders may need an approval to clear.

Landholders can consult the Native Vegetation Regulatory Map to see what category applies to their land and their vegetation management options.

Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs) are bilateral agreements between the Australian Government and four state governments, including the NSW state government, and are given statutory effect under the Commonwealth Regional Forest Agreements Act 2002. They are long-term agreements that provide for the sustainable management and conservation of Australia’s native forests.

There are three NSW RFAs, the Eden RFA, the North East RFA and Southern RFA. The RFAs satisfy Commonwealth legislative requirements for environmental planning and assessment and for conducting forestry operations to meet ecologically sustainable forest management objectives.

In March 2021 the NSW Government released State Environmental Planning Policy (Koala Habitat Protection) 2021. This applies to non-rural areas and to all areas within Metropolitan Sydney and the Central Coast LGA. This delivers enhanced protections to koala habitat to areas where more than 95% of development activities occurs.

Biodiversity Offsets Scheme

The Biodiversity Offsets Scheme provides a single framework that captures all types of developments that are likely to have a significant impact on biodiversity.

Under the scheme, applicants must firstly avoid impacts on biodiversity wherever possible and then minimise impacts that cannot be avoided. Buying biodiversity offset credits or transferring this obligation by paying into the Biodiversity Conservation Fund are options available when impacts cannot be avoided or minimised. Proponents may also be able to use other agreed conservation measures, such as funding biodiversity conservation actions or mine site rehabilitation (for major mining projects only).

As reported in NSW State of the Environment 2018 (), strong public policy, scientific monitoring and conservation efforts on private land to improve connectivity and protection are important to the success of biodiversity offset schemes and biodiversity outcomes.

For all developments entering the biodiversity offsets scheme, specially accredited assessors must apply the Biodiversity Assessment Method to consider the impacts on biodiversity from all developments and the biodiversity gained at an offset site.

Reforms to Aboriginal cultural heritage and initiatives to recognise rights and values

The NSW Government has proposed a new system for managing and conserving Aboriginal cultural heritage in NSW, supported by a legal framework. The Department of Premier and Cabinet is managing this process.

The DPIE Our Place On Country strategy recognises that Country is at the core of every Aboriginal person’s identity and sense of belonging:

• Country is the place from which Aboriginal language and culture is derived.
• Aboriginal culture and language groups determine families and kinship.
• Aboriginal families and kinship systems make up communities.

A priority of the strategy is that Aboriginal people and communities have greater choice, access and control over land, water and the natural environment, reflecting their deep and independent relationship with Country.

Managing the values of national parks and reserves

Operational planning by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) encompasses a range of responses to pressures on park values. This gives effect to the government priorities identified in DPIE’s Outcome and Business Plan and other NPWS priorities identified in its annual business planning.

Plans of management, which are legal documents that guide how a park or reserve will be sustainably managed, are central in informing how a park will be managed. At 30 June 2021, parks and reserves covered by a plan of management numbered 667, an increase of more than 10% since NSW State of the Environment 2018 (). This means that over 6.4 million hectares of the reserve system are now covered by plans, representing around 86% of protected areas.

Parks without a plan generally have a statement of management intent. This is an interim document outlining the management priorities for a park, based on its key values and the major threats to these values. They also reference existing strategies that may already be in place for that park, for example, a fire management strategy.

Protecting Assets of Intergenerational Significance

The NSW Independent Inquiry into the 2019–20 bushfire season highlighted the need for the early identification of key environmental and cultural assets, and documentation of the actions required to protect such assets from risks related to bushfire and other threats.

In November 2020, the Bushfire Legislation Amendment Act 2020 was passed as part of the NSW Government’s response to the recommendations. The resulting new provisions in section 188H of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 enable the Minister for Energy and Environment to declare land in a national park or other reserve as an environmental or cultural Asset of Intergenerational Significance. This critical new mechanism will ensure the identification and effective management of important environmental and cultural assets that exist within our network of protected areas.

The preparation of a conservation action plan is an important component of the management of these sites. The plans will set out the values and risks to declared assets, conservation activities required to control, abate or mitigate these risks and the requirements to measure and report on the health and condition of the land.

By December 2021, 279 sites have been declared as Assets of Intergenerational Significance to protect habitat for 108 threatened plant and animal species, including the original declaration of the Wollemi pine.

The sites so far declared include habitat in the national parks system for threatened species:

• that are in the critically endangered or endangered category
• where known records indicate that the species predominantly occurs in a national park (where 70% or more of the records are on park)
• that are important areas for breeding, feeding or shelter
• where the national park otherwise provides the most important secure habitat
• at locations where locally extinct mammal species are being reintroduced (i.e. feral-free areas).

Land-based conservation programs

Government investment is available to assist landholders to protect and conserve high-value biodiversity on private land. The Biodiversity Conservation Trust (BCT) supports and encourages landholders to protect and conserve biodiversity on private land under three types of conservation agreements:

• Biodiversity Stewardship Agreements protect biodiversity on the land in perpetuity And are for landholders wishing to generate and sell biodiversity credits under the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme.
• Conservation Agreements conserve and manage biodiversity on an area of land and may be in perpetuity or for a stated term.
• Wildlife Refuge Agreements are for landholders who wish to protect the biodiversity on their property but do not wish to enter into a permanent agreement.

To guide the BCT’s work in private land conservation, the NSW Government has set out priority investment areas, principles and targets in its Biodiversity Conservation Investment Strategy. NSW has committed more than $350 million over five years from 2019–20 to fund BCT delivery of private land conservation programs.

The BCT uses a range of delivery mechanisms to encourage and support landholders to participate in private land conservation, including fixed price offers, conservation tenders, voluntary applications, grants, co-investment partnerships and a revolving fund.

The BCT promotes public knowledge, appreciation and understanding of biodiversity and its conservation and also seeks out strategic biodiversity offsets to compensate for the loss of biodiversity resulting from development and other activities.

NSW Koala Strategy

The NSW Government recognises the koala as an iconic threatened species and is committed to stabilising and increasing its populations across NSW. In May 2018, the government released the NSW Koala Strategy, supporting a range of conservation actions over three years. The strategy was a response to the Independent Review into the Decline of Koala Populations in Key Areas of NSW (NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer 2016), which recommended a whole-of-government koala strategy for NSW. An expert advisory committee chaired by the NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer guided the strategy’s development along with extensive community and stakeholder consultation.

In June 2021, the NSW Government announced the investment of $193 million over 5 years into koala conservation, to assist to meet its target of doubling the NSW koala population by 2050. Through this new program, conservation actions to increase koala numbers will be delivered under four pillars of conservation: conserving koala habitat, supporting local communities to conserve koalas, improving the safety and health of koalas, and building our knowledge to improve koala conservation.

For more information on actions to protect threatened species, see the topic.

Reintroduction of locally extinct mammals

Since 2016, NPWS has been working with the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) and the University of New South Wales (Wild Deserts) to reintroduce up to 13 species of locally extinct mammals into three national park reserves. The NSW Government has committed $41.3 million over 10 years towards the Reintroduction of Locally Extinct Mammals (RoLEM) project, part of the Saving our Species program.

In June 2021, predator-proof fences were protecting just under 20,000 hectares of land from feral pests, such as foxes, cats and other pest species, in Sturt National Park, Mallee Cliffs National Park and Pilliga State Conservation Area. Eradication of feral cats and foxes is complete at Sturt and Mallee Cliffs, while a single fox remains within the Pilliga site, preventing further reintroductions outside of a smaller feral-free breeding area.

By June 2021, six species had been successfully reintroduced to the reserves – the bridled nail-tail wallaby, greater bilby, numbat, greater stick-nest rat, crest-tailed mulgara and Shark Bay bandicoot. In all instances, the reintroduced populations exceeded minimum survival targets in the months following release. Recaptured founding animals have maintained or increased their body weight: some male crest-tailed mulgaras in Sturt National Park even exceeded previously recorded body weights for the species. Although reintroduced species are in the early stages of establishment, there is already clear evidence of reproduction. AWC monitoring at Mallee Cliffs National Park estimated bilbies there had more than doubled their population since reintroduction in October 2019.

Preparations are underway to translocate a further seven threatened species over the next several years, including red-tailed phascogale, Mitchell’s hopping mouse, plains mouse, burrowing bettong, brush-tailed bettong, golden bandicoot and western quoll.

In December 2020, the Minister for Energy and Environment announced the establishment of a further four predator-free areas across NSW. The new sites will be partly funded by the NSW Environmental Trust through a grant of $20.3 million over 10 years, with matching funding from NPWS.

The extended project proposes one of the most significant threatened fauna restoration projects in NSW history, enabling the reintroduction of 28 locally extinct species (23 of them threatened) and delivering a measurable conservation benefit for at least another 30 threatened species which, in turn, will help restore essential ecosystem function and processes.

One of the four new feral-predator-free area was announced by the NSW Premier and the Minister for Energy and Environment in September 2021. The site is at Shanes Park in the Blacktown Local Government Area, approximately 40 kilometres west-northwest of the Sydney CBD. Approximately 555 hectares at Shanes Park will be a predator-free area while the area to be gazetted as national park will comprise 535 hectares.

Up to 30 mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians will be reintroduced into the Shanes Park site, making it one of the biggest urban wildlife restoration projects in the world. Construction of a specially designed predator-proof fence is scheduled to be completed by March 2022, followed by control of feral animals and then reintroduction of species commencing in November 2022.

Translocation programs have also been completed from State Forests to national park and Australian Wildlife Conservancy managed areas where species had been locally extinct, including translocation of Eastern Pygmy possums from the State forests on the Central Coast to North Head in Sydney. In addition there are also captive breeding populations of Stuttering Frogs source from forests on the central and mid-north coast forests for translocation of offspring to the Nowra area and translocation of long nosed potoroos and southern brown bandicoots from State forests around Eden to the Commonwealth-run Booderee National Park near Jervis Bay.

Managing threats to national parks and reserves

Pest animal and weed control

The NSW Government works across agencies to manage pest animals and weeds.

NPWS has Regional Pest Management Strategies to prioritise pest and weed management across reserves. These strategies are regularly updated to revise critical priorities for addressing new and emerging pests, economic impacts, health and disease impacts and threatened species.

Overall priorities for pest and weed management to protect threatened species are identified in the Saving our Species program (SoS). For more information, see the topic.

In response to statewide reviews of pest animal and weed management by the Natural Resources Commission, the NSW Government has established a State Pest Animal Committee and a State Weed Committee, as well as 11 regional pest animal and weed committees facilitated by Local Land Services (LLS). Regional plans to manage pest animals and weeds have been developed by the committees and formally adopted by LLS.

As reported in the Invasive species topic, important weed management programs are eradicating mouse-ear hawkweed and orange hawkweed from Kosciuszko National Park. These weeds could devastate most of south-eastern Australia, causing major environmental degradation and costs to agriculture. Government agencies, including NPWS, DPI and LLS, in partnership with local councils and other stakeholders, are implementing a coordinated program to eradicate these two weeds from NSW.

Forestry Corporation of NSW works with a range of partners and land managers to identify priority pests and weeds and carry out targeted control works at a coordinated landscape scale to maximise effectiveness. This includes working closely with LLS on a range of cross-tenure pest control programs and collaborating on regional strategic weed management plans. Pest and weed management is carried out across native forests and plantation areas.

The Crown Lands division of the NSW Department of Industry also manages threats through a pest and weed control program.

Fire management

NPWS and Forestry Corporation of NSW are statutory firefighting authorities that collaborate with other fire agencies to address bushfire risk management across the state.

Both agencies played a critical role in fighting the largest bushfires in NSW history in the summer of 2019–20. A total of 1,294 NPWS staff, including 1,067 frontline firefighters – the state’s largest professional bushfire fighting team – invested 43,000 staff days in fighting 519 bushfires. Meanwhile, over 500 Forestry Corporation staff completed more than 16,500 shifts on fires from June 2019 until early February 2020.

In 2019–20, there were 322 bushfires in national parks, affecting an area of approximately 2.7 million hectares. NPWS firefighters also assisted with 197 bushfires outside parks.

Over the last five years, NPWS has prevented around 83% of the bushfires that started in parks from spreading beyond park boundaries. The five-year rolling average area of hazard reduction by NPWS on NPWS lands, as at 30 June 2021, is 82,439 hectares. This is lower than the five-year rolling average target of 135,000 hectares, primarily because of the extensive bushfire impacts in 2019–20 and the wetter than average conditions in 2020–21, resulting in a reduction in the area treated for hazard reduction in those two years.

In July 2020, the NSW Bushfire Inquiry recommended moving away from simple hectare targets and ‘prioritising implementation of revised processes for bushfire risk management planning that incorporate new modelling and methods for quantifying risk and the residual risk profile as a result of proposed hazard reduction works’.

Consistent with the Inquiry’s recommendation to adopt an approach that is strongly guided by risk reduction, NPWS is now planning its current hazard reduction program to focus on reducing fuel in strategic fire advantage zones (SFAZs) and asset protection zones (APZs) at the urban or rural property interface.

Hazard reduction burning strongly depends on weather conditions. Since the start of the Enhanced Bushfire Management Program in 2011 – and specifically between 2012–13 and 2020–21 (the first full nine years of the program) – NPWS has undertaken 79% of the total hazard reduction burning in NSW (excluding stubble grass burning by private landholders on non-fire management zoned private tenure during 2020–21), despite managing only 9% of the state’s land area.

Forestry Corporation manages fire in approximately two million hectares of native and planted forest. Hazard reduction burning reduces forest fuels that increase the potential intensity of a bushfire. During the fire season, the Forestry Corporation staffs a network of fire towers across the state to detect fires early and respond rapidly to them, giving crews more chance of managing fires while they are still relatively small.

With the formation of the new Bushfire Risk and Evaluation Unit, NPWS is also working with the Rural Fire Service to embed ecological risk in the new NSW bushfire risk planning framework, including improved identification and risk management of environmental assets.

The Crown Lands division of the NSW Department of Industry also manages threats to values in reserves through its bushfire risk mitigation program.

Climate change

NSW Government research aims to better understand the impacts of projected climate changes on sensitive ecosystems. Private land conservation is playing an increasingly important role in promoting ecologically sustainable development and building resilience to climate change. The 2018 Biodiversity Conservation Investment Strategy seeks to guide investment in private land conservation by optimising biodiversity outcomes, improving landscape connectivity and building resilience to climate change.

Actively managed State forests continue to play a role in climate change mitigation, with recognition by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that sustainably managed production forests that maintain carbon in growing trees while producing an annual yield of timber also deliver a large climate change mitigation benefit.

See also the topic with specific reference to the Climate Change Policy Framework.

Pressures from development and visitation

The design and planning of new visitor infrastructure, including accommodation, walking tracks, campsites and visitor precincts, continues to have a strong focus on stakeholder engagement, sustainability and minimising impacts on natural, cultural and heritage values. Planning models consider visitor demand and impact and take account of those pressures as part of the design process. NPWS applies the same suitability assessment criteria for visitor use and tourism as are applied to any third party that leases or licenses land within lands managed by NPWS.

Managing threats to marine parks and aquatic reserves

The NSW Government is implementing a new management planning process for the state’s six marine parks under the Marine Estate Management Act 2014. A draft 10-year network management plan which includes the Cape Byron, Solitary Islands, Port Stephens-Great Lakes, Jervis Bay and Batemans marine parks has been released for consultation.

A management plan will also be developed for Lord Howe Island Marine Park after the network management plan for the mainland marine parks has been progressed.

Marine park management planning is being informed by input from local marine park advisory committees, NSW and Commonwealth agencies and the independent Marine Estate Expert Knowledge Panel. Management rules (including zones) within marine parks will also be reviewed to ensure they align with the final management objectives and actions in the plan.

Climate change, water pollution, marine litter and marine biodiversity management are being considered in the management planning for the parks and are also the subject of statewide initiatives aimed at improving the management of the NSW marine estate under the 10-year Marine Estate Management Strategy.

Extensive consultation on the Hawkesbury shelf marine bioregion marine park proposal was undertaken in 2018. At this time, the Government stated ‘that there will be no loss of fishing rights or access under the proposed marine park sites put forward by the NSW Marine Estate Management Authority’ in the Hawkesbury shelf marine bioregion.

Management arrangements for the NSW aquatic reserve network, including the ten reserves in the Hawkesbury shelf marine bioregion remain in place. Similarly, the fishing closure at Bouddi National Park marine extension was remade in 2019 for five years.

The Authority and the Government continue to explore and implement opportunities for better management of values and threats across the whole NSW marine estate, including the Hawkesbury shelf marine bioregion, via the delivery of the Marine Estate Management Strategy (2018–2028).

Controlling threats to conservation on private land

The NSW Government helps private landholders manage their land for long-term conservation and sustainable production by:

• providing information and incentive programs
• facilitating state or federal tax concessions
• landholder support and education programs through the Biodiversity Conservation Trust for landholders who enter into private land conservation agreements.

Integrated approach to conservation

The NSW Government is taking a holistic approach to conserving biodiversity on public and private land.

The public land acquisition program builds on the existing network of public land over large areas to help sustain resilient and viable ecosystems.

In regions where remnant vegetation is scarce, private land conservation is critical to prevent further biodiversity loss and improve connectivity in the landscape.

Local Land Services facilitate access to grants and works with landholders to ensure sustainable environmental, social and economic outcomes.

The government’s approach is set out in the Biodiversity Conservation Investment Strategy and the Draft NSW National Parks System Directions Statement.

Integrated approaches to conservation will also take into account opportunities for Aboriginal community. The NSW Government Our Place on Country Aboriginal Outcomes Strategy () will help deliver better services in partnership with Aboriginal communities. The Strategy’s underlying principles of self-determination and co-design will assist in enabling Aboriginal people and communities to have greater choice, access and control over land, water, housing and resources.

Expansion of the reserve system

In August 2019, the Minister for Energy and Environment committed to expanding the NSW reserve system by 200,000 ha within two years. When this target was achieved in October 2020, the Minister committed to an additional 200,000 ha, raising the overall target to 400,000 ha by 2022.

By June 2021, a total of 291,039 ha had been reserved as additions to the NPWS reserve system while the reservation of a further 120,000 ha of acquired land is planned for completion in 2022.

Performance Scorecards - Ecological Health Monitoring

NPWS is developing a world-leading ecological health monitoring system called Scorecards. The initiative aims to significantly enhance the health of NSW national parks by tracking key ecological indicators and using that data to refine management actions. For the first time in its history, these performance scorecards will enable NPWS to systematically collect and apply the critical information required to design and deliver effective park management.