Conservation Partners for the National Reserve System Program: a Western NSW focus
Conservation Partners for the National Reserve System Program: a Western NSW focus Conference Paper
16th Australian Rangeland Society Biennial Conference
- Author(s): Cooper, N., Webber, L., Nicolson, K.
- Published: 2010
- Publisher: Australian Rangeland Society
Abstract: This project is a Caring for Our Country initiative between the Australian and New South Wales Governments which aims to increase the involvement of private and other public landholders in the National Reserve System (NRS) through voluntary establishment of Conservation Agreements over places of high natural and cultural heritage conservation value. The project seeks to encourage all private and other public landholders with high conservation value areas on their properties to contribute to the continuing development of a 'Comprehensive, Adequate and Representative' (CAR) network of protected areas across NSW. The goal is to conserve examples of the full range of ecosystems and which shows Australia’s great diversity of wildlife and unique natural heritage. Currently only 8% of the total land area of NSW is protected in public national parks and reserves. This means that 92% of the land area of the state is on private and other public lands. There is an opportunity for private and other public landholders to protect significant natural and cultural heritage on their land. The focus of effort is in bio-regions currently under-represented in protected areas in western areas of the state with less than 5% of their natural areas remaining.