User:Victoria Graham/Nature Conservation Trust of NSW

The Nature Conservation Trust of NSW

The Nature Conservation Trust of NSW (NCT) is a not-for-profit organisation committed to private land conservation. In effect, it creates a network of privately owned nature reserves to supplement landscapes or habitats which are under-represented in the National Reserve System. The NCT will often prioritise properties which will create wildlife corridors between existing reserves such as National Parks. The Nature Conservation Trust of NSW was established under the Nature Conservation Trust Act of 2001, It is funded both by the NSW government and by its’ internal fundraising activities.
 * 

Revolving Fund
The NCT Revolving Fund identifies ecologically important tracts of private land, and assesses their conservation value. If properties meet certain criteria, they are purchased, a binding perpetual conservation agreement (or Covenant) is applied, and then these properties are on-sold to sympathetic owners. The new (and all subsequent) owners must observe the constraints each unique Covenant defines. (For example, a Covenant may specify no cropping or clearing on the Covenanted area). The Covenant is permanently applied to the Title of the land, and all conditions of the Covenant must also be met by future owners. This ensures conservation work performed by each owner is preserved for future generations. Various agricultural or entrepreneurial activities such as cropping, grazing or ecotourism may still be undertaken so long as they do not contravene the conditions of the Covenanted area.

The sale proceeds accrued when the NCT sells a Covenanted property are used to buy and protect more land with high conservation values. This way, the majority of the funds “revolve” towards further acquisitions. This system maximises the dollar to conservation ratio. The Revolving Fund was initiated in 2002, with a $2 million injection of funds from the NSW Government.

The NCT has purchased 19 properties spanning some 19,116 hectares of high conservation land - all rural properties are for sale. Six have been sold to supportive private land owners, protecting 3,678 hectares for all time, and a further 15,438 hectares are sensitively managed in readiness for sale.

Private Covenants
The NCT also provides binding legal conservation agreements on ecologically significant private lands already being managed by individuals or organisations with conservation in mind. In partnership with rural land owners, the NCT currently manages 41 registered conservation covenants that protect 2,444 hectares of privately-held land.

Assessment:
The NCT targets Properties of High Conservation Value. This can be defined by a number of criteria: The property may contain flora and fauna listed as threatened or endangered, support one of the last remaining patches of intact bushland in an area, form part of an important wildlife corridor, or act as a buffer to protect a neighbouring national park or nature reserve. Thorough mapping of vegetation communities and animal populations are performed across the rural property to assess this ecological value. The assessment and mapping of the individual property informs the development of a detailed and unique Plan of conservation land Management (POM), which is listed and legally binding in the land covenant.

Stewardship:
The NCT provides support for Covenantees with ongoing ecological and funding advice. Through Landholder events and a members’ facebook page the NCT is creating an ever-growing network of landowners and privately-owned properties that protect our unique native animals and plants for future generations. Five yearly reviews are undertaken to assess conservation progress. Partnering: The NCT has partnered with various government departments and agencies, including the NSW Environmental Trust, State-wide catchment management authorities, the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority, and organisations such as Taronga Zoo and Birdlife Australia on projects to protect threatened landscapes on a broader, regional scale. The NCT raises awareness in rural communities and Australian boardrooms for its biodiversity conservation work.

Yellowbox:
The NCT has initiated a system whereby every Australian can contribute to the growth of conservation on private land. The Yellowbox system * [Yellowbox] allows individuals to pay $10 to protect a 10sq metre block of ecologically significant land on a property called “Wirran” in the Hunter Valley. Each block is unique and viewable on the yellowbox website, where it is defined by its geo-coordinates. Community groups wishing to use the Yellowbox system to co-fundraise for their own purposes may apply to do so for free. They should contact info@yellowbox.org.au Businesses wishing to reward staff or clients may buy bulk allotments of these protected Yellowboxes. They should contact info@yellowbox.org.au

Board and Staff:
The NCT is headed by a Board of independent members, all bringing expertise from the fields of real estate, land and resource management, strategic and financial planning, corporate governance, environmental science and Indigenous studies. The NCT employs 18 people, administered from the head office on the Charles Sturt University (CSU) campus in Orange. There are also offices in Lismore, Sydney, and at the CSU Thurgoona campus, near Albury. The staff includes ecologists, botanists, biologists and people with legal expertise to guide private land conservation.