organisation committed to protecting Australia's
biodiversity and the capacity of ecosystems to deliver
the `services' on which all living things depend.
carbon storage.
achieving these goals: we carefully select, purchase and
manage land with outstanding conservation values.
But this is not our only strategy. If we are to achieve
our goal of protecting 1 per cent of Australia we must
work in partnership with others and trial innovative
approaches to protecting ecosystems and species.
building closer ties with Indigenous peoples, regional
networks, other organisations and governments.
Our aim is to protect biodiversity on land managed
by others through providing planning and land
management advice where needed, building capacity
and financial incentives (either directly or through
stewardship payments), and sharing knowledge while
learning from others. Fundamental to the way we work
is acknowledging Aboriginal people as the traditional
owners of the land.
beginnings in Tasmania. Originally registered in
in the Liffey Valley in Tasmania by Dr Bob Brown.
These properties have recently been nominated
for inclusion in the Tasmanian Wilderness World
Heritage Area. This reflects the significance of these
properties and the value of the work that we do.
reserves and being managed using science-based
strategies. Indigenous and other local knowledge
is increasingly being integrated into these strategies.
animal and 90 threatened plant species, occur on
Bush Heritage properties.
owners, who, together, are managing over 3.5 million
hectares. Through these partnerships we have
invested in increasing skills, organisational capacity,
knowledge-sharing, collaboration and understanding
for both our staff and our partners. This year we have
further consolidated our partnerships with Wunambal
Gaambera and Warddeken traditional owners in the
Kimberley and Arnhem Land respectively, and are
investing in emerging partnerships with traditional
owners in Cape York, the Gulf of Carpentaria, and in
South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria,
Tasmania and coastal central Western Australia.
Manager Dr Jim Radford
checks a mammal trap,
Boolcoomatta Reserve, SA.
Photograph by Peter Morris