Rural property owners can feel isolated in their efforts to protect land of high conservation value. The Nature Conservation Trust (NCT) believes that providing land management support and fostering a community of like-minded environmental land managers is vital to achieving the long-term conservation ambitions we share.
That’s why our staff members are active in rural communities, where they advise private land owners on very simple and practical ways that they can contribute to biodiversity protection. NCT staff also regularly share their expertise at field days and land-care gatherings – spreading the message of private land conservation where it can have the most profound impact.
Conservation agreements (land covenants)
The NCT’s support for land managers is best illustrated by our commitment to negotiating land covenants or, as we call them, conservation agreements. We devote considerable time and resources to helping existing land owners apply legally binding environmental protection to parcels of land with a high natural value.
Those land owners who adopt a NCT conservation land covenant – who we refer to as covenantees – receive a practical blueprint for their future environmental land management. After completing a thorough ecological assessment, we develop a detailed plan of management for the rural property in consultation with the individual land owner. This land management plan directs the conservation of the specific site and gives us every possible chance of delivering sustainable results.
The same level of professional support is given to buyers of NCT conservation properties, which are purchased with a land covenant already applied to the land.
Click here for more information about conservation land covenants.
Click here for more information about private land ecological assessments.
Conservation plan of land management
The plan of management uses the ecological assessment to identify the rural property’s natural heritage values and sets out a detailed 100-year vision for the area to be protected under the conservation land covenant. It includes:
- a full inventory of recorded plant communities and animal species;
- threats to those plant and animal species;
- recommendations for improved environmental practices; and
- the management conditions of the conservation land covenant.
For the land owner, the plan of conservation land management contains invaluable advice for restoration or rehabilitation work that will enhance the special habitats that have been identified. The plan takes into account:
- existing infrastructure;
- the presence of weeds and feral animals;
- fire management and hazard reduction needs;
- grazing and other agricultural activities; and
- future ecological monitoring.
The plan of conservation land management is reviewed every five years but can be amended as the management requirements of the conservation area change.
Land management stewardship program
Once a property owner has entered into a land conservation agreement with the NCT we maintain regular contact and they automatically become a member of our pioneering conservation land management stewardship program.
The NCT conservation land management stewardship program guarantees our rural partners:
- guidance in managing the natural heritage values that are protected by the conservation land covenant;
- regular reviews of their sustainable land management practices;
- periodic site visits to observe and monitor ecology and land condition; and
- assistance with obtaining additional funding, grants or subsidies to cover conservation land management activities or improvements (including fencing, weed and pest control).
However, NCT covenantees quickly learn that being part of the NCT network accords many additional advantages. Through our connections with various government departments and agencies we can advise rural property owners of any financial or technical assistance they may be entitled to under regional and catchment-wide conservation and land covenanting programs.
There are also numerous opportunities to compare experiences and share home-grown strategies with others equally dedicated to conserving NSW’s most threatened landscapes and species.
