NatureAssist
The expression of interest period for NatureAssist Round Three has now closed.
As a landholder you can play a vital role in conserving the bush and protecting Queensland's biodiversity by establishing a nature refuge on your property. NatureAssist can help you do this.
- What is NatureAssist?
- Are you eligible?
- What on-ground works can be funded?
- How does it work?
- What happens next?
- Source of funding
- Successful tenders
- Want to find out more?
What is NatureAssist?
NatureAssist is a competitive tender process used to identify which tenders from Queensland landholders offer the best value for money in protecting and managing conservation values.
An expert panel assesses tenders by analysing the key indicators of a property's conservation value, and how the landholder proposes to manage it. Successful tenders are those that offer the best conservation outcome for the least overall cost.
Funding is provided when the landholder signs a nature refuge agreement over part or all of the property.
In the words of a nature refuge landholder...
'We wanted to safeguard the biodiversity of our property forever, and thought that the legislation would do this. You always feel you'll live forever, but history has shown quite conclusively that this is not so!
The financial incentives for "doing the right thing" have enabled us to do a lot in a drought when finances would not otherwise allow. Money is, after all, a definite consideration in life! I'm sure that we would have organised the nature refuge anyway, but, quite truthfully, the assistance came at the right time for us to hasten our decision!'
Are you eligible?
If you are willing to extend an existing nature refuge, or willing to establish one over all or part of your property, you are eligible to apply for NatureAssist, which is available to:
- freehold land owners
- lessees of land
- government corporations that are legal entities separate from the State Government (e.g. Forestry Plantations Queensland)
- local governments
- private companies
- nature conservancies (but not where a nature refuge is a requirement of a government funded acquisition)
What on-ground works can be funded?
Activities must have a significant on-ground conservation benefit. Types that have been funded include:
- control of stock access to creeks, wetlands, springs or environmentally sensitive areas;
- establishment of alternative off-stream watering points for stock;
- fencing to protect environmentally sensitive areas from stock, pest animals or unauthorised access;
- identifying, protecting and managing cultural heritage values;
- revegetation and/or regeneration techniques to enhance values, stabilise soils and improve water quality;
- one-off flora and fauna surveys for the purposes of guiding conservation management activities;
- control of weeds and pest animals not already required under legislation;
- development and implementation of plans for sustainable management; and
- improvements to agricultural production areas that will directly contribute to enhance conservation outcomes on the nature refuge.
For more details regarding eligible works, please contact us.
How does it work?
Step 1
When the next round of NatureAssist is open, obtain an expression of interest form by:
- downloading a form
- completing an online form; or
- calling to request a form be mailed to you.
Step 2
We will arrange for a visit to your property at a time convenient for you, to identify its values and assess its suitability for a nature refuge. This obligation-free site assessment is free of charge and fully confidential.
At this visit, you can discuss your ideas for on-ground conservation works and your eligibility for NatureAssist funding. Once the site assessment has been done, a panel of experts will determine whether your property is suitable as a nature refuge.
Step 3
If your property is approved, you will be invited to submit a tender. A Nature Refuge Officer can help you develop this. They are not permitted to advise you on the financial component of your tender, but can advise you on the management activities most suitable for protecting the conservation values of your property.
Step 4
The panel uses an 'environmental benefits index' to assess each tender against all others submitted in a round, taking into account:
- the conservation values of the property (its biodiversity, cultural, and environmental features)
- the threats to those values
- the quality of the management proposed
- the area of the proposed nature refuge
- the cost of each tender.
What happens next?
Successful tenders are those that offer the best conservation outcome for the least overall cost, and for which funding can be sourced.
If you are successful, a Nature Refuge Officer will work with you to negotiate a new or upgraded nature refuge agreement.
Once it is signed by you and the State, you will be able to access the funds.
Everybody who submits a tender is advised of the outcome. Unsuccessful applicants may re-apply in future rounds.
Source of funding
NatureAssist is resourced by the DERM and implemented in partnership with AgForce and regional Natural Resource Management (NRM) goups.
Successful tenders
Tendered activities for Rounds 1 and 2 ranged from stock-exclusion fencing, weed control, feral animal control, fire management plans, and installation and implementation of alternative stock-watering points.
Round 1
In 2007, approximately $1.7 million was committed to almost 60 landholders throughout Queensland, enabling about 40,000 hectares of land to be protected, while sustaining land-based businesses.
Round 2
Nearly $4 million of funding tenders from private landholders were successful under the second round.
Negotiations to safeguard more than 350,000 hectares of private land through partnerships with landholders across the state are currently occurring.
Want to find out more?
Last updated 2 November 2011