NatureAssist

• What is NatureAssist?
• Are you eligible?
• What on ground works can be funded?
• How does it work?
• What happens next?
• Show me the money!
• Outcomes
• Want to find out more?

A Blueprint for the Bush initiative undertaken by the department

The expression of interest period for NatureAssist Round Three has now closed. Thank you for your interest in NatureAssist.

Would you like assistance with the on-ground management of the conservation values on your property?

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?

NatureAssist is the innovative financial incentive scheme of the Nature Refuges Program giving Queensland landholders assistance to protect and manage the conservation values of their land. NatureAssist is a competitive process under which the landholder is invited to tender for funding to undertake on-ground management activities.

Tenders are assessed using an expert panel and analysis of key indicators of your property's values and your proposed management. Successful tenders are those that offer the best conservation outcome for the least overall cost. Funding is provided upon signing a nature refuge agreement over part or all of your 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 have a nature refuge or are willing to establish a nature refuge over all or a portion of your property, you are eligible to apply for NatureAssist.

NatureAssist is available to:

• freehold land owners;
• lessees of land;
• Government corporations that are separate legal entities from the State Government (e.g. Forestry Plantations Queensland);
• local governments;
• private companies; and
• nature conservancies.

What on ground works can be funded?

Activities must have a significant on-ground conservation benefit. The types of activities 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 works that are eligible please contact us.

How does it work?

NatureAssist is a competitive tender process used to identify which tenders offer the best value for money in protecting and managing conservation values. It starts with a simple phone call and a one page expression of interest form.

Step 1:

Contact us to find out more about NatureAssist. If you are keen to proceed, you will need to fill out a one-page expression of interest form. When the next round of NatureAssist is open, you can obtain an expression of interest form by:

Step 2:

We will arrange for a visit to your property, at a convenient time for you, to identify its values and discuss whether it is suitable and a priority for a nature refuge. This is also a great opportunity to discuss your ideas for on-ground conservation works and your eligibility for NatureAssist funding. This obligation-free site assessment is free of charge and fully confidential.

Once the site assessment has been done, a panel of experts will determine whether your property is of suitable conservation quality to be a nature refuge.

If you already have a nature refuge, you can skip this step.

Step 3:

Once your property is approved as suitable and a priority for a nature refuge, you will be invited to submit a tender. Nature refuge officers are available to help you develop your tender. Although they are not permitted to provide advice on the financial component of your tender, they can provide specialist advice on management activities best suited to protecting the conservation values of your property.

Step 4:

Each tender submitted is assessed against all other tenders in that round. An expert panel uses a decision-support tool (environmental benefits index) to assess each tender. This assessment takes into account:

• the conservation values of your property (biodiversity, cultural, and environmental features);
• the threats to those values;
• the quality of the management proposed;
• the area of the proposed nature refuge; and
• the cost of each tender.

Successful tenders are those that offer the best conservation outcome for the least overall cost, and for which funding can be sourced.

What happens next?

Everybody who submits a tender is advised of the outcome. If your tender is successful, your 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, the funds are all yours.

If you were not successful, you may re-apply in future NatureAssist rounds.

Show me the money!

NatureAssist began in 2006. It brings together funding from a variety of sources, the most signficiant being the Environmental Partnership Scheme under the Queensland Government Blueprint for the Bush initiative - a ten-year plan to build a sustainable, liveable and prosperous rural Queensland. The Environmental Partnership Scheme is administered through the Department of Natural Resources and Water and focuses on funding tenders for new nature refuges in rural Queensland.

Partnerships have also been formed with many regional Natural Resource Management groups throughout Queensland. Tenders for nature refuges not funded by the Environmental Partnership Scheme may be considered for funding by these partners.

The department, which coordinates and administers NatureAssist, will try to match tenders that are recommended for support with suitable funding programs. However, a matching funding program cannot be guaranteed for every proposal, and we are continuing to work with possible funding partners to extend the range of funding and support that may be available to landholders.

Is your property in an area that is eligible for funding under the Environmental Partnership Scheme?

Eligible: Properties located in rural or non-urban areas (orange on the map) are generally eligible and are a priority under the Environmental Partnership Scheme. There are other funds available in many of these areas in addition to the Environmental Partnership Scheme.

May be eligible: Properties located in the area of the map shown in lime green are probably eligible under the Environmental Partnership Scheme, but outstanding conservation value has to be demonstrated in order to be a priority. There are other funds available in most of these areas in addition to the Environmental Partnership Scheme.

Not eligible: Properties located in the area covered by the SEQ Regional Plan (dark green on the map) are ineligible under the Environmental Partnership Scheme. Other funding in this area under NatureAssist is unlikely unless new funding partners can be found.

Click on map to view larger size image, or download print-friendly version (PDF, 1.7M)*

NatureAssist is a state-wide program coordinated by the Environmental Protection Agency and operates with support from the following organisations:

Outcomes

Round 1

Response to the first round of the program in 2007 was exceptional with approximately $1.7 million committed to almost 60 landholders throughout Queensland. This has enabled the protection of around 40,000 hectares while sustaining land-based businesses.

Round 2

Negotiations to safeguard more than 350,000 hectares of private land through partnerships with landholders across the state are currently occurring.

Nearly $4 million of funding tenders from private landholders have been successful under the second round of the NatureAssist scheme under the Queensland Government's Blueprint for the Bush initiative. Tenders for proposed nature refuges are now proceeding to the next stage of negotiations.

Tendered activities for Round 1 and 2 ranged from stock exclusion fencing, weed control, feral animal control, fire management plans and implementation as well as installation of alternative stock watering points.

Want to find out more?

Contact us!

* Requires Acrobat Reader

Last updated: 26 March 2009