Review of NSW Forest Agreements and IFOAs - Department of ...

vegetation management plans were in final draft form when the Native Vegetation Act 2003
(NV Act) was assented to in December 2003.
The NV Act establishes a different regime that does not include regional vegetation
management plans. The focus of the native vegetation reforms is on catchment action plans
prepared by Catchment Management Authorities (CMAs) and individual property vegetation
plans (PVPs); therefore this milestone is considered no longer applicable.
Milestone 8.3
Establish a committee to promote conservation on private lands
Refer to UNE and LNE Forest Agreements section 2.9.1; Eden Forest Agreement
section 2.8.1; Southern Forest Agreement section 2.9
Progress of milestone: complete
A Regional Native Vegetation Committee was formed in 2000, its inaugural meeting being
held in October of the same year. Current conservation mechanisms and financial incentives
available to promote conservation on private land were discussed; representatives at the
meeting included those from DECCW, Forests NSW and former DLWC.
No further committee meetings were required, as agencies are individually encouraging
conservation on private land (see milestone 8.4) and coordination of natural resource
management is occurring through new government initiatives such as the State Plan including
monitoring through NSW Natural Resources Monitoring Evaluation and Reporting (MER)
(milestone 24.3). This milestone is therefore considered complete.
Milestone 8.4
Conservation mechanisms including voluntary mechanisms
Refer to UNE, LNE FAs section 2.9.1, Att 7; Eden FA section 2.8.1, Att 7; Southern
FA section 2.9, Att 5
Progress of milestone: Complete
Conservation Agreements
Voluntary mechanisms assist conservation measures on private and non-reserved public
lands. A Conservation Agreement (CA) is an agreement between a landholder and the
Minister for Climate Change and the Environment under the NPW Act. The Agreement
provides permanent protection and is registered on the title of the land ensuring that if the
land is sold, the Agreement and management requirements remain in place. More than 80
CAs have been established on private lands in the southern forests area of the state. There
are more than 260 CA state-wide protecting more than 53,000 hectares of high conservation
value private and non-reserved public land.
Registered property agreements and management contracts under the Native Vegetation
Conservation Act 1997 and continued under the Native Vegetation Act 2003
Under the repealed Native Vegetation Conservation Act 1997, more than 350 Registered
Property Agreements and more than 450 Management Contracts have been voluntarily
signed to protect over 81,000 ha of high conservation value native vegetation. These
agreements assist landholders to manage native vegetation on their land and continue as
either in-perpetuity or term based arrangements but no new ones can be signed.
Under the NV Act, private native forestry (PNF) PVPs can be agreed between landholders
and DECCW and others types of PVPs (e.g. clearing or incentives) can be agreed between
landholders and CMAs for conservation works on private land.
As of 24 March 2010 there have been 1,152 PNF PVPs covering 272, 508 hectares of native
forest since the PNF Code of Practice was introduced in August 2007. There have also been
Review of NSW Forest Agreements and Integrated Forestry Operations Approvals 27