Local Biodiversity Strategy: - Shire of Kalamunda

Public consultation will be required as part of this process especially with regards to
selling or developing public lands.
11.1.3 Conservation Covenants
Conservation covenanting is an increasingly popular option for protecting
conservation values on private land in Australia.
Voluntary conservation covenants enable private landholders to protect and manage
their bushland not only through their own ownership of their property but also to
ensure future owners also protect and manage the conservation values on the
property in line with their vision for their land.
The basis is a covenant, a legally binding document, voluntarily negotiated between
the owner and a covenanting body that is accredited with the Australian Government
as providing best practice services. In Western Australia, the two providers are the
National Trust of Australia (WA) and DEC.
As well as negotiating restrictions, nationally accredited conservation covenants also
include legally-binding positive commitments to protect and manage the land. The
contribution that covenanting owners make to the protection of flora, fauna and
habitats is recognised through concessional treatment of capital gains and land tax
on the covenanted land and, in some cases, significant income tax deductions, as
well as access to grant funds.
Covenants usually, but not always, restrict the future subdivision of the land. The
placement of a covenant does not require Council approval and does not affect the
zoning of land, unless specifically negotiated with the relevant Council.
The National Trust alone has signed covenants over 43,000 ha of land (to December
2007) and is currently negotiating covenants over a further 122,000 ha of land.
11.2 Land Purchase
11.2.1 Purchase of
Reserves
In order to increase the protection of high
priority LNAs, land purchase is one
mechanism that can be used to incorporate
private land of high conservation value into
the State or Local reserve system.
Federal funding for land acquisition for the
national reserve system is not likely to be
available based on current funding criteria.
The high cost of land within the Shire is a
significant barrier to Council funding land purchases Verticordia itself, huegelii however, (Variegated Council Feather has been Flower)
Local Biodiversity Strategy Page 68