Private land conservation outcomes

Support for private land conservation

The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust holds 2,644 conservation agreements with private landholders, covering more than 2.17 million hectares with 616,494 hectares protected forever.

Through the Trust, the NSW Government invests more than $356.35 million to support these agreements, with 81.9 per cent for in-perpetuity agreements and 18.1 per cent for term agreements. 

The median annual payment to agreement holders is $102.50 per hectare.

Agreements with the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust protect at least 305 unique threatened species and at least 41 threatened ecological communities.

Priority Investment Areas

The Biodiversity Conservation Investment Strategy 2018 maps NSW into 5 areas, ranking them 1 to 5 in order of investment priority.

To date, the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust has established agreements covering 25,197 ha of PIA 1 land, 138,252 ha of PIA 2 land and 66,894 ha of PIA 3 land.

Protecting NSW Landscapes

Target 1 of the Biodiversity Conservation Investment Strategy 2018 states that by 2023, private land conservation agreements will protect examples of 30 NSW landscapes either not represented, or inadequately protected in, Australia's protected area system in 2017.

The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust met this target in February 2019, 4 years early, with conservation agreements protecting examples of 18 landscapes not previously represented within the protected area system and 162 landscapes that are inadequately protected.

Diversifying incomes

Target 3 of the Biodiversity Conservation Investment Strategy 2018 states that by 2023, diversified incomes streams will improve the financial sustainability of participating landholders relative to similar local businesses.

NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust programs have made direct annual payments to 228 landholders worth $17.3 million over the past 12 months. This investment has been directed to 246,736 ha of privately-managed conservation areas and circulated through local economies, with about 66 per cent flowing to farming enterprises through the state's sheep-wheat belt.