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Specialising in natural resource and social planning; community consultation and facilitation; values mapping and consensus building, mediation and conflict resolution; policy development; program and organisational diagnosis and development.

Project Report "More Than Just The Odd Tree" Incentives and barriers to the conservation of Grassy White Box Woodlands Final Report Spring 1997 "More than just the odd tree" Why choose Grassy White Box? Most of our Eucalypt woodlands occur in areas of greatest agricultural productivity and as a result, these woodlands have become extremely fragmented. The State of the Environment report states that nearly 90% of Australia's temperate woodlands have been cleared. It is also in these areas that the greatest impacts of land degradation on production are being experienced - land degradation which has been closely linked to loss of trees and other deep-rooted species.   Box woodlands are one of the most poorly conserved ecosystems in Australia. Scientists Suzanne Prober and Kevin Thiele estimate that as little as 0.01% of Grassy White Box Woodlands (GWB) remain in a relatively intact condition. These intact remnants and others in a condition from which the ecological community might be regenerated, occur largely in small, scattered patches along the lower western slopes of the Dividing Range from southern to northern New South Wales and in a small number of locations in north-eastern Victoria. Developing incentives to ensure the greater conservation of our woodlands is an essential aspect not only of conserving the rich diversity of species and ecosystems for which Australia is recognised globally. It is also an essential aspect of maintaining agricultural production. The project team working together to improve conservation of Grassy White Box Woodlands comprised Team leaders Jane Elix and Dr Judy Lambert from the consultancy partnership, Community Solutions Sue Salvin, Conservation & Resource Management Director, NSW Farmers' Association Jamie Pittock, Nature Conservation Manager, World Wide Fund for Nature Associate Professor David Goldney, Head of Environmental Studies Unit, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst. This project - funded by the Land and Water Resources R&D Corporation and Environment Australia- has focused specifically on GWB because of its scarcity and the extent to which it has disappeared or been degraded through competition with other rural land uses. However, much of what comes out of this project is applicable to other forms of remnant vegetation, and in particular other Box woodlands. GWB can be used to build awareness of the plight of remnant woodlands, the loss of woodland trees and their equally important understorey communities. That awareness can then provide a focus for expanding targeted actions in rural communities for vegetation management on a landscape scale. The Project The towns and surrounding districts of Wagga Wagga, Bathurst/Orange/Cowra and Tamworth were chosen as the centres for the field work. Significant remnants of GWB were chosen for study, and their conservation status, ownership and management regimes were identified. Both remnants in relatively intact condition and those in which the ecological community might be restored with altered management were included in order to provide a broader perspective on incentives and barriers to conservation management. An important aspect of this project was to increase awareness of the significance of these sometimes undervalued woodland communities and to develop a sense of pride and ownership in their retention and proper management. Stakeholders were involved in a variety of ways throughout the project including through individual interviews completing a questionnaire participation in a follow-up forum receipt of written information, in particular the Grassy White Box Woodland Updates media information distribution participation in field days participation in peer review and other related workshops individual contact with researchers and others working in the area Project Outcomes Rating the condition of remnants Participants were asked to rate the condition of their remnants according to the following criteria very good (scattered White Box trees, with many different native grasses, herbs and wildflowers in the understorey) good (scattered White Box trees, with several different grasses, herbs and wildflowers in the understorey) fair (scattered White Box trees, with only a few different grasses, herbs and wildflowers in the understorey) poor (scattered White Box trees with introduced pasture and/or weeds) Mapping All of the sites selected for study within this project, and those additional sites identified by participants in the project, fell within the area predicted by scientist Suzanne Prober, to contain the remaining Grassy White Box Woodlands. Only one-fifth of all the sites involved were considered by the owners or managers to be in either 'very good' or 'good' condition. This may relate to various aspects of past management, but may well reflect the fact that more than two-thirds (68%) of areas identified by respondents are currently being grazed by stock without any particular management aimed at conserving the native species. Barriers to conservation The majority of those participating in the project were interested in protecting the remaining remnants, with some expressing surprise that GWB is in fact a disappearing ecological community. The majority of those interviewed or responding to questionnaires identified the key barriers as being financial constraints lack of knowledge or awareness of the value of GWB difficulties in changing already established attitudes to rural management. The issues involved are complex, with many landholders failing to recognise the direct links between sustainable agricultural production and retention of threatened remnant vegetation. As a result, even where there are positive attitudes to remnant vegetation, those attitudes often do not translate into action. However, while private landholders were keen to see the development of incentives which assisted in recognition of GWB and in providing sound management advice based on ecological principles, the levels of awareness and the identification of mechanisms appropriate to public land were generally less well developed. Since some of the most intact GWB remnants occur on public land, either in cemeteries or roadside reserves, and since a landscape approach to vegetation management is important, mechanisms for conserving those remnants on public land require urgent attention. Incentives for conservation The types of incentives raised and discussed by participants in this project fell under the following headings Financial incentives Provision of technical information and advice Property-based incentives Legislative protection Working in the local community Project Recommendations The Project Team has identified a need for a package of initiatives, which together form a set of tools from which landholders and land managers can choose those most appropriate to their circumstances. Recommendations regarding private land For those managing private land, a specific package of measures (tool kit) has been proposed including 1. Provision of practical information and advice as to the importance of GWB and other woodland remnants and the most appropriate management for their future conservation through the development of a simple kit, based on interviews with key landholders and land managers establishment of government sponsored programs in which rural producers with a strong and demonstrated interest in and commitment to conservation farming, receive financial and administrative support to provide on-the-job learning about remnant vegetation management and rehabilitation in their own communities 2. Provision of financial and 'in kind' incentives for integrated management which includes a strong ecological component aimed at conserving remnant native vegetation. Rural financial assistance, whether from Local, State or Commonwealth government, should be made contingent upon the development of Whole Property Management Plans which include ecologically strategic retention and rehabilitation of native vegetation. Both taxation rebates and Local Government rate rebates which are subsidised by State and/or Commonwealth government have a role to play in this area. Also important is the integration of farm management plans with broader Regional Vegetation Management Plans being developed in the draft NSW Native Vegetation Conservation legislation. 3. Provision of fencing subsidies, contingent upon entry into Management Agreements which commit to management for conservation purposes. 4. Development, by State and Commonwealth governments, of a 'stewardship' scheme. Recommendations regarding public land Many of the GWB sites of high conservation value are on public land, either in small local cemeteries or on road or railway reserves. Given that knowledge of those sites and awareness of their value appears less well developed than for sites on private land, it is recommended that Local Governments, Rural Lands Protection Boards and the Roads and Traffic Authority be encouraged to undertake comprehensive mapping of their remaining remnant vegetation, with a view to managing remaining areas of relatively intact GWB primarily for nature conservation. State and Local governments should also work with interested local residents to develop, maintain and promote important Grassy White Box sites as local heritage attractions. Recommendations regarding Voluntary Conservation Agreements Voluntary Conservation Agreements available under the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Act should, and to some extent do, offer a mechanism for secure management of GWB remnants of highconservation value. However, a number of perceived problems with the Agreements limit their application. Based on feedback received during this project, it is recommended that the terms of Voluntary Conservation Agreements which enable the Minister to vary an Agreement at any time be reviewed, to remove uncertainties about possible Ministerial intervention in ongoing management of private properties additional personnel and resources be made available to the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service to enable faster processing of enquiries about and applications for Voluntary Conservation Agreements. the NSW Government explore the option of establishing an independent, community-based Trust to promote and administer Voluntary Conservation Agreements (based on the experience of Victoria's Land Conservation Trust and given quite high levels of scepticism among participants in this project about Voluntary Conservation Agreements). Recommendations regarding the role of governments The issues surrounding conservation of Grassy White Box Woodlands present a microcosm of the broader issues surrounding the conservation and management of remnant woodlands across the Australian rural landscape. The issues highlighted within this project provide some significant indicators in priority setting for major vegetation programs such as the Commonwealth's Bushcare Native Vegetation Initiative. The need to bring together public and private land management in ways which will protect the remaining remnants on a landscape scale, the need for support by the Commonwealth and State governments for local government provision of incentives and provision of sound management advice, not only to private landholders, but also to public land managers cannot be over-emphasised. Obtaining copies of the final report The report of "More than Just the Odd Tree" is being published by LWRRDC and EA. Information about obtaining a copy can be obtained from Trevor Costa Project Officer Landscape Strategies Section Environment Australia GPO Box 636 Canberra ACT 2601   Ph (02) 6250 7524 Fax (02) 6250 7517 Email trevor.costa@dest.gov.au Further work The Community Solutions team has applied for further funding under the Natural Heritage Trust to carry on the work with the Grassy White Box Woodlands. Contact Judy or Jane for further information about how you can support the application.

CONTENTS: Why choose Grassy White Box? The Project Project Outcomes Project Recommendations private land public land Voluntary Conservation Agreements the role of governments Obtaining copies of the final report Further work