A snapshot of the reports | Options for Bush Heritage | References

Setting priorities for land purchase

Compiled by Sophie Underwood, Kate Fitzherbert and Stuart Cowell.

As a nation we are now acutely aware of the degree of environmental damage our country has suffered, and the urgent need for a whole community effort to slow, and then reverse, this damage. The predominance of threatened species and high levels of landscape stress in regions where there has been extensive removal of native vegetation is sending us strong messages about cause and effect. The single most important action needed by governments is to halt all broad-acre land clearing.

For Bush Heritage, the most important thing to do is to continue to acquire and manage land of high conservation value. The Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council concluded in their 2002 report that '…it is far cheaper to maintain our natural systems than it is to allow them inadvertently to be damaged and, subsequently, to inherit a costly repair bill…' - a ringing endorsement for the Bush Heritage approach.

But there is so much that needs protecting. Where do we look to get the best outcomes for biodiversity conservation? That's the question often asked of, and by, Bush Heritage staff. With so many issues to consider, and so many good cases for focussing our efforts in particular places, we look to a wide range of resources to help balance one need against another.

A series of recent reports (listed at the end of this article) have provided valuable information to help us identify regions and habitats of particular importance.

They provide a comprehensive assessment of landscape health, salinity, land clearance, biodiversity, surface and ground water and climate change and also the effects of weeds, feral animals and disease in the Australian landscape.

A snapshot of the reports | Options for Bush Heritage | References

Over 50,000 hectares of native
vegetation is still cleared each year.
PHOTO: WAYNE LAWLER/ECOPIX

Overgrazing is a major cause
of landscape stress.
PHOTO: WAYNE LAWLER/ECOPIX