Acquisition Framework

Acquisition Policy

Bush Heritage Australia aims to acquire land and manage it for conservation in the long term. Therefore Bush Heritage strives to acquire land:

That protects biodiversity and other nature conservation values by:

• Contributing to the survival of rare and threatened taxa, communities and landscapes.
• Displaying unusual richness and/or diversity of taxa or communities.
• Contributing to the maintenance of natural processes.
• Contributing to the maintenance of evolutionary and biogeographic processes.
• Representing communities and species that are poorly represented in secure reserves.

That will result in reserves which are viable and robust, so that

• The maintenance of the values for which they were acquired is within the scientific capabilities of Bush Heritage
• Reserve boundaries and design minimize edge effects and off-reserve impacts
• Threatening processes beyond the control of Bush Heritage will not compromise reserve values.

That maximises value for money by:

• Minimising initial and ongoing outlays
• Maximising conservation outcomes for Bush Heritage
• Ensuring that the maintenance of the values for which the land was acquired is within the financial capabilities of Bush Heritage

That complements other conservation initiatives as:

• It is unrepresented or under represented within other public and private reserve systems
• Its values are threatened and will otherwise remain unprotected
• While viable itself, may contribute to the long term viability of other reserve systems

Bush Heritage will not compete with indigenous people for land with which they have a traditional or historical association and where they have a clear intention to acquire.