What is the Natural Heritage Trust?
What is the Natural Heritage Trust?
The Natural Heritage Trust (the Trust) was set up by the Australian Government in 1997 to help restore and conserve Australia's environment and natural resources.
The Trust has three overarching objectives.
- Biodiversity Conservation
- Sustainable Use of Natural Resources
- Community Capacity Building and Institutional Change
The Trust provides funding for environmental activities at three levels:
- national investment, delivered in accordance with the National Strategic Plan
- regional investment, delivered in conjunction with the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality (see the NRM web site ) and
- local action, delivered through the Australian Government Envirofund
Since 1996, the Trust has invested in local, regional, state and national activities to help deliver cleaner beaches, healthier waterways, reduced erosion, more productive agricultural land, improved estuarine health and the conservation of threatened species.
In 2001, the Australian Government extended the Trust for a further five years, from 2002-03 to 2006-07. The 2004 Budget boosted the Trust with a further $300 million, extending the funding until 2007-08. The Framework for the Extension of the Trust in 2002, based on lessons learnt from the first phase of the Trust and the establishment of the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality (the NAP), brought about a fundamental shift towards a more targeted approach to environmental and natural resource management in Australia under the second phase of the Trust.
The model for regional investment under the extension of The Trust was based on that used for the NAP, including:
- bilateral and regional partnership agreements
- investment against accredited regional plans
- the provision of foundation and priority funding
You can find further information on the Framework and download it in PDF format from the following page:
Bilateral Agreements with each state and territory guide the implementation of the Framework.
Following extensive reviews of the delivery of the National Action Plan on Salinity and Water Quality and the second phase of the Trust, the Australian Government committed an additional $395 million per year from 2008-2009 to 2012-2013 to support continued natural resource protection, restoration and sustainable use activities across the country.
What does it fund?
Investment under the Trust occurs at three levels: local, under the Australian Government Envirofund, regional, and national or state wide.
Envirofund
The Australian Government Envirofund was formed to assist individuals and community groups seeking to undertake small projects aimed at sustainable resource use andconserving biodiversity.
Regional investments
This is the principal delivery mechanism for the Trust extension. Investment is made on the basis of an accredited, integrated, regional NRM plan and an associated regional investment strategy developed by an Australian NRM region.
Projects at the regional level are delivered via the integrated implementation of the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality (NAP) and the Trust.
National or state investments
Investments at this level cover national priorities, addressing activities that have a national or broad-scale, rather than a regional or local, outcome. This includes Australian Government only activities, statewide activities and those that cross State, Territory and regional boundaries.
National investment is delivered in accordance with the:
In general, the Australian Government determines priorities for funding from the national delivery component of the Trust without calls for funding applications from the public. Proposals for statewide funding will be made by State and Australian Governments.
Areas of activity
The following 10 areas of activity define the scope of Trust investment:
- protecting and restoring the habitat of threatened species, threatened ecological communities and migratory birds
- reversing the long-term decline in the extent and quality of Australia's native vegetation
- protecting and restoring significant freshwater, marine and estuarine ecosystems
- preventing or controlling the introduction and spread of feral animals, aquatic pests, weeds and other biological threats to biodiversity
- establishing and effectively managing a comprehensive, adequate and representative system of protected areas
- improving the condition of natural resources that underpin the sustainability and productivity of resource-based industries
- securing access to natural resources for sustainable productive use
- encouraging the development of sustainable and profitable management systems for application by land-holders and other natural resource managers and users
- providing land-holders, community groups and other natural resource managers with the understanding and skills necessary to contribute to biodiversity conservation and sustainable NRM
- establishing institutional and organisational frameworks that promote conservation and the ecologically sustainable use and management of natural resources
NRM priorities vary between regions and between states and territories, as does the extent to which the areas of activity identified for Trust investment are addressed in regional plans. Therefore, not every regional NRM plan necessarily addresses all ten areas of activity. Similarly, equal emphasis is not always applied to all components of a single area of activity within a regional plan.
Who manages the Trust?
Natural Heritage Ministerial Board
The Natural Heritage Trust of Australia Act 1997 established the Natural Heritage Ministerial Board, which comprises the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources and the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry . The Board approves the expenditure of Trust funds and monitors the effectiveness of the Trust in achieving its outcomes.
The Board provides a formal mechanism for liaison and cooperation between the two portfolios on matters relating to the Trust. The Ministers must consult with each other on any decision to spend Trust funds.
Natural Heritage Trust Advisory Committee
The Natural Heritage Trust Advisory Committee (the Committee) brings together some of Australia's most respected scientific and NRM experts.
The Committee was established by the Natural Heritage Trust of Australia Act 1997 . The purpose of the Committee is to advise the Natural Heritage Ministerial Board:
- on the integration of the objectives of environmental protection, natural resource management and sustainable agriculture
- about the effectiveness of partnership agreements with the states and territories in achieving integrated outcomes for Trust funding and
- about other matters requested by the Natural Heritage Ministerial Board
The Committee consists of a chairperson and five to nine other members. At least five members must have knowledge of, or experience in, one or more of the following fields:
- biodiversity conservation
- land or water management
- native vegetation sciences
- river or wetland ecology
- coastal or marine systems
The Committee can be contacted through the Secretariat:
Secretariat
Natural Heritage Trust Advisory Committee
GPO Box 787
Canberra ACT 2601
Tel: (02) 6271 6374
Ministerial councils dealing with environmental management
Advisory councils
- Australian Landcare Council
- Biological Diversity Advisory Council
- Threatened Species Scientific Committee
Non-government organisations
- Flora for Fauna
- Greening Australia
- Landcare Australia Limited
- National Landcare Facilitator Project
- Conservation Volunteers Australia
The Natural Resource Management (NRM) web site contains further information about the national, regional and local management and delivery of Australia's NRM initiatives.
Related sites
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