September 1, 2021
Farmers in the Burnett-Mary natural resource management region have been invited to apply for “stewardship” payments to improve remnant native vegetation.
The Burnett-Mary region is one of six across Australia which will be taking part in the Federal Government’s pilot “Australian Farm Biodiversity Stewardship” program.
The pilot aims to pay farmers for management activities which will improve the condition of existing native vegetation.
“Farmers have been managing biodiversity on their farms for decades and it’s time they were paid for it,” Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said.
“We don’t want to lock up land, we want this work to go hand in hand with a productive farming enterprise.
“These pilots are about creating a credible system to attract private investment in biodiversity on farms.
“Over time I want to roll these pilots out to more farmers, making them widely available and fuelled by private sector investment.”
As part of the pilot, the Australian National University has created processes and protocols to measure and reward farmers for undertaking the projects.
ANU Professor Andrew Macintosh said management protocols could include activities such as fencing, replanting and weed and pest control.
In some projects, farmers may choose to undertake small areas of planting to provide wildlife corridors and connectivity across the landscape.
- More information is available online
