An evaluation of the remnant vegetation protection scheme 1988-1991 : a report

The objective of the Remnant Vegetation Protection Scheme is to encourage land owners to fence and protect areas of remnant vegetation for the purposes of flora and fauna conservation, land conservation and aesthetics. The means by which land owners are encouraged to protect remnant vegetation is the provision of a grant equal to half the cost of labour and materials to erect a stock-proof fence around the vegetation concerned. The RVPS is jointly administered by the Departments of Conservation and Land Management (CALM) and Agriculture (DAWA), with the latter as the lead agency. CALM contributes substantially to the RVPS through the assessment procedure and general expertise on nature conservation priorities and management advice. DAWA organizes the call and assessment of nominations, the grant approvals and contracts, including the placement of memorials on land titles, the maintenance of financial and geographic data and the monitoring of remnant condition of protected areas

Black Scenic River management plan

This Black Scenic River Management Plan of 2020 outlines a community vision for the Black Scenic River, it reflects public values and aspirations for the river, and it offers ideas and information to address river issues of public interest and concern. The first section of this plan provides an introduction to the Black Scenic River Project. The remaining sections form the core of the management plan and are organized under five resource categories

A Proposed Communication Strategy for the Decade of Landcare: A report by the Working Group for the Communication Strategy fir the Decade of Landcare

A Better Future for Rural WA was a conference focusing on leadership and economic development in rural WA. The conference included o Development of leaders in rural industries and communities. o Building more vibrant rural communities through community and economic development initiatives. o Generating innovative approaches to value adding and marketing our agricultural produce. o Exploring how rural WA can further build on the economic strengths of agriculture The conference was designed to help people deal with the issues facing rural communities by showcasing new and innovative projects and practices in rural development from within Australia and overseas and showing how others have made a difference in their rural communities

The Conservation Of Arboreal Marsupials In The Montane Ash Forests Of The Central Highlands Of Victoria, South-Eastern Australia - VII. Modelling The Persistence Of Leadbeater's Possum In Response To Modified Timber Harvesting Practices

A computer model for Population Viability Analysis (PVA) was used to simulate the relationship between the persistence of populations of the endangered species, Leadbeater's possum, Gymnobelideus leadbeateri and the implementation of a range of possible modified timber harvesting practices in two wood production blocks within the montane ash forests of the central highlands of Victoria, south-eastern Australia. The results of our analyses revealed that under the existing conservation strategies there was a high probability of extinction over the next 150 years in both blocks. Given that timber production areas comprise more than 75% of the distribution of G. leadbeateri, our findings highlight a need for additional conservation measures to enhance the survival prospects of the species. The range of upgraded conservation strategies that were examined included (1) extending the rotation time between logging operations; (2) modifying silvicultural practices to increase the amount of forest retained within each harvested coupe; and (3) permanently withdrawing areas from wood production. All of each of these approaches were found significantly to reduce the probability of extinction of populations of G. leadbeateri. However, when the relative merits of the various strategies were compared, the permanent withdrawal of potential logging coupes from timber harvesting was predicted to be the most efficient approach. Importantly, this strategy would have a number of practical advantages including that it overcomes both (1) the logistic difficulties of ensuring the long-term survival of retained trees within logged areas; and (2) human safety issues arising from implementing modified silvicultural practices. This practical application of PVA to compare the merits of different potential management options has provided new information that will enhance present efforts to conserve G. leadbeateri in wood production areas

Modelling the impacts of wildfire on the viability of metapopulations of the endangered Australian species of arboreal marsupial, Leadbeater's Possum

Catastrophic events such as intensive wildfires have a major effect on the dynamics of some wildlife populations. In this investigation, the computer package ALEX (Analysis of the Likelihood of EXtinction), was used to simulate the impacts of wildfires on the persistence of metapopulations of the endangered species Leadbeater's possum (Gymnobelideus leadbeateri) which is restricted to the montane ash forests of the Central Highlands of Victoria. A range of scenarios was examined. First, the response of G. leadbeateri to tires in hypothetical patches of old growth forest of varying size was modelled. Metapopulation dynamics were then modelled in four existing forest management areas: the O'Shannassy Water Catchment and the Steavenson, Ada and Murrindindi Forest Blocks using GIS-derived forest inventory data on complex spatial arrangements of potentially suitable old growth habitat patches. The impacts of different fire frequencies and the proportion of forest area that was burnt in the Steavenson Forest Block and the O'Shannassy Water Catchment were examined. Finally, the combined impacts of both wildfires and post-fire salvage logging operations on the persistence of populations of G. leadbeateri were assessed. Our analyses indicated that, even in the absence of wildfires, populations of G. leadbeateri are very susceptible to extinction within single isolated habitat patches of 20 ha or less. The probability of persistence approached 100% in patches of 250 ha. The incorporation of the effects of wildfire was predicted to have a major negative impact on isolated populations of G. leadbeateri. In these cases, the probability of population extinction remained above 60%, even when a single patch of 1200 ha of old growth forest was modelled. In the absence of wildfires, there was a low probability of extinction of G. leadbeateri in the O'Shannassy Water Catchment where very large patches of old growth forest presently exist. The risk of extinction of the species was significantly higher in the Murrindindi and Ada Forest Blocks where there are lower total areas of, and significantly smaller, suitable habitat patches. Wildfires resulted in an increase in the predicted probability of metapopulation extinction in the four areas that were targeted for study. An investigation of the Steavenson Forest Block and the O'Shannassy Water Catchment revealed that the predicted values for the probability of extinction were sensitive to inter-relationships between the frequency of fires and the proportion of habitat patches that were burnt during a given fire event. The probability of extinction of G. leadbeateri was predicted to be lowest when there were frequent fires that burnt only relatively small areas of a given forest block. Conversely, the results of our analyses suggested that populations of the species are vulnerable to infrequent but intensive conflagrations that burnt a large proportion of the forest. The results of the suite of analyses completed in this study suggest hat four management strategies will be important for the long-term conservation of G. leadbeateri. (1) Attempts to suppress wildfires should be maintained as even the largest remaining areas of old growth forest may be susceptible to being burnt by repeated widespread wildfires that could result in localised and/or global extinction of the species. (2) Because the probability of population persistence is greatest in those areas that support more extensive stands of old growth forest, it will be important to grow relatively large patches of existing regrowth forest (over 50 ha) through to ecological maturity. This will be particularly important in some wood production forest blocks where there are only limited areas of old growth forest. (3) Patches that are set aside for the conservation of G. leadbeateri should be spatially separated to minimise the risk that all of the reserved areas in a region are destroyed in a single major fire event. (4) Salvage logging operations should be excluded from stands of old growth forest and reserved areas that are burnt in a wildfire. This is because such activities can have a major negative impact of the development of suitable habitat for G. leadbeateri

Environmental impact assessments of the Three Gorges Project in China: issues and interventions

The paper takes China's authoritative Environmental Impact Statement for the Yangzi (Yangtze) Three Gorges Project (TGP) in 1992 as a benchmark against which to evaluate emerging major environmental outcomes since the initial impoundment of the Three Gorges reservoir in 2003. The paper particularly examines five crucial environmental aspects and associated causal factors. The five domains include human resettlement and the carrying capacity of local environments (especially land), water quality, reservoir sedimentation and downstream riverbed erosion, soil erosion, and seismic activity and geological hazards. Lessons from the environmental impact assessments of the TGP are: (1) hydro project planning needs to take place at a broader scale, and a strategic environmental assessment at a broader scale is necessary in advance of individual environmental impact assessments; (2) national policy and planning adjustments need to react quickly to the impact changes of large projects; (3) long-term environmental monitoring systems and joint operations with other large projects in the upstream areas of a river basin should be established, and the cross-impacts of climate change on projects and possible impacts of projects on regional or local climate considered. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.Xibao Xu, Yan Tan, Guishan Yan

Community land formalization and company land acquisition procedures: A review of 33 procedures in 15 countries

Indigenous and community lands, crucial for rural livelihoods, are typically held under informal customary tenure arrangements. This can leave the land vulnerable to outside commercial interests, so communities may seek to formalize their land rights in a government registry and obtain an official land document. But this process can be time-consuming and complex, and in contrast, companies can acquire land relatively quickly and find shortcuts around regulatory burdens. This article reviews and maps 19 community land formalization and 14 company land acquisition procedures is 15 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Comparing community and company procedures identifies multiple sources of inequity

Proposed recommendations : Mallee study area /

0724109242 (paperback) (ISBN). "March 1976".; Index indicating National Library of Australia holdings, in an online version at: http://nla.gov.au/nla.map-vn2766744; Library's NL copy does not contain maps.Mallee study are