MINUTES ENVIRONMENTAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING

7 SEPTEMBER 2021

CONTENTS 1. DECLARATION OF OPENING / ANNOUNCEMENT OF VISITORS ............. 1

2. RECORDS OF ATTENDANCE / APOLOGIES .............................................. 1

3. DISCLOSURE OF INTERESTS ..................................................................... 1

4. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES ..................................................................... 1

4.1 Minutes of Meeting held on 21 June 2021. ......................................... 1

5. INFORMATION ADDITIONAL TO THE AGENDA ......................................... 1

5.1 Review of Environmental Advisory Committee Status Report ......... 1

6. BUSINESS LEFT OVER FROM PREVIOUS MEETING (if adjourned) ........ 1

7. OFFICER REPORTS ...................................................................................... 2

7.1 Draft Native Vegetation Policy – Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) ..................................................... 2

8. OTHER BUSINESS / NEW BUSINESS OF AN URGENT NATURE ............. 5

9. NEXT MEETING ............................................................................................. 6

10. CLOSURE OF MEETING ............................................................................... 7

ATTACHMENTS with separate index follows Item 10.

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1. DECLARATION OF OPENING / ANNOUNCEMENT OF VISITORSB Foley, Chairperson, declared the meeting open at 3.10pm.

2. RECORDS OF ATTENDANCE / APOLOGIESMembersMr B Foley Chairperson/Community Member Cr P Hart Council Member Cr R Madacsi Council Member Ms J Hart Community Member Staff Mr H de Vos Acting Manager Planning & Development Mrs M Rebane Executive Assistant Visitors Nil. Apologies Mr G Warburton Reserves Management Officer

3. DISCLOSURE OF INTERESTSThe Chairperson advised that no disclosures of interest in the form of a writtennotice had been received prior to the commencement of the meeting.

4. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES4.1 Minutes of Meeting held on 21 June 2021.

OFFICER'S RECOMMENDATION/EAC RES. NO. 08/09/21 MOVED J Hart That the Unconfirmed Minutes of the Environmental Advisory Committee held on 21 June 2021 be confirmed

MOTION CARRIED 4/0

5. INFORMATION ADDITIONAL TO THE AGENDA5.1 Review of Environmental Advisory Committee Status Report

This was reviewed. 6. BUSINESS LEFT OVER FROM PREVIOUS MEETING (if adjourned)

Nil.

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7. OFFICER REPORTS

7.1 Draft Native Vegetation Policy – Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER)

Date of Report: 30 August 2021 File Reference: Environmental Advisory Committee (COC14) Author: H de Vos – Acting Manager Planning and Development Responsible Officer: J Augustin – Acting Chief Executive Officer

Attachments: 1. Native Vegetation Issues Paper 2. Draft Native Vegetation Policy – Department of Water

and Environmental Regulation PURPOSE To review the Draft Native Vegetation Policy which is being developed by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER), and to provide feedback to Council for a future submission during the public consultation process. BACKGROUND The Government has begun its journey to improve the protection of and address the decline in our native vegetation and to make regulation more effective and efficient for all. During extensive consultation on an improved cost-recovery model for clearing permit application fees at the end of 2018, various stakeholders asked for improved transparency and consistency in how native vegetation is considered across government processes. The Government responded with plans for four initiatives: 1. A State native vegetation policy. 2. Investing in better information including mapping and monitoring. 3. Improving our regulatory processes. 4. Exploring a bioregional approach to managing native vegetation. In 2019, the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) commenced a series of public workshops to discuss native vegetation and to particularly address the Western Australian community on how this important asset should be managed now and for the future. Details of this initial phase can be viewed as Attachment 1 – Native Vegetation Issues Paper. As a result of this process, the DWER has developed a Draft Native Vegetation Policy which has now been released for public consultation. A copy of the policy can be viewed as Attachment 2 – Draft Native Vegetation Policy. For additional details, including the opportunity to privately participate in an online survey please refer to the following link:

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https://www.wa.gov.au/service/environment/environment-information-services/consultation-draft-native-vegetation-policy-wa Consultation is open from 30 August to 25 October 2021. OFFICER COMMENT Correct management and conservation of native vegetation assets is a cornerstone of the Shire of Toodyay’s Strategic Community Plan 2028 which states the following strategic focus: Toodyay is an area of rare natural beauty and high conservation values, sitting in the Avon River Valley. With much of the Shire consisting of natural bush, the Shire is responsible for a significant number of high-quality natural places. We seek to preserve these values through proactive strategies and modelling sustainable practices.

This strategic focus has been used to inform the Shire’s Environmental Management Strategy and is currently guiding the Biodiversity Strategy which is still in development. Therefore, this is a good opportunity for the Council to advocate on behalf of its community by providing a submission.

OFFICER’S RECOMMENDATION The Environmental Advisory Committee recommends to Council the following: That Council: 1. ………

Points raised:

Concerns about consultation period.

Acting Manager Planning & Development will get an extension of at least two days for submission from Council.

Acting MPD sending an email to environmental groups in regard to doing their individual submissions.

Item would go to Council in October 2021.

Acting MPD will convert the document to word and receive the submissions from all members and can make track changes to the document.

Workshop of the EAC be held to discuss and agree on submission to be made. Special EAC Meeting to be arranged at the end of the workshop.

Cr Madacsi moved a motion as follows: That the EAC defers a recommendation to Council until after a workshop of the EAC and Special Meeting of the EAC can be held.

J Hart seconded the motion.

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The motion was put.

MOTION/EAC RES. NO. 08/09/21 MOVED J Hart That the EAC defers a recommendation to Council until after a workshop of the EAC and Special Meeting of the EAC can be held.

MOTION CARRIED 4/0

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8. OTHER BUSINESS / NEW BUSINESS OF AN URGENT NATURE

MOTION/EAC RES. NO. 09/09/21 MOVED Cr Madacsi That the Feral pig issues be discussed at the next scheduled EAC Meeting.

MOTION CARRIED 4/0

MOTION/EAC RES. NO. 10/09/21 MOVED Cr Madacsi That Standing Order 4.5(3) and (4) New Business of an Urgent Nature, and Standing Order 7.9 be suspended at 3.30pm to enable free flowing discussion in relation to the Verge Survey.

MOTION CARRIED 4/0

Question will be taken on notice regarding clarification of the approval process for putting information onto the Shire website and through Facebook. Process to be followed:

All members provide pictures to J Hart for the types of items the group islooking for.

Forms given out to J Hart who will formulate content.

Form to be provided to the CEO via email.

Content would go up through an Admin Officer.

Repeat the process for each content change.Points raised as follows:

A copy of the Officer’s report and Council Meeting Resolution from July 2021attached as a reference.

Acting Manager Planning & Development can teach J Hart how to do the datacollection and use GIS and species that have been identified can be uploadedinto the GIS System which will ultimately create / develop a map.

Periodic workshops can be held by the EAC with others to assist in theidentification of species.

Email address to be provided to the group if possible (eac@toodyay.wa.gov.au)

Records registration to be confirmed.

If access provided to EAC members what security measures will be put intoplace for the use? Response: Programs would either be the StateGovernment one called locate or an open source called Q-GIS (which is free);

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the latter means that doing work on a home computer would not see there being an issue with it.

Box at the reception area for submissions made. USB’s to have identifiers on them.

Flyer on noticeboards around town (TRC, CRC, etc.).

Newspaper advertisement.

Radio advertisement.

Farmers Market attendance by EAC.

Get in touch with universities to get them to do road trips to survey the area.

Reserves Road Verges be done through RMO and Universities.

Set targets and quantify the amount of surveying done every so often.

Get in touch with producers of Landline. Important project for the Shire.

Timeline for when the first page will go up: Farmer’s market on the 19th. Initial poster already drafted that may be able to be used as a launch at the Farmer’s Market.

Include in the message: Why is it important to the community?

Understanding what we have in our backyard. Slogans can be formulated such as “the Shire of Toodyay is on the verge of

brilliance.”

Would we like to talk about creative commons or putting something like the right of use in publicity of the material and the Shire has right of use for the images but the photographer retains copyright of your image. Confidentiality of where the survey information was captured. Credits of photographer can be acknowledged. Have the CEO’s reassurance that the EAC would be doing the right thing in regard to this.

Process for assessment of flora on roads that may be due to have fire mitigation planned to be clarified.

DWER Website clearance of native vegetation information provided to new landholders in the Shire and perhaps with ratepayer information.

9. NEXT MEETING The next meeting of the Environmental Advisory Committee is scheduled to be held on 6 December 2021 commencing at 4.00pm. Friday 10 September 2021 session being held with DBCA about the feral pig issue (Ag Alliance in attendance).

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10. CLOSURE OF MEETING The Chairperson declared the meeting closed at 4.30pm.

Administration Centre T: 9574 9300 15 Fiennes Street (PO Box 96) F: 9574 2158 TOODYAY WA 6566 E: records@toodyay.wa.gov.au

Attachments to Minutes Environmental Advisory Committee 7 September 2021

INFORMATION ADDITIONAL TO THE AGENDA

5.1 Review of Environmental Advisory Committee Status Report 1

OFFICER REPORTS

7.1 Draft Native Vegetation Policy – Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) 3

1. Native Vegetation Issues Paper 3

2. Draft Native Vegetation Policy – Department of Water and Environmental Regulation 47

EAC STATUS REPORT Environmental Advisory Committee

Supporting Officers

Acting Manager Planning & Development

Meeting Date

Purpose Resolution / Other Comment Target date

for completion

Actioned by

Completion Date

Meeting Commentary and record of Council Meeting

Resolution No.

21/06/2021 7.1 Review of Terms of Reference

That Council amend the Terms of Reference for the Environmental Advisory Committee as follows: Purpose The EAC will provide guidance and assistance where possible on all matters that benefit or impact the natural environmental assets of the Shire of Toodyay. Objectives: The EAC will: (a) make recommendations to Council on matters relating to theenvironment including but not limited to:• Natural resources;• Native vegetation and landscape;• Biodiversity protection and enhancement;• Catchment drainage and water course management;• Resource recovery and waste management;• Pest and weed management;• Environmental sustainability;• Climate change impact adaption and mitigation.(b) generate community interest and participation in matters relatingto the above items;(c) provide feedback to Council in relation to point (b) above;(d) provide input and advice to Council on the implementation of

• Environmental strategies and policies.

ASAP AMPD

27/07/2021 OCM

Resolution No. 156/07/21

21/06/2021 7.2 Community Verge Flora Survey

The Environmental Advisory Committee recommends to Council the following: That Council: 1. Approves that the Environmental Advisory Committee will coordinate andruna staged community verge flora identification program by encouragingcommunity participation through a variety of strategies that may include:

ASAP AMPD

27/07/2021 OCM

Resolution No. 157/07/21

1

EAC STATUS REPORT Environmental Advisory Committee

Supporting Officers

AMPD/RMO

1 | P a g e

Location: W:\CEOSEC\Agendas & Minutes - Committees\16 Environmental Advisory Committee (COC14)\01 Status Report EAC\Current EAC Status Report.doc Modified: 3/09/2021 10:30 AM

Meeting Date

Purpose Resolution / Other Comment Target date

for completion

Actioned by

Completion Date

Meeting Commentary and record of Council Meeting

Resolution No.

• promotion through social media; • use of technology; • youth education and citizen science; 2. Endorses the objectives of the exercise and the expected outcomes of: • enhancement of verge protection, • improving the opportunity for flora-based tourism; and • creation of a database resource for the community and the Shire to support future development and protection of the environment. 3. Noting that: (a) stage 1 will commence from August 2021; and

• (b) updates be provided to Council through Council Forums.

2

Native Vegetation in Western AustraliaIssues paper for public consultationNovember 2019

3

Department of Water and Environmental Regulation

Prime House, 8 Davidson Terrace Joondalup Western Australia 6027

Telephone +61 8 6364 7000 Facsimile +61 8 6364 7001 National Relay Service 13 36 77

dwer.wa.gov.au

Government of Western Australia © November 2019

FIRST 115789

This work is copyright. You may download, display, print and reproduce this material in unaltered form only (retaining this notice) for your personal, non‑commercial use or use within your organisation. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, all other rights are reserved. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation.

Disclaimer

This document has been published by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation. Any representation, statement, opinion or advice expressed or implied in this publication is made in good faith and on the basis that the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation and its employees are not liable for any damage or loss whatsoever which may occur as a result of action taken or not taken, as the case may be in respect of any representation, statement, opinion or advice referred to herein. Professional advice should be obtained before applying the information contained in this document to particular circumstances.

The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation was established by the Government of Western Australia on 1 July 2017. It is a result of the amalgamation of the Department of Environment Regulation, Department of Water and the Office of the Environmental Protection Authority. This publication may contain references to previous government departments and programs.

Please email the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation to clarify any specific information.

This publication is available at our website or for those with special needs it can be made available in alternative formats such as audio, large print, or Braille.

4

Table of contents

Minister’s foreword ...................................v

Have your say ............................................vi

Introduction .................................................1

Responding to the challenge ..................7

1. A State native vegetation policy 11

2. Better information 15

3. Better regulation 19

4. A bioregional approach 23

Other initiatives 28

References .................................................. 31

D epar tment o f Water and Environmenta l Regulat ion PAGE i i i5

Photo: Tourism WA

PAGE iv Nat ive vege tat ion in Wes tern Au s tra l ia6

The McGowan Government values Western Australia’s unique ecology and extraordinary biodiversity, both of which are intrinsically linked to our State’s native vegetation. Our native vegetation also supports important sectors of the State’s economy, has cultural importance for Aboriginal people and gives character to the iconic landscapes all Western Australians are proud of. With this paper, we wish to start a dialogue with the Western Australian community on how this important asset should be managed now and for the future.

The Government acknowledges the challenge in striking the right balance between protecting the environment and delivering a strong economic outlook for the State. With the right strategies we can do both. We aim to ensure that decisions affecting native vegetation are made as part of a strategic, transparent approach that delivers benefits for all Western Australians.

The Government has already begun its journey to improve the protection of, and address the decline in our native vegetation and to make regulation more effective and efficient for all. During extensive consultation on an improved cost‑recovery model for clearing permit application fees at the end of 2018, various stakeholders asked us for improved transparency and consistency in how native vegetation is considered across government processes. We are responding with plans for four initiatives:

1. A State native vegetation policy.

2. Investing in better information including mapping and monitoring.

3. Improving our regulatory processes.

4. Exploring a bioregional approach to managing native vegetation.

Minister’s foreword

These four initiatives form the first steps in our staged approach to reform. They aim to improve clarity and certainty for industry and the community, and build our understanding of native vegetation status and trends across the State. They will build the foundation to plan and deliver the best possible environmental, community and economic outcomes from managing native vegetation.

In the longer‑term, opportunities are emerging to manage native vegetation in a way that delivers on multiple State priorities. The McGowan Government has committed to expanding the conservation estate by 5 million hectares by 2023–24. Incentives, pricing and markets could further fund and reward good stewardship. These all have potential to support regional economic diversification and jobs that foster Aboriginal wellbeing and connection to country.

I encourage you to have your say on the future of our State’s native vegetation management by sharing your insights on the four initiatives and what else might be needed to get the best for our environment, community and economy.

Hon Stephen Dawson MLC Minister for Environment

D epar tment o f Water and Environmenta l Regulat ion PAGE v7

Have your say

Purpose of this issues paper

This issues paper is to prompt stakeholder advice and feedback on four initiatives the Government of Western Australia is planning. These aim to improve consistency and transparency in how native vegetation is managed across all government processes and include:

1. A State native vegetation policy.

2. Investing in better information including mapping and monitoring.

3. Improving our regulatory processes.

4. Exploring a bioregional approach (see Box 4 on page 9) to managing native vegetation.

Your insights will help build a picture of stakeholder perspectives on the initiatives and the implications for various sectors. They will form an important part of the range of information sources we will use to design the four initiatives.

Native vegetation reform will be a long‑term journey. Shaping and implementing all four initiatives will take time, and other initiatives will be needed to ensure the State’s native vegetation is maintained for future generations. This issues paper also opens a conversation on what else might be needed from native vegetation management to get the best outcomes for the environment, community and economy.

PAGE v i Nat ive vege tat ion in Wes tern Au s tra l ia8

Have your say

Online + regional

workshops

Scoping and implementing our approach to the four initiatives. Further consultation on regulatory policies. Future regionally based consultation on a bioregional approach.

Public consultation

12 weeksNov‑Feb

Online

Public consultation

4 weeksApril

Final policy

Consultationsummary

Consultationsummary

Issues paper

Draft policy

Figure 1 Opportunities to engage in shaping the four initiatives

Consultation timeline

This issues paper supports the first of several opportunities to engage in the development and delivery of the four initiatives. The public consultation period for the issues paper opens for 12 weeks from November 2019. We expect to release a draft policy in April 2020 for four weeks’ public consultation. We aim to deliver a policy for the Government’s consideration by mid‑2020. We will also be consulting stakeholders on specific elements of the four initiatives; for example, on updates to operational policies or planning a bioregional approach to native vegetation management (Figure 1).

For information on how to make a submission, please refer to the back page of this document.

D epar tment o f Water and Environmenta l Regulat ion PAGE v i i9

Our valuable vegetation

Western Australia’s native vegetation is internationally renowned for its biodiversity. We have eight of the nation’s 15 and one of the world’s 36 biodiversity hotspots. Our State boasts extraordinary floral diversity including more than 11,000 native plant species (Western Australian Herbarium 2019). The botanical south‑west province alone hosts more than 8,000 plant species, of which about half are found nowhere else (Gioia & Hopper 2017).

Western Australia’s native vegetation is culturally and spiritually significant to Aboriginal people. Our landscapes define our State’s identity. Our native vegetation provides habitat for our native animals and is also the ecological infrastructure which binds soil, cleans water, controls salinity and regulates climate – services that have already proven to be costly to replace.

Our native vegetation also supports the productive capacity of many important sectors of the State’s economy including agriculture, pastoralism, forestry, wildflower and seed harvesting, beekeeping and nature‑based tourism (see Box 1 on page 3).

Introduction

PAGE 1 Nat ive vege tat ion in Wes tern Aus tra l ia10

Introduction

The challenge

Our national and international biodiversity hotspots have been recognised not only for their remarkably high number of unique species, but also for the risk to biodiversity from current and future pressures. The list of Western Australian threatened species continues to grow – between 2009 and 2017 our State’s threatened species list jumped by 12 per cent to 672 (Auditor General 2017a). Of the 1,878 species classified as nationally threatened, 551 are found in Western Australia (DoEE 2019a).

Of the 18 million hectares of Western Australia’s native vegetation already cleared, most is in the State’s south‑west (Figure 2) – coinciding with our most biodiverse ecosystems (Yeats et al. 2014). In some local government areas, more than 93 per cent of the original vegetation is lost (DBCA 2018), including clearing of up to 97 per cent of some woodland areas (Bradshaw 2012). This situation has led to the State’s Environmental Protection Authority identifying clearing and degradation of native vegetation as a key threat to Western Australia’s biodiversity (e.g. EPA 2017).

Direct clearing is not the only activity affecting our State’s native vegetation. It also faces ongoing degradation through fragmentation and loss of connectivity, over‑grazing, weed invasion, altered hydrology, salinity, dieback diseases, feral animals, altered fire regimes and climate change. Native vegetation is often subject to more than one pressure, leading to critical declines in ecosystem integrity. For example, overgrazing can cause weed invasion, leading to more intense and extensive fires, exacerbated by climate change. The cumulative impacts of multiple pressures means that much of our remaining native vegetation is also at risk.

Figure 2 Extent of native vegetation in Western Australia

0 250 500

Kilometres

Geraldton

PerthBunbury

Esperance

Kalgoorlie

Other parts of the StateLocalised clearing and broadscale

degrading processes

South-westHighly cleared

Native Vegetation Extent

Of the original vegetation in some local government areas has been cleared.

93%

D epar tment o f Water and Environmenta l Regulat ion PAGE 211

Box 1: Ecosystem services and costs incurred when they are lost

Ecosystem services are the benefits people derive from ecosystems (DEWHA 2010). They include:

▶ provisioning services including food, fibre and timber

▶ regulating services including erosion control, water filtration, climate regulation, pest regulation, pollination, seed dispersal and storing carbon

▶ supporting services including soil and biodiversity conservation and environmental water flows

▶ cultural services including supporting a sense of place for indigenous and non‑indigenous people and nature‑based or cultural tourism.

Together, clearing and degradation of native vegetation have caused significant and costly loss of ecosystem services – resulting in salinised land and water resources, erosion and related losses to agricultural productivity and impacts to infrastructure.

Salinity from large‑scale clearing in the south‑west agricultural regions affects between 1 and 2 million hectares. Annually, the cost of lost production from saline agricultural land is estimated at $519 million, while the cost to maintain salt‑damaged rail and roads is about $175 million (Auditor General 2018). Between 2002 and 2009 in Western Australia, the State and Australian governments invested $724 million in ecosystem restoration to manage salinity and other agricultural land degradation (State NRM Office 2010).

Erosion costs agricultural production about $10 million a year (Herbert 2009). Land purchase and compensation to prevent clearing and the further salinisation of priority water catchments amounted to $138 million in 2010. In 2018, the State and Australian governments committed $396 million to one individual project to reduce salinity in Wellington Dam (GHD 2019).

Addressing the impacts of clearing on remaining native vegetation in highly cleared landscapes adds further costs. Protecting and restoring vegetation also incurs maintenance costs by whomever is the landholder – private or public. In 2015–16 the Western Australian Government allocated $66 million for the broad task of conserving habitat, species and ecological communities (Auditor General 2017a). Both State and Australian governments have funded Landcare activities to about $33 million for the past five years (WA Landcare Network 2017).

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Relationship between clearing and water source salinity noticed.

1924 – ‘Increase of salt in soil and streams following the destruction of native vegetation’ published by the Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia (Wood 1924)

1890s

1920s

1950 – Clearing regulation to prevent erosion begins for parts of the south‑west under the Soil and Land Conservation Act 1945. 1951 – Public Works Department suggests clearing should be banned in water supply catchments to avoid salination.

1950s

Late 1970s – Clearing regulation introduced to prevent salination of four critically important water supply catchments under the Country Areas Water Supply Act 1945.

1970s

Coordinated action and investment in salinity mitigation is an increasing focus for investment, through to the late 2000s.

1990s

Post‑war rapid growth in agriculture results in clearing rates of over 400,000 hectares per year by the late 1960s (Hogstrom 1967).

1960s1984 – State Government moratorium on mass land releases.1986 – Clearing regulation to prevent erosion under the Soil and Land Conservation Act 1945 expanded to cover the whole State.

1980s2004 – Today’s statewide clearing provisions under the Environmental Protection Act 1986 begins.

2000s

Box 2: Timeline of native vegetation reform

D epar tment o f Water and Environmenta l Regulat ion PAGE 413

Striking the right balance

For tens of thousands of years, Aboriginal people have relied on and sustainably used foods, medicines and materials derived from native vegetation as components of economies and culture. After European settlement, clearing of native vegetation for agriculture was seen as a cornerstone of regional and community development in the south‑west. In the Kimberley, Pilbara and southern Rangelands, the pastoral industry has been integral to regional economies and has relied on livestock being able to graze on native vegetation.

Current activities that provide employment, food, land to build homes on, safer roads, social and community infrastructure, reduced risk of bushfires, timber products and water supplies, can affect native vegetation. Economic activity associated with land development has enabled and driven population expansion and has contributed to forming our contemporary society.

Mining, agriculture and urban development all result in a degree of clearing and vegetation degradation, and each is important to our State’s economy and job markets. Each year, mining brings in some $79 billion in gross State product, while construction brings in $21 billion and agriculture, forestry and fishing $6 billion (2016–18 figures). These industries provide significant numbers of regional and urban jobs for Western Australians – 105,000 in mining (8 per cent), 129,000 in construction (10 per cent) and 36,000 in agriculture, forestry and fishing (3 per cent) (2017–19 figures) (DJTSI 2019). Tourism, for which Western Australia’s iconic natural environment is a strong drawcard, brought in $6 billion and contributed some 5 per cent of State employment in 2016–17 (Tourism WA 2018).

Clearly, there is a lot at stake for the Western Australian community in striking the right balance between protecting native vegetation and a strong community and economic outlook. The Western Australian Government is committed to doing both, through finding solutions to protect our important natural assets strategically and transparently, while supporting sustainable solutions for development in our regions, towns and cities.

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Nationally, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 provides for protection of the environment on matters of national environmental significance – and therefore plays a substantial role in protecting vegetation that is nationally important, or provides habitat for nationally important species. This legislation supports Australia’s commitments to international agreements, including the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance.

Also on a national and international scale, maintaining and restoring vegetation is a key strategy for a low‑carbon future. Australia ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Paris Agreement in 2016 and the Western Australian Government is now developing a State climate policy (public consultation is being undertaken through a climate change issues paper).

State and national natural resource management frameworks engage willing participants to protect and restore native vegetation. The Western Australian Natural Resource Management Framework (DPIRD 2018) sets State priorities for restoration investment. Funding streams include the National Landcare Program (Australian Government 2019) and the State Natural Resource Management Program (Government of Western Australia 2019a), both geared to conserving and restoring water, soils, plants, animals and ecosystems.

Native vegetation influences many aspects of Western Australian society, which means it is managed through the mechanisms of many different government departments, local authorities and community groups, each with a different approach and purpose. Some mechanisms are legislative controls, others regulate sustainable use, and still others establish systems that promote native vegetation improvement.

More than 10 government departments and authorities play a role in managing activities that affect native vegetation, applying 16 Acts which have widely varying primary goals (see Table 1 on page 18). Western Australia is a signatory to Australia’s Native Vegetation Framework (COAG 2012); however, as Western Australia does not have a single framework for native vegetation, the national goals have not been integrated into a single policy or approach.

The Environmental Protection Act 1986 is the primary legislation that specifically regulates approvals to clear and otherwise impact native vegetation. The Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 provides protection for biodiversity, particularly threatened species, threatened ecological communities, threatening processes and critical habitats. The Conservation and Land Management Act 1984 provides for the management of land for native vegetation conservation purposes. The Soil and Land Conservation Act 1945 and the Country Areas Water Supply Act 1946 specifically provide for the management of native vegetation to conserve land and water resources. Other legislative frameworks are aimed at the sustainable use of native vegetation such as grazing and forestry. Native vegetation is also managed for public safety through application of the Bushfires Act 1954.

Box 3: Frameworks for managing vegetation

D epar tment o f Water and Environmenta l Regulat ion PAGE 615

Striking the right balance for native vegetation is a complex task that involves addressing competing objectives. The Western Australian Government acknowledges this challenge and is responding.

We have listened to the concerns expressed by various sectors involved in native vegetation about the consistency, transparency and evidence‑base of government decisions affecting native vegetation. These were raised during our extensive consultation on clearing permit assessment cost recovery at the end of 2018 and by way of direct representations to Government. We are responding with plans for four initiatives (outlined in this issues paper), which are:

1. A State native vegetation policy

2. Investing in better information including mapping and monitoring

3. Improving our regulatory processes

4. Exploring a bioregional approach (see Box 4 on page 9) to managing native vegetation

Responding to the challenge

These four initiatives are designed to improve consistency, transparency and fairness in government decision‑making. They will contribute to the robust evidence base we need for planning longer‑term initiatives and reforms into the future. This issues paper is to prompt feedback from across the community and all related sectors to inform the State Government’s design of the four initiatives.

A bioregional approach

A State native vegetation policy

Better information

Better regulation

The four initiatives will not by themselves halt the current trend of decline, so we need to look ahead to how we might build on them. Medium‑ to long‑term solutions are also needed to strategically engage a broader range of people, organisations and activities to improve native vegetation outcomes. This issues paper invites you to share your insights into the priorities and potential solutions, and to provide ideas for future initiatives.

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A State native vegetation policy will promote consistency and transparency in the objectives that apply to native vegetation and clearing across all government processes. The policy will set the scene for bioregional tailoring (see Box 4) of native vegetation management, enabling unique or at‑risk environmental values to be dealt with strategically, in the context of other regional priorities. The intent is to optimise outcomes for the environment, the community and the economy.

We are exploring how to improve our statewide monitoring of the extent and condition of native vegetation. We need a better system to understand status and trends, and to track which areas are subject to regulatory approvals for clearing or other impacts. We are focused on making best use of the data, systems and processes we already have and leveraging new remote sensing technologies to get accurate and up‑to‑date data at minimum cost.

Continuous improvement in clearing regulation is underway, focusing first on improving operational systems, processes and policy for clearing approved through clearing permits (Environmental Protection Act 1986). With a new policy in place, common principles will be available to guide future improvements to other statutory processes which authorise impacts to the extent or condition of native vegetation. Greater capacity to compare actual clearing with approved clearing envelopes (better information) will enable improved compliance and enforcement.

Experience and feedback shows that a ‘one size fits all’ approach to setting objectives or standards for native vegetation does not enable certainty, consistency or transparency across our vast and diverse State. We are exploring approaches to enable regional tailoring of native vegetation management to match bioregional variations (see Box 4), using water allocation planning as a model (DWER 2019c). This has the potential to produce clear, strategic objectives for native vegetation management, to inform decision‑making across a range of government processes.

A State native vegetation

policy

1.

Better information

2. 3.

A bioregional approach

4.

Four initiatives for improving vegetation management

Better regulation

D epar tment o f Water and Environmenta l Regulat ion PAGE 817

Figure 3 Western Australia’s bioregions (Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia)

Box 4: What is a ‘bioregion’, what is a ‘region’?

The Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) was developed in 1993–94 as a tool for identifying land for conservation (DoEE 2019b). IBRA classifies Australia into 89 geographically distinct landscapes, of which 26 are in Western Australia.

The ‘bioregions’ are characterised by their distinct geology, landform patterns, climate, ecological features and plant and animal communities. They were primarily developed to guide national development of a Comprehensive, Adequate and Representative reserve system for Australia but can also be used to support strategic environmental planning more broadly.

There are many ways of and purposes for dividing Western Australia into ‘regions’. For the purposes of this issues paper, the term ‘region’ and ‘regional’ is not a defined term relating to a known area with a boundary. It is used generally to describe areas outside of the Perth metropolitan area.

0 250 500

Kilometres

18

Box 5: Tracking the extent and location of clearing

We need to improve Western Australia’s data systems to enable tracking of the extent or location of statutory approvals to clear or degrade native vegetation, and to monitor the actual clearing taking place.

We have kept consolidated spatial records of the clearing authorised under clearing permits since 2004, but this covers some 600,000 hectares or only 3 per cent of all historical clearing to date. The spatial data systems we have do not incorporate clearing approved under Part IV of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 or other pathways, such as subdivision approvals under the Planning and Development Act 2005. Exempt clearing, currently authorised under more than 40 provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1986, is not systematically tracked in any way.

Our existing map of native vegetation extent across the State (Western Australian Land Information Authority 2019) is widely used as a basis for government decisions but it is not systematically updated. There are no statewide datasets of native vegetation condition.

Did you know...Since 2018, the Western Australian Government has been publishing statistics on clearing permits under Part V of the Environmental Protection Act 1986, dating back to 2004 (DWER 2018a).

D epar tment o f Water and Environmenta l Regulat ion PAGE 1019

1. A State native vegetation policy

Desired outcome

Set an enabling framework for consistent, transparent objectives for consideration of native vegetation across all government processes.

Expected benefits

Possible approaches

Issues

There are multiple regulatory processes that authorise clearing or impacts to native vegetation (see Box 6 on page 12). The Government also makes other non‑regulatory decisions that influence the status of native vegetation. How native vegetation is considered across all of these processes varies and a lack of transparency has been of concern to the Government, the community and industry. Experience and feedback shows that providing the desired consistency and transparency can’t be achieved through statewide rules, because of the great diversity in the native vegetation itself, and its history and setting.

▶ Set direction to clarify the Government’s intentions and priorities to apply across the State.

▶ Promote a bioregional approach to setting objectives for native vegetation protection – enabling consideration of regional areas with unique or at‑risk environmental values.

▶ Apply the same objectives consistently across all of the Government’s decision‑making that affects native vegetation. ▶ Trust in consistent, fair and transparent

government decisions.

▶ Getting the best‑possible environmental, social and economic outcomes.

▶ Certainty for business and the community.

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1. A State native vegetation policy

Box 6: Proposed policy objectives

We are consulting on three proposed policy objectives. These objectives will not necessarily be in the policy, but your responses to them will help us to understand stakeholder perspectives across sectors as we draft the policy.

a. The management of native vegetation is consistent, transparent and strategic and strikes a balance between environmental, economic, social and cultural outcomes to Western Australians.

b. Western Australia’s native vegetation is strategically conserved and restored to maintain and improve ecological function and biodiversity at a landscape scale.

c. Higher priority and strategic protection for unique and at‑risk native vegetation, tailored to the regional setting.

Your thoughts?...

Referring to the proposed policy objective statements (see Box 6), how well do you support each one in guiding our development of a policy?

What opportunities are presented by the development of a State native vegetation policy focused on how the Government manages vegetation?

D epar tment o f Water and Environmenta l Regulat ion PAGE 1221

Table 1: Legislation that may affect native vegetation outcomes

Box 7: Diverse legislation to assess and approve clearing and other impacts

The range of State and federal legislation used to assess and approve native vegetation impacts (see Table 1) reflects the broad range of purposes for which native vegetation is managed. These varying purposes are important and are to be retained, but opportunities also exist to improve consistency and transparency in how native vegetation is considered in decision‑making across government.

Legislation Primary purpose Responsible agencies

Environmental Protection Act 1986 and subsidiary legislation (clearing provisions)

Protecting native vegetation for a range of purposes including biodiversity, soil conservation and water quality

Department of Water and Environmental RegulationDepartment of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety

Environmental Protection Act 1986 Part IV assessments

Protecting the environment – significant proposals

Environmental Protection AuthorityDepartment of Water and Environmental Regulation

Planning and Development Act 2005

Strategic planning, zoning, subdivision and development decisions

Western Australian Planning Commission Department of Planning, Lands and HeritageLocal government

Mining Act 1978 Outlines the law as it relates to mining

Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety

Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Resources Act 1967 and subsidiary legislation (environment regulation)

Exploration for, and the exploitation of, petroleum and geothermal energy resources

Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety

Petroleum Pipelines Act 1969 and subsidiary legislation (environment regulation)

Construction, operation and maintenance of pipelines for the conveying of petroleum

Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety

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Legislation Primary purpose Responsible agencies

Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1982 and subsidiary legislation (environment regulation)

Exploration for, and exploitation of, the petroleum resources of submerged lands

Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety

Land Administration Act 1997

Ecologically sustainable livestock grazing on native vegetation on pastoral leases

Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage

Country Areas Water Supply Act 1947

Protects drinking water catchments from salinisation caused by clearing

Department of Water and Environmental Regulation

Rights in Water and Irrigation Act 1914

Providing for the take, use and sustainable development of water resources

Department of Water and Environmental Regulation

Soil and Land Conservation Act 1945

Managing soil and land resources and impacts on these resources

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development

Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007

Preventing and controlling weeds, feral animals and exotic diseases

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development

Bush Fires Act 1954 Managing fire regimes and prescribed burning approaches

Department of Fire and Emergency Services Local government

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

Protecting matters of national environmental significance including biodiversity and heritage

Commonwealth Department of Environment and Energy

Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016

Conserving and protecting the State’s biodiversity

Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions

D epar tment o f Water and Environmenta l Regulat ion PAGE 1423

2. Better information

Expected benefits

Possible approachesDesired outcome

Government decisions are evidence-based, underpinned by a common platform of reliable data.

Issues

With the datasets and systems we have, we cannot comprehensively track where native vegetation has been authorised for clearing, or how much is actually cleared each year – either through approved, exempt or unlawful clearing. Monitoring the status of native vegetation is important to support evidence‑based decisions and policy settings, for example on cumulative impacts, thresholds and conservation priorities. Across the public and private sectors we have invested millions of dollars in obtaining data on native vegetation. Significant savings could be made if the data was collated and more accessible.

▶ Bring regulatory information together into one place.

▶ Invest in regularly updated vegetation extent mapping and condition monitoring, leveraging new remote sensing techniques and technologies with appropriate ground‑truthing.

▶ Build an online, publicly available mapping system for regulatory and observational data (see Box 8) to enable government, industry and community to access the same information.

▶ Progress initiatives like the Index of Biodiversity Surveys for Assessments (see Box 9), to make best use of the data we have.

▶ Decisions are deliberate and well‑informed – whether the decision is to protect, to restore, or to accept impacts.

▶ A consistent, robust, up‑to‑date single source of data for decisions.

▶ Reduced costs to business, through avoiding the collection of new data that might already exist.

▶ Regulatory compliance and enforcement made more effective through the availability of current and reliable information.

▶ Improved transparency.

▶ Greater understanding and knowledge of native vegetation status and cumulative impacts from clearing.

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2. Better information

Box 8: Towards statewide, regularly updated native vegetation information

Native vegetation information falls into two broad categories: ▶ What is actually there – its extent, condition and type.

▶ How it is managed – for example, assigning conservation significance or capturing areas approved for clearing or other impacts.

Information under both of these categories changes daily, with every on‑ground action, regulatory decision, policy listing or other declining process, such as salinity. At the moment, our data systems and processes don’t provide statewide, regularly updated information for either of these categories. This makes it impossible to track or report accurately on the status of native vegetation.

The Government is already exploring options for building on and scaling up existing platforms, products and partnerships to improve datasets and access to them. This includes options for acquiring, updating and interpreting on‑ground data, as well as systems and processes for compiling and accessing regulatory datasets. There is much to build on, including existing initiatives from collaborations such as LandMonitor (see LandMonitor 2019) and the Western Australian Biodiversity Science Institute (see WABSI 2019), as well as national land cover change tracking related to Australia’s National Carbon Accounting System.

Your thoughts?...

How do you use native vegetation data within your sector?

▶ To plan for conservation

▶ To plan for restoration

▶ To scope offset opportunities

▶ To inform applications to clear or impact vegetation

▶ For baseline information for monitoring

▶ Other

Which of the following elements of better information provision would be most relevant to your sector?

▶ Cost saving

▶ Timeliness of assessments

▶ Evidence‑base for decisions

▶ Other

What other opportunities are presented by improved information and access?

D epar tment o f Water and Environmenta l Regulat ion PAGE 1625

Box 9: Index of Biodiversity Surveys for Assessments

Implemented in 2018, the Index of Biodiversity Surveys for Assessments (IBSA – DWER 2018b) captures data from land‑based biodiversity field surveys conducted to support assessments and compliance by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, Environmental Protection Authority and Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety under the Environmental Protection Act 1986. IBSA consolidates this data and provides a platform to make it publicly available online.

About $38 million is spent each year collecting biodiversity data to support environmental assessments, yet before IBSA the information was not centralised or easily discoverable. IBSA delivers better environmental outcomes and improves the efficiency of assessments by:

▶ improving the availability of information for proponents

▶ allowing government, industry and the community to get maximum value from existing data

▶ reducing costs and delays associated with poor availability of biodiversity data

▶ supporting ongoing strategic planning, decision‑making and management.

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3. Better regulation

Expected benefits

Possible approachesIssues

Regulation is an important tool for managing native vegetation values. However, unclear objectives, inconsistency in the environmental standards within and across regulatory pathways, and uncertain wait times for assessments can all hinder well‑informed business decisions, make compliance and enforcement difficult and undermine effective conservation. Efficient and effective regulation across government is essential to ensure fairness, transparency and the good environmental outcomes intended from regulation.

Desired outcome

Clear objectives and consistent standards applied across all regulatory processes affecting native vegetation condition and extent.

▶ Continuous improvement of operational systems, policy and processes for clearing permits, making best use of new resourcing from clearing fees and applying a risk‑based approach.

▶ Applying the principles of a statewide policy to decisions across government, including progress towards a bioregional approach to setting objectives (see a bioregional approach).

▶ Innovative exploration of how offsets could drive a net improvement to native vegetation extent or condition where vegetation must be impacted to enable essential development.

▶ Capitalising on new technology for monitoring of native vegetation extent and condition to improve environmental outcomes and to bolster compliance and enforcement.

▶ Improved confidence in the regulatory system for all stakeholders.

▶ Improved environmental outcomes in decision‑making.

▶ Clear and transparent standards, delivering certainty for business decisions.

▶ Clear regulatory expectations supporting compliance and enforcement.

▶ Streamlined regulation for low‑risk development and clearer requirements for supporting information such as vegetation surveys.

▶ Equitable treatment of all proponents, regardless of approval pathway.

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3. Better regulation

Box 10: Our work so far to streamline regulation

Vegetation clearing regulatory reform is a business priority of the Government. The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation is working to make improvements to operational systems, processes and policy to deliver better protection for native vegetation. New resources to improve approval processes and assessment timeliness have been funded by clearing permit application fee increases, introduced 1 July 2019.

Consultation has started on the Government’s plans to update the State’s environmental legislation, as outlined in the discussion paper, Modernising the Environmental Protection Act and exposure draft Bill. The changes are informed by stakeholder feedback and a number of reviews since 2006. They include plans to provide greater flexibility and improve environmental outcomes when dealing with clearing permit applications. They also propose a referral system for clearing, to ensure regulation is targeted and native vegetation with important environmental values is protected.

A review of the state’s environmental offsets framework is nearly complete. It has assessed the framework’s effectiveness in delivering its objectives, and will highlight potential improvements. The department has also recently sought public comment on a draft compliance and enforcement policy (DWER 2019a). The policy is being finalised at present.

Your thoughts?...

Which of the following elements of better regulation would be most important to your sector?

▶ Improved protection for native vegetation

▶ Ensuring development is sustainable

▶ Streamlined regulation for cost saving

▶ Clearer requirements for business certainty

▶ Improved assessment timeframes

▶ Transparent, evidence‑based decisions

▶ Improved compliance and enforcement of unauthorised clearing

▶ Equitable treatment of all proponents

▶ Confidence in the regulatory system for all stakeholders

▶ Other

What other opportunities are presented by better regulation?

D epar tment o f Water and Environmenta l Regulat ion PAGE 2029

Box 12: Key findings of the 2004 Productivity Commission

In 2004, the national Productivity Commission consulted broadly and reported on the impacts of native vegetation and biodiversity regulation on landholders and regional communities (Productivity Commission 2004). Although the review was done 15 years ago, many of the themes from the review are still reflected in feedback by stakeholders to the Western Australian Government today. Among the recommendations were:

▶ improving the quality of the data and science underpinning environmental policies, including ground‑truthing satellite‑based vegetation mapping (recommendation 10.3)

▶ improving regulation through clear objectives, minimising duplication and inconsistency, improving coordination between agencies and statutory timeframes for assessments (recommendation 10.4)

▶ making regulatory regimes more flexible through tailoring requirements to regions and making use of the extensive knowledge of local communities (recommendation 10.5)

▶ providing incentives and support, and removing impediments to private provision of ecosystem services – for example through addressing lease conditions that discourage conservation and extension to demonstrate the private benefits of sustainable practices (recommendation 10.6).

Box 11: Threatened species and communities

In recent years, banksia, tuart and Wheatbelt woodlands have all been listed as nationally threatened and protected ecological communities (DoEE 2019c). Large, healthy stands of these formerly widespread communities are now relatively rare, having been extensively cleared because they grew where development pressure was high. The Government is considering a bioregional approach, to prevent other widespread ecological communities becoming threatened in future by planning sensible, evidence‑based protection for areas with unique or at‑risk values – considering the specific regional, social and economic context of these protections (see a bioregional approach on page 23).

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Box 13: Managing unlawful clearing

More than 40 exemptions allow native vegetation to be cleared without assessment under the clearing provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1986. These exemptions avoid regulatory duplication for clearing authorised under other statutory processes, or enable routine low‑impact land management practices to proceed without assessment and approval. This adds complexity and challenges in identifying and regulating unlawful clearing.

Better information will help identify changes in native vegetation, whether those changes were lawful, and any actions necessary to restore values lost through activities that were not authorised. Better regulation could see a focus on activities to support more effective identification, investigation and prosecution of clearing that may be unlawful.

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4. A bioregional approach

Western Australia has a diversity of bioregions (see Box 4) that differ in their ecosystem types, historic clearing and threatening processes, economic drivers and social and cultural priorities. Because of this diversity, it is difficult to set statewide rules to effectively protect native vegetation; streamline regulation; plan effectively for conservation, habitat linkages and development; or prioritise restoration. The current approach to assessments on a case‑by‑case basis makes it difficult to adequately address cumulative impacts even where clear strategic goals exist, such as for protecting threatened ecological species and communities. Investment in better information to understand regional clearing patterns and drivers will provide a solid foundation for a bioregional approach.

Issues

Expected benefits

Possible approachesDesired outcome

Regionally tailored objectives balance benefits to the environment, community and economy.

▶ Engage local stakeholders and leverage their knowledge to identify issues and propose solutions.

▶ Set and apply regionally tailored objectives for native vegetation to apply across a range of government processes, making every decision count towards something greater.

▶ Coordinate multiple approaches (e.g. strategic restoration, regulatory rules, offsets) to achieve a net improvement for native vegetation. ▶ Unique and at‑risk vegetation is well

protected as part of an evidence‑based plan which takes into account cumulative impacts and other regional priorities.

▶ Regionally appropriate rules and thresholds (e.g. area thresholds for exemptions) enable both effective and efficient regulation.

▶ Flexibility in how objectives are to be met – by government and across all sectors.

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4. A bioregional approach

Box 14: What could the Government hope to achieve through a bioregional approach?

Strategic bioregional planning could present solutions for a range of challenges that affect industry, the community and government, for example by:

▶ devising transparent outcomes and objectives, tailored to regional ecosystem and risk types, to drive coordination toward common goals across a range of regulatory tools

▶ leveraging local knowledge, including Aboriginal knowledge, to get the best economic, social, cultural and environmental outcomes from how native vegetation is managed

▶ dealing strategically and innovatively with difficult trade‑offs which pit public safety against biodiversity outcomes, such as roadside clearing in extensively cleared landscapes

▶ providing clear targets and thresholds that will help industry and investors to understand the likelihood and requirements of gaining environmental approvals

▶ establishing a planned approach to dealing with cumulative impacts, the co‑incidence of high‑value native vegetation with high‑value development (e.g. mineral resources or infrastructure corridors) or environmental offsets

▶ underpinning an effective monitoring and evaluation framework to understand and improve the effectiveness of regulation and conservation efforts

▶ enabling and supporting landscape‑scale initiatives for conservation driven by partnerships between the public and private sector.

A bioregional approach to setting objectives for native vegetation will take time, strong local consultation and prioritisation of regions.

A cross‑government working group is exploring the mechanisms available to support a bioregional approach – acknowledging that the right model may differ from region to region. Some planning pathways would provide a policy or guidance level of protection for unique or at‑risk native vegetation. Other options could provide more prescriptive direction on land use and native vegetation protections. In other States, planning frameworks and statutory environmental protection policies play a key role in planning to protect high‑value vegetation. These States have integrated environmental and planning legislation, which is not Western Australia’s model.

Your thoughts?...

In Box 14 – which of these are the most important to you/your sector?

What other opportunities are presented by a bioregional approach?

What concerns are presented by a bioregional approach, for your sector?

D epar tment o f Water and Environmenta l Regulat ion PAGE 2433

Box 15: Strategic use of offsets: the Pilbara Environmental Offsets Fund

Environmental offsets are actions that provide environmental benefits which counterbalance the significant residual environmental impacts or risks of a project or activity.

The Western Australian environmental offsets framework comprises the environmental offsets policy, guidelines and register (Government of Western Australia 2011; 2014; 2013). In Western Australia, environmental offsets are applied to projects subject to environmental impact assessment of significant proposals (Part IV) and as a condition of permits for clearing of native vegetation (Part V) under the Environmental Protection Act 1986. Approval conditions under Part IV of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 include contributions to the Pilbara Environmental Offsets Fund.

The Pilbara Environmental Offsets Fund (DWER 2019b) is an ongoing program that invests in strategic conservation projects in the Pilbara bioregion to improve native vegetation and species habitat impacted by development. It receives payments from proponents to offset their development impacts. It was created to help manage the cumulative impacts of mining development on biodiversity in the Pilbara.

In the past, mining companies have found it difficult to access land to implement their on‑ground offsets because of tenure issues and overlapping mining, pastoral and native title rights and

interests to land. As a result, past offset projects have tended to be implemented in isolation and not where they are needed most. The fund was set up to overcome these challenges by enabling the Government to work with the mining industry, pastoralists, and traditional owners to broker land access and deliver enduring positive outcomes across the landscape.

An implementation plan for the Pilbara Environmental Offsets Fund will be released this year. This will describe how the fund will be delivered over the next five years.

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Other initiatives

The four initiatives discussed here will not by themselves stop the current decline in condition and extent of native vegetation. Diverse activities affect the condition and extent of native vegetation. These are instigated by many people and organisations, some regulated and others unregulated. To deliver improvements to the status of our State’s native vegetation, we will need to harness the capabilities of various sectors and enable innovative, coordinated action beyond the bounds of regulation. This section discusses some existing approaches which may be worth exploring or expanding further.

Aboriginal land management

Box 16: Aboriginal Ranger Program

The Western Australian Government’s Aboriginal Ranger Program (DBCA 2019a) is helping Aboriginal organisations manage country and protect the environment across the State in partnership with the public and private sectors. Since its launch in 2018, the program has already seen more than 100 Aboriginal people gain employment, 60 per cent of whom are women. At least 70 people are undertaking some form of training, from developing land management skills to Aboriginal site work and tourism guiding. The projects announced in 2019 for funding under round two will create further pathways for Aboriginal people to develop careers in land and sea management, while also providing long‑term cultural and conservation outcomes.

The deep relationship of Aboriginal people with country manifests as intergenerational care for country – a defining characteristic of Aboriginal stewardship of Western Australia’s land, water, vegetation and biodiversity. Today, indigenous land management in Australia is growing under various models such as ranger programs, protected area management and land use agreements (Hill et al. 2013). These initiatives are increasingly providing regional employment opportunities that enable greater connection to country. There are also opportunities to grow cultural and nature‑based tourism and for Aboriginal knowledge to complement current and future land management planning.

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Other initiatives

Incentives, pricing and markets for good native vegetation managementImproved valuation, pricing and market‑based drivers for good native vegetation management could be explored further. A variety of strategically designed, complementary schemes could together incentivise conserving, managing or re‑establishing native vegetation on privately managed land. These schemes could include carbon farming (DPIRD 2019), salinity mitigation funding and offsets funding.

In other States, biodiversity banking schemes provide a funding stream for some landholders who choose to conserve native vegetation on their land. For the Western Australian setting, more work is needed to determine the scope and viability of a voluntary mechanism to facilitate landowner participation in offsets.

Further exploring economic approaches to drive good native vegetation management could also provide benefits in diversifying regional economies.

Box 18: Environmental offsets to fund restoration grants?In South Australia, offsets funding is reinvested through grants to protect and restore vegetation. Money is paid into the Native Vegetation Fund by people who have cleared native vegetation. This money is made available through Significant Environmental Benefits Grants (DER 2019) to restore, revegetate or protect native vegetation.

In Western Australia, some clearing permits require the applicant to contribute to an environmental offsets fund. To date, this fund has primarily been used to acquire more land for conservation; however, it can also be used for revegetation and other on‑ground activities, leading to more strategic environmental outcomes.

Box 17: The value of nature-based tourism for regional economiesIn 2015–16, Western Australian tourism, driven significantly by our State’s natural assets, accounted for $6.1 billion of gross State product, 5 per cent of total employment across the State and 15 per cent of regional employment – or some 40,000 people (Tourism WA 2018).

Photo: Tourism WA

D epar tment o f Water and Environmenta l Regulat ion PAGE 2837

Extension and behaviour change

All people and organisations who manage land have a role to play in looking after native vegetation resources. Many of the activities that result in clearing or impacts to native vegetation are either exempt from clearing permits or are otherwise unregulated. As such, education, extension, voluntary behaviour change and other complementary mechanisms are important for addressing the decline in native vegetation. Western Australia’s catchment groups have a long and successful history of promoting native vegetation conservation and revegetation within catchments, including on farms. These groups are becoming more active in identifying the economic values of ‘natural capital’ to farm productivity (Greening Australia 2019).

Box 19: The power of private land managers in managing native vegetationPrivate landholders play an important role as stewards of native vegetation, with nearly half of Western Australia’s land area managed privately (39 per cent in pastoral leases and about 8 per cent freehold). By maintaining native vegetation, private landholders contribute to the public good, yet may incur an opportunity cost from lost production, as well as maintenance costs (such as for fencing or weed control). Yet they often make choices, efforts and investments to conserve vegetation – participating in natural resource management programs (e.g. State NRM, Land for Wildlife, Urban Nature) and putting in place their own approaches to sustainable land management. Maintaining the productive capacity of the land is in the interests of many producers – yet many still report that they manage sustainably simply because it is the ‘right thing to do’ (Productivity Commission 2004).

Increasingly, private philanthropic organisations like the Australian Wildlife Conservancy and Bush Heritage Australia are buying and managing land for conservation and creating regional jobs in conservation, science and tourism in the process.

Government manages the other half of our land area. Conservation reserves cover about 11 per cent of Western Australia’s land area, another 38 per cent is unallocated crown land, and the remainder is managed by government for other purposes.

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Box 20: Plan for Our Parks

The Western Australian Government has committed to increase the conservation reserve system by 5 million hectares or 20 per cent by 2023–24, supporting regional economic diversification and jobs (Government of Western Australia 2019b).

The Plan for Our Parks (DCBA 2019b) will see new and expanded parks from the Kimberley in the north, across the Rangelands, through population centres in Perth and Bunbury, to our south‑west forests and along our southern coastline. This will create more opportunities for nature‑based and cultural tourism, provide enhanced biodiversity conservation and build on Aboriginal joint management throughout Western Australia. The plan will deliver on several existing strategic priorities and commitments, and create new, visionary opportunities for parks and reserves.

Box 21: Economic diversification to support Rangelands condition

Western Australia’s Rangelands cover 87 per cent of the State’s land area, with 39 per cent (87 million hectares) under pastoral lease. These leases give leaseholders the right to have livestock graze on native vegetation. In a 2017 review, the Auditor General identified ongoing threats to the ecological sustainability of pastoral leases, with overgrazing a key issue (Auditor General 2017b).

Pastoral lands reform is underway (DPIRD 2017), with a focus on diversifying economic opportunities, streamlining approval processes and boosting security of tenure. Carbon farming (DPIRD 2019) and tourism are being explored as diversification opportunities to complement sustainable grazing. Government is also investing in improved land condition monitoring systems and processes for the rangelands, including taking advantage of emerging remote sensing technologies and analyses.

Your thoughts?...

What initiatives do you think would work best to improve native vegetation outcomes in your region?

▶ Pricing, incentives and markets (e.g. biodiversity banking, offsets, carbon farming etc.)

▶ Aboriginal land management ▶ Pastoral diversification ▶ Nature‑based or cultural tourism ▶ Private land management ▶ Other

What else could be done to improve the management of native vegetation to arrest the decline of native vegetation extent and condition?

D epar tment o f Water and Environmenta l Regulat ion PAGE 3039

Australian Government 2019, National Landcare program. Viewed on 21 October 2019, http://www.nrm.gov.au/

Bradshaw CJA 2012, Little left to lose: deforestation and forest degradation in Australia since European colonization. Viewed on 21 October 2019, https://academic.oup.com/jpe/article/5/1/109/1294916.

COAG Standing Council on Environment and Water (COAG) 2012, Australia’s Native Vegetation Framework, Australian Government, Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Canberra. Viewed on 21 October 2019, http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/76f709dc‑ccb3‑4645‑a18b‑063fbbf0a899/files/native‑vegetation‑framework.pdf

Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) 2019a, Aboriginal Ranger Program developed to create jobs and training. View on 21 October 2019, https://www.dbca.wa.gov.au/parks‑and‑wildlife‑service/aboriginal‑ranger‑program

Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) 2019b, Plan for our Parks, securing 5 million hectares over 5 years. Viewed on 21 October 2019, https://www.dpaw.wa.gov.au/parks/190‑plan‑for‑our‑parks

Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DCBA) 2018, DCBA statewide vegetation statistics. Viewed on 21 October 2019, https://catalogue.data.wa.gov.au/dataset/dbca‑statewide‑vegetation‑statistics

References

Department of Environment and Water (DER 2019), Significant Environmental Benefits Grants, Government of South Australia. Viewed on 21 October 2019, https://www.environment.sa.gov.au/get‑involved/grants‑and‑funding/native‑vegetation‑incentives‑programs/significant‑environmental‑benefit‑grants

Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA) 2010, Ecosystem services: key concepts and applications. Occasional Paper Series No.1, Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Canberra. Viewed on 21 October 2019, https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/b53e6002‑4ea7‑4108‑acc8‑40fff488bab7/files/ecosystem‑services.pdf

Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DJTSI) 2019, Western Australia economic profile, Government of Western Australia, August 2019. Viewed on 21 October 2019, https://www.jtsi.wa.gov.au/docs/default‑source/default‑document‑library/wa‑economic‑profile‑0819.pdf?sfvrsn=fed0701c_4

Department of Environment and Energy (DoEE) 2019a, Species profile and threats database. Viewed on 21 October 2019, http://environment.gov.au/cgi‑bin/sprat/public/publicreports.pl?proc=species

Department of the Environment and Energy (DoEE) 2019b, Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, Australian Government. Viewed on 21 October 2019, https://www.environment.gov.au/land/nrs/science/ibra

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References

Department of the Environment and Energy (DoEE) 2019c, Nationally threatened ecological communities, Australian Government. Viewed on 21 October 2019, https://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/communities

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) 2019, Human-induced regeneration carbon farming and the resources sector, Government of Western Australia. Viewed on 21 October 2019, https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/sites/gateway/files/Human‑Induced%20Regeneration%20Carbon%20Farming%20and%20the%20Resources%20Sector%202019.pdf

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) 2018, Western Australian Natural Resource Management Framework 2018. Viewed on 21 October 2019, http://www.nrm.wa.gov.au/media/290152/final_‑_western_australian_natural_resource_management_framework_2018__2_.pdf

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) 2017, Pastoral land reform to drive economic opportunities and income streams across Western Australia’s pastoral estate, Government of Western Australia 2017. Viewed on 21 October 2019, http://www.drd.wa.gov.au/projects/Agriculture/Pages/PASTORAL‑LANDS‑REFORM.aspx

Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) 2019a, Draft compliance and enforcement policy, September 2019. Viewed on 21 October 2019, https://www.der.wa.gov.au/our‑work/consultation/open‑consultation/536‑open‑consultation‑draft‑compliance‑and‑enforcement‑policy

Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) 2019b, Pilbara Environmental Offsets Fund. Viewed on 21 October 2019, https://dwer.wa.gov.au/Pilbara‑Environmental‑Offsets‑Fund

Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) 2019c, How we develop water allocation plans. Viewed on 21 October 2019, http://www.water.wa.gov.au/planning‑for‑the‑future/allocation‑plans/developing‑water‑allocation‑plans

Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) 2018a, Clearing statistics: Approvals under Part V, Division 2 of the Environmental Protection Act 1986. Viewed on 21 October 2019, https://dwer.wa.gov.au/clearingstatistics.

Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) 2018b, Index of Biodiversity Surveys for Assessment 2018 to current. Viewed on 21 October 2019, https://www.dwer.wa.gov.au/ibsa

Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) 2017, Environmental Protection Authority 2016–17 annual report. Viewed on 21 October 2019, https://www.epa.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/Annual_reports/EPA%20Annual%20Report%202016‑2017.pdf

Government of Western Australia 2019a, Natural Resource Management Program. Viewed on 21 October 2019, http://www.nrm.wa.gov.au/grants/state‑nrm‑program.aspx

Government of Western Australia 2019b, Our priorities, A liveable environment. Viewed on 21 October 2019, https://www.wa.gov.au/government/our‑priorities‑sharing‑prosperity/liveable‑environment

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Government of Western Australia 2014, WA Environmental Offsets Guidelines. Viewed on 21 October 2019, http://www.epa.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/Policies_and_Guidance/WA%20Environmental%20Offsets%20Guideline%20August%202014.pdf

Government of Western Australia 2013, Government of Western Australia Environmental Offsets Register. Viewed on 21 October 2019, https://www.offsetsregister.wa.gov.au/public/home/

Government of Western Australia 2011, WA Environmental Offsets Policy. Viewed on 21 October 2019, http://www.epa.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/Policies_and_Guidance/WAEnvOffsetsPolicy‑270911.pdf

GHD 2019, A new direction for salinity management in Western Australia: a consultative review, March 2019, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. Viewed on 21 October 2019, https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/sites/gateway/files/A%20New%20Direction%20for%20Salinity%20Management%20in%20Western%20Australia%20‑%20A%20Consultative%20Review_1.pdf

Gioia P & Hopper SD 2017, ‘A new phytogeographic map for the Southwest Australian Floristic Region after an exceptional decade of collection and discovery’, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2017, 184, 1–15.

Greening Australia 2019, Valuing ‘natural capital’ on farms. Viewed on 21 October 2019, https://www.greeningaustralia.org.au/projects/valuing‑natural‑capital‑on‑farms/

Herbert A 2009, ‘Opportunity costs of land degradation hazards in South‑West Agriculture Region’, Resource management technical report 349, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia. Viewed on 21 October 2019, https://researchlibrary.agric.wa.gov.au/rmtr/331/

Hill R, Pert PL, Davies J, Robinson CJ, Walsh F & Falcon‑Mammone 2013, Indigenous land management in Australia. Extent, scope, diversity, barriers and success factors, May 2013. Viewed on 21 October 2019, http://www.agriculture.gov.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/natural‑resources/landcare/submissions/ilm‑ report.pdf

Hogstrom AW 1967, ‘Agriculture in Western Australia: past, present and future’, Volume 8, Number 9 Article 2, Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia Series 4, Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia. Viewed on 21 October 2019, https://researchlibrary.agric.wa.gov.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4059&context=journal_agriculture4

LandMonitor 2019, Land Monitor. Viewed on 21 October 2019, https://landmonitor.landgate.wa.gov.au/home.php

Office of the Auditor General Western Australia (Auditor General) 2018, Western Australian Auditor General’s report, Management of salinity, Report 8: May 2018. Viewed on 21 October 2019, https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/publications/tabledpapers.nsf/displaypaper/4011342a6e426cf28793cecc 4825828f0016390c/$file/1342.pdf

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Office of the Auditor General Western Australia (Auditor General) 2017a, Western Australian Auditor General’s report, Rich and rare: conservation of threatened species follow-up audit, Report 16: September 2017. Viewed on 21 October 2019, https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/publications/tabledpapers.nsf/displaypaper/4010575ad25ba3ac 227829f3482581930016fefa/$file/575.pdf

Office of the Auditor General Western Australia (Auditor General) 2017b, Western Australian Auditor General’s report, Management of pastoral lands in Western Australia, Report 17: October 2017. Viewed on 21 October 2019, http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/publications/tabledpapers.nsf/displaypaper/4010833a47ac7e4cc25e5 b46482581b600166282/$file/833.pdf

Productivity Commission 2004, Public inquiry: impact of native vegetation and biodiversity regulations, Australian Government. Viewed on 21 October 2019, https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/native‑vegetation.

State Natural Resource Management Office (State NRM Office) 2010, National action plan for salinity and water quality and Natural Heritage Trust program 2003-2009 Final Report March 2010, Western Australian State Government. Viewed on 21 October 2019, http://www.nrm.wa.gov.au/media/10253/nap_and_nht2_programs_2003‑09_final_report_march_10_2010.pdf

Tourism Western Australia 2018, Economic contribution of tourism to Western Australia’s tourism regions 2016–2017, June 2018. Viewed on 21 October 2019, https://www.tourism.wa.gov.au/Publications%20Library/Research%20and%20reports/Economic%20Contribution%20of%20Tourism%20to%20WA%20s%20Tourism%20Regions%202016‑17%20(RTSA%202016‑17).pdf

WA Landcare Network 2017, The state of Landcare in WA 2017 interim report. Viewed on 21 October 2019, http://landcarewa.org.au/wp‑content/uploads/2017/03/State‑of‑Landcare‑SUMMARY‑7‑March‑FINAL.pdf

Western Australian Biodiversity Science Institute (WABSI) 2019, Measuring native vegetation extent and condition using remote sensing technologies. A review and identification of opportunities, August 2019. Viewed on 21 October 2019, https://wabsi.org.au/wp‑content/uploads/2019/08/Remote‑Sensing‑Technologies‑Project‑Report.pdf

Western Australian Herbarium 2019, FloraBase – The Western Australian flora statistics, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. Viewed on 21 October 2019 https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/statistics/

Western Australian Land Information Authority 2019, Native vegetation extent (DPIRD-005). Vegetation extent mapping polygons of remnant vegetation in Western Australia, Government of Western Australia. Viewed on 21 October 2019, https://catalogue.data.wa.gov.au/dataset/native‑vegetation‑extent

Wood WE 1924, ‘Increase of salt in soil and streams following the destruction of the native vegetation’, Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 10, 35–47.

Yeats DK, Metcalfe DJ, Westcott DA & Butler A 2014, Australia’s biodiversity: status and trends, CSIRO. Viewed on 21 October 2019, http://www.publish.csiro.au/ebook/chapter/9781486302062_Chapter_3

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How to make a submission

Make your submission online via Consultation Hub at: dwer.wa.gov.au/consultation/nativeveg

If you need more information or to discuss other submission options, please contact the Department of Environmental Regulation.

6364 7000

@ nvs@dwer.wa.gov.au

Native Vegetation Strategy

Department of Water and Environmental Regulation

Locked Bag 10,

Joondalup DC, WA, 6919

Your legal rights and responsibilities

If you make a submission, please be aware that in doing so, you are consenting to it being treated as part of a public document. Unless the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (the department) is otherwise advised, your name will be published, although your contact address will be withheld for privacy. If you wish to remain anonymous, please advise the department of this in writing when making your submission. If you do not consent to your submission being treated as a public record, you should either mark it as confidential, or specifically identify what information you consider to be confidential, and include an explanation.

Please note that even if your submission is treated as confidential by the department, it may still be disclosed in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 1992, or any other applicable written law. The department reserves the right not to publish any particular submission and to redact any content that could be regarded as racially vilifying, derogatory or defamatory.

46

Consultation draft

Native vegetation policyfor Western AustraliaAugust 2021

47

Department of Water and Environmental Regulation

Prime House, 8 Davidson Terrace Joondalup Western Australia 6027

Telephone +61 8 6364 7000 Facsimile +61 8 6364 7001 National Relay Service 13 36 77

dwer.wa.gov.au

© Government of Western Australia August 2021

This work is copyright. You may download, display, print and reproduce this material in unaltered form only (retaining this notice) for your personal, non‑commercial use or use within your organisation. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, all other rights are reserved. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation.

Disclaimer

This document has been published by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation. Any representation, statement, opinion or advice expressed or implied in this publication is made in good faith and on the basis that the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation and its employees are not liable for any damage or loss whatsoever which may occur as a result of action taken or not taken, as the case may be in respect of any representation, statement, opinion or advice referred to herein. Professional advice should be obtained before applying the information contained in this document to particular circumstances.

The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation was established by the Government of Western Australia on 1 July 2017. It is a result of the amalgamation of the Department of Environment Regulation, Department of Water and the Office of the Environmental Protection Authority. This publication may contain references to previous government departments and programs.

Please email the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation to clarify any specific information.

This publication is available on our website or for those with special needs it can be made available in alternative formats such as audio, large print, or Braille.

202100041

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Minister’s foreword

I am pleased to invite your feedback on this consultation draft of the first ever Native vegetation policy for Western Australia. It is informed by the valued feedback of more than 1,000 participants, during statewide consultation on native vegetation in 2019–20.

This is the next step in the McGowan Government’s commitment to improve the management and protection of native vegetation. With the right strategies, protecting and enhancing native vegetation can contribute to a strong economic outlook for the state. Through investments like the State Government’s $60 million Green Jobs plan, caring for native vegetation can create employment, support Aboriginal connection to country and bolster regional prosperity, while sequestering carbon and protecting biodiversity.

Western Australia’s native vegetation and iconic landscapes are unique, biodiverse and internationally renowned. They are worth protecting, now and for future generations. This policy will lay the foundations for enduring reforms to ensure native vegetation is managed strategically, transparently and with a clear view to the future.

The draft policy proposes strategic direction to modernise native vegetation management in Western Australia. For example, regionalised, strategic planning for native vegetation will involve local stakeholders, promoting clarity, accountability and strategic coordination. A more strategic, flexible approach to offsets will improve certainty, ensuring offsets meet

regional environmental priorities and maximise co-benefits, including jobs. Agencies will be prompted to pursue modern systems and practices, in particular for data capture and sharing, in line with community expectations of a contemporary, transparent government.

The policy will improve agency collaboration to address the challenges that result in cumulative loss of important native vegetation and regulatory delays. Together with better mapping and monitoring, these steps will provide an evidence-based foundation for further well-planned reforms. Many of the improvements sought by stakeholders across sectors can be achieved within the existing frameworks – and that is why the work can start now.

The McGowan Government acknowledges the challenges of caring for the state’s unique native vegetation, given competing priorities and the complexity of its management. This policy will prompt collaboration, innovation and forward planning to ensure Western Australians continue to enjoy and value our native vegetation, while supporting ongoing prosperity for the state’s agriculture and development sectors.

Hon. Amber-Jade Sanderson MLA BA Minister for Environment

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The State Government welcomes your review and feedback on this consultation draft of the Native vegetation policy for Western Australia.

This consultation draft reflects feedback shared during extensive public consultation on the Native vegetation in Western Australia issues paper, involving more than 1,000 participants through workshops and meetings across the state, and via written submissions. It is also informed by feedback and analysis on the current practice and systems for native vegetation management across State Government. A consultation summary and the submissions on the issues paper are available at wa.gov.au/nativeveg.

How has the issues paper feedback been used?What did we hear?

Broad support for initiatives in the issues paper, across sectors

Native vegetation policyTo drive better coordination, consistency and transparency across State Government in protecting native vegetation

Better informationTo support evidence-based policy and practice, and information sharing

Better regulationTo ensure regulatory effort is well-founded, efficient, effective and complementary

A bioregional approachTo leverage local knowledge and underpin coordinated efforts across sectors

What else did we hear?

How is it addressed in the draft policy?

The need for more clarity on how a bioregional approach will be implemented, including how boundaries will be set.

The policy prompts the use of existing mechanisms for strategic environmental planning, and for spatial boundaries to be set through those planning processes. See Explanatory Notes.

The policy could include targets, thresholds, outcome-based objectives and a means for addressing cumulative impacts.

The policy sets a framework to establish regionally tailored objectives and priorities, including targets and thresholds where they are warranted (see policy statement and roadmap actions 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3). Improvements in native vegetation mapping and monitoring are crucial as the foundation for evidence-based targets and thresholds, and to understand cumulative impacts.

Broad support for rewarding native vegetation stewardship.

The need for support of native vegetation stewardship is reflected in the principles, approaches and roadmap actions 4.1 and 4.2.

Calls for State of the Environment reporting.

The policy drives the data collection and sharing across government (roadmap action 2.2), and investment in a new tool to map and monitor native vegetation coverage roadmap (action 3.1), which will enable reporting on status and trends.

The urgency of reform – there is no time to lose.

Native vegetation reform can be contested, so it must be defensible and based on robust data. The policy’s staged approach is designed to gather the information base and build stakeholder readiness to ensure reforms are well-planned and enduring.

More detail on stakeholder feedback and how it is addressed in the policy is available at wa.gov.au/nativeveg.

Have your say

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Have your say

What is the role of this policy?

Strategic outcomes through better coordination and collaboration

The policy aims to drive better strategic outcomes for native vegetation using the tools already available, through improved collaboration and coordination across State Government functions. It proposes measured, step-wise reforms to ensure change is enduring.

Consistency, transparency and contemporary practices

The policy aims to promote a modern, whole-of-government approach to managing native vegetation through individual State Government agencies’ functions. Simple changes to practice are expected to build transparency and deliver solutions now; and clarify what may need to be done in future. It assumes that targets and thresholds are best tailored to specific parts of the state, underpinned by better data and locally focused stakeholder engagement.

What will change as a result of the final policy?

Stakeholders can expect to experience improved strategic alignment across the State Government’s existing responsibilities. There are no direct changes to regulatory arrangements. Instead, the roadmap lays a plan for developing and consulting on regionally tailored objectives and priorities for native vegetation. These will support business certainty, outcome-based regulation and potential for streamlining assessment processes. They will also ensure that the State Government’s regulatory decision-making is aligned with, and complements, its land management, land planning and funding decisions.

Who should read this consultation draft?

Submissions are welcomed from all interested parties, which may include private citizens, Aboriginal people, farmers, pastoralists, foresters, land managers, researchers and consultants; members of conservation groups and Aboriginal groups; and members of the local government, mining, construction and development sectors. Importantly, all Western Australians have a potential role to play in the ecologically sustainable management of our native vegetation, and so we welcome all feedback.

What should I comment on?

We encourage you to focus your feedback on the five consultation questions via the online survey available at the website in the box on the next page. However, freeform submissions will also be accepted.

Consultation questions1. Has the policy’s context adequately covered

native vegetation values, opportunities and challenges?

2. How suitable are the guiding principles in providing a contemporary foundation for managing native vegetation?

3. How well do you support the strategies and outcomes?

4. How suitable are the goals and approaches in guiding implementation of the policy?

5. Which roadmap actions are most important?

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How will my feedback be used?

The department will collate and analyse the feedback on behalf of the State Government. The feedback will inform adjustments to the consultation draft, to prepare a final policy for the State Government’s consideration. A consultation summary will be released along with the final policy.

Your legal rights and responsibilities

In the interests of transparency, all submissions will be published on the department’s website unless we receive other instructions from you. Your contact details will be redacted for privacy.

If you wish to remain anonymous, or if you do not wish your submission (or parts of it) to be published, please advise the department in writing when making your submission. You may mark your name, the entire document, or specific parts of your submission as confidential, and include an explanation.

Even if your submission is treated as confidential by the department, it may still be disclosed in accordance with requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 1992, or any other applicable written law. The department reserves the right not to publish any particular submission and to redact any content that could be regarded as derogatory, defamatory or racially vilifying.

How to have your say

Written submissions

Visit wa.gov.au/nativeveg to:

•make your submission in the online survey, via Consultation Hub

•find out about or register for public webinar sessions

•view Explanatory Notes on how issues paper feedback was used, regional planning and frequently asked questions.

If you need more information, or to discuss other submission options, please contact the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (the department) and direct your query to Native Vegetation Strategy Branch.

Phone: 6364 7000

Email: nvs@dwer.wa.gov.au

Mail: Native Vegetation Strategy Branch, Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, Locked Bag 10, Joondalup DC, WA 6919

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Draft pol icy

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We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land upon which we live and work, and pay our respects to their elders past and present.

We recognise the intrinsic connection and cultural responsibility to country that Aboriginal people have developed over more than 40,000 years in Western Australia, and the value of this relationship, both for Aboriginal people and for Western Australia’s native vegetation.

We seek to understand the impact of changed landscapes, changed access and traditional practices in relation to native vegetation for Aboriginal people of Western Australia, and acknowledge previous and ongoing impacts of colonisation for Aboriginal people and Aboriginal culture. In implementing this policy, we recognise the expertise, capacity and interest of Aboriginal people in native vegetation. We aim to involve and provide opportunities for Aboriginal people in its management.

In this policy, the terms indigenous and native refer only to vegetation. We acknowledge that these terms were historically applied to Aboriginal people, and we recognise the historical and ongoing impacts of previous government policy.

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Table of Contents

Purpose 4

Scope 4

Policy statement 5

Context 6

Guiding principles 8

Strategies and outcomes 10

Roadmap: Priorities and opportunities 13

Acronyms 18

Glossary 19

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To protect and enhance Western Australia’s native vegetation, the Native vegetation policy for Western Australia (the policy) promotes a contemporary, whole-of-government approach to steering the complex system of organisations and individuals involved in native vegetation policymaking and management.

The policy: 1. initiates a regionally tailored approach to setting objectives and priorities for native vegetation,

guided by statewide outcomes and goals 2. promotes consistent, transparent consideration of native vegetation across State Government

functions 3. provides for improved data capture, sharing and reporting, to support evidence-based policy and

practice.

The State Government recognises the need to:

• prevent the extinction of threatened species;

• protect areas of high conservation value; and

• achieve a nett gain in native vegetation extent.

This policy is a necessary first-step in building the systems, frameworks, data and awareness required to achieve this through future reforms.

Purpose

Scope

This policy sets strategic direction for the State Government. It applies to all State Government agencies with responsibilities that influence Western Australia’s native vegetation. State Government boards and commissions (as defined in the Glossary) are encouraged to apply the policy, where relevant.

The policy commits agencies to work collaboratively together and with stakeholders to improve consistency and strategic coordination across relevant State Government functions. It will be implemented via a roadmap of actions by agencies, to achieve the policy’s outcomes.

This policy applies to native vegetation (as defined in the Environmental Protection Act 1986, see Glossary), with the exclusion of marine vegetation. In addition, this policy applies to indigenous aquatic or terrestrial vegetation that has been voluntarily restored, since it aims for strategic coordination across all State Government functions.

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Western Australia’s native vegetation is of great value – ecologically, socially, culturally and economically. To protect and enhance it now and for the future, State Government agencies will ensure that their decisions on native vegetation are coordinated, deliberate, well-informed and transparent – whether the decision is to protect it, to restore it, or to accept impacts to it in favour of other priorities.

Through their existing responsibilities, agencies covered by the policy will collaborate to design and apply whole-of-government policy settings which:

• achieve conservation and restoration of native vegetation while also delivering other state priorities like regional prosperity, Aboriginal wellbeing and a strong economy

• maximise the co‑benefits of sustainable native vegetation management, for ecological, community and economic outcomes

• inspire and support various sectors to conserve and restore native vegetation, complementing the state’s conservation estate and regulatory functions

• support coordinated, outcome-based and risk-based decision-making across all the State Government’s regulatory, land management, land planning and funding functions that affect native vegetation, including through approaches which:

☐ are tailored to bioregional differences or specific challenges

☐ include targets and thresholds where they are warranted and achievable

☐ leverage environmental offsets and other funding streams to address impacts at a landscape‑scale.

Policy statement

Within agencies’ regulatory, land management, land planning and funding functions; and in developing and implementing policies, plans, programs, projects, processes and systems; agencies will identify and progress reforms to:

• consider and transparently account for the values of native vegetation in decision-making that affects it, based on the best information available at the time

• apply the mitigation hierarchy steps to any planned impacts on native vegetation at both strategic and project scale – avoid, minimise then rehabilitate, before offsets are considered

• improve the spatial capture of their regulatory, land management, land planning and funding decisions that affect native vegetation, applying common data standards to facilitate data sharing

• work together and with stakeholders to improve the mapping and monitoring of native vegetation extent, condition and type, and the availability of spatial data.

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Western Australia’s native vegetation is internationally renowned for its biodiversity and gives character to the state’s unique and iconic landscapes. It provides habitat for native animals, supports soil health, cleanses water, prevents erosion, controls salinity, binds carbon, provides oxygen, cools cities and towns, feeds livestock and provides timber and bush products. It is culturally and spiritually significant to Aboriginal people, underpins community wellbeing and supports important sectors of the state’s economy.

Activities that sustain people’s livelihoods and the economy – like agricultural production and urban development – can compete with the protection and enhancement of native vegetation. Since European settlement, there has been ongoing loss and degradation of Western Australia’s native vegetation – resulting in impacts to biodiversity along with costly damage to our landscapes, like salinity of lands and water supplies, erosion and the loss of urban tree canopy. In some areas, what remains is rare, significant and fragmented, and under threat from climate change. This impacts both ecological sustainability and the ability to gain approvals and acceptable offsets for proposed developments.

Managing native vegetation is complex. There are many organisations and individuals involved in conserving, restoring, utilising and clearing native vegetation in Western Australia, including various State Government agencies. In line with the many purposes for managing native vegetation, various legislative and other frameworks apply to its management at international, national, state, regional and local levels (Table 1). They balance priorities such as development, community safety and

traditional practices with the need for ecological sustainability, and reflect the complexity of the challenge in managing native vegetation.

Adding to this complexity, across Western Australia there is a great diversity of vegetation types on various land tenures, which face a number of threats. A regionally tailored approach to planning for and coordinating native vegetation management is needed – to account for this diversity, and to provide the consistency, transparency and clarity that stakeholders are seeking. A coordinated approach to offsets, revegetation, threat management and cumulative impacts would maximise the benefits of investments across sectors. A broad review of offsets and pricing could lead to new policy settings – helping build the restoration economy and providing clarity and solutions for proponents.

As the state’s population and economy grows, pressures on Western Australia’s native vegetation resources will continue. A whole-of-government, industry and community approach is needed to achieve positive environmental, social, cultural and economic outcomes from native vegetation management. The policy guides collaboration across State Government portfolios. It will foster protection and enhancement of the state’s native vegetation together with ecologically sustainable development.

Context

Photo: K. Lightbody

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Context

Table 1. The policy supports Western Australian organisations, businesses and individuals in contributing to international and national ecological sustainability goals, through efforts across a broad range of State Government functions.

Organisations, businesses and individuals

State Government policy settings will aim to enable and support organisations, businesses and individuals to manage Western Australia’s native vegetation in an ecologically sustainable way:

• Local governments• Proponents of development (including State and local governments) impacting native vegetation• Natural resource management and environmental groups• Non-government organisations• Landholders and land managers (including State and local governments)

5Areas of State Government responsibility

The policy will support agencies to contribute to international and national ecological sustainability goals, through native vegetation management. It will be implemented through collaborations and actions primarily across the following areas of State Government responsibility and their existing legislation:

• Aboriginal affairs and engagement• Aboriginal heritage and heritage regulation• Agriculture• Aquatic resources and ecosystem planning

and management• Biodiversity and conservation reserve

planning and management• Climate change• Environmental regulation• Emergency services planning

• Forestry planning and management • Mining and petroleum regulation• Natural resource management funding• Pastoral lands management• Regional and state development• Road safety• Transport planning and delivery• Tourism• Urban and land use planning• Water regulation, planning and management

5International obligations National frameworks and strategies

• UN Convention on Biological Diversity• Convention on Migratory Species• World Heritage Convention• Ramsar Convention on Wetlands• Sustainable development goals• UN Framework Convention on Climate

Change

• Australia’s Strategy for Nature• Australia’s Native Vegetation Framework• Threatened Species Strategy• Australian Pest Animal Strategy• Australian Weeds Strategy• Australia’s Strategy for the National Reserve

System

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Guiding principles

This policy is underpinned by the following principles.

Values

1. Native vegetation is vital for life on earth and is worth protecting and enhancing. All Western Australians depend in some way on the ecosystem services and co-benefits it provides.

2. Western Australia’s unique flora and iconic ecosystems are nationally and globally significant for biodiversity conservation. Ensuring their protection and sustainable use is an obligation of all levels of government.

3. Native vegetation is of cultural value to Aboriginal people, who have a long history of sustainable management and use of native vegetation.

4. Native vegetation sustains community health and wellbeing and provides a unique sense of place.

5. Native vegetation is of economic value. It sustains important sectors of the economy and provides valuable ecosystem services that are costly to replace.

Practice

6. Conservation of biological diversity and ecological integrity should be fundamental considerations in managing native vegetation.

7. A comprehensive, adequate and representative (CAR) reserve system is an important mechanism for conserving native vegetation, species and communities.

8. Stewardship of native vegetation by all land managers is vital to ensure landscape health – including through its integration with other productive land uses (e.g. agriculture, mining), or through its ecologically sustainable use (e.g. beekeeping, pastoralism).

9. Maintaining the ecosystem services and co-benefits of native vegetation is a shared responsibility. The health, diversity and productivity of native vegetation must be maintained or enhanced for the benefit of current and future generations.

10. Decision-making for vegetation must be underpinned by sound science, reliable information on its ecological, social, cultural and economic values, and understanding of cumulative impacts. Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to prevent environmental degradation.

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Guiding principles

Opportunities and challenges

11. Ecologically sustainable development is essential to the wellbeing and prosperity of Western Australians, now and into the future, and requires balancing environmental, economic and social considerations in decision-making.

12. Traditional owners with their rich cultural knowledge of ecosystems have roles to play in co-managing, conserving and restoring native vegetation, and in planning for its management.

13. Native vegetation can help mitigate global climate change by sequestering carbon. Conversely climate change, including its impacts on water, fire and temperature regimes, poses a major risk to the health of native vegetation.

14. The condition and extent of Western Australia’s native vegetation is declining. Addressing the decline requires coordinated management across all land tenures, supporting connectivity and maintenance of ecosystem function.

15. In the intensive land use zone, in particular the Swan Coastal Plain and the Wheatbelt (as defined in Figure 1 and Glossary), historic clearing has been extensive. A nett improvement in the condition and extent of native vegetation can be achieved through strategic coordination and stewardship across sectors, and will restore landscape and ecosystem functions.

16. In the extensive land‑use zone (Figure 1), native vegetation is subject to a range of degrading processes. Coordinated management of the threats to native vegetation is needed to maintain and enhance the condition and ecosystem function of native vegetation.

Legend

Intensive land use zone

Extensive land use zone

Wheatbelt

Swan Coastal Plain

Figure 1. Intensive and extensive land use zones, Swan Coastal Plain and Wheatbelt (see Glossary)

Geraldton

Kalgoorlie

Esperance

Albany

Kilometres

0 75 150 300

Perth

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Capture decision data

Evaluate and improve

Evaluate and improve Implement

Strategy 1: Planning, collaboration

and coordination

Strategy 4: All sectors enabled

Strategy 3: Knowledge – Built, shared and used

Strategy 2: Contemporary

systems and practice

Strategies and outcomes

The intended outcomes of this policy and the strategies to achieve them are laid out in Figure 2. Together, the strategies provide for policy evaluation and improvement, to support a contemporary policy cycle to achieve the outcomes.

Figure 2. Together, the strategies will provide for a contemporary policy cycle of evaluation and improvement, to achieve the outcomes

Strategies

Outcomes

Native vegetation is conserved

and restored at landscape-scale

Certainty, transparency

and data sharing improve

Improved policy, practice and evaluation

Native vegetation objectives are

achieved, together with other state

priorities

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Strategy 1: Planning, collaboration and coordination

Goals Approaches

a. Clear, regionally tailored objectives and priorities promote strategic coordination across State Government functions.

b. Native vegetation values and competing issues are transparently addressed in deriving objectives and priorities.

c. Stakeholders and relevant agencies contribute innovative solutions which empower good practice across sectors.

i) Leverage existing mechanisms for strategic environmental planning and for coordinating native vegetation management across government.

ii) Develop clear, regionally tailored objectives and priorities to guide and align State Government functions.

iii) Consult with local people and traditional owners on the native vegetation values that underpin management.

iv) Transparently address competing priorities and cumulative impacts in setting objectives and priorities.

v) Acquire and effectively manage a comprehensive, adequate and representative reserve system for terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

vi) Identify lands with strategic value to inform investment in restoration and conservation.

vii) Manage vegetation to maintain ecosystem services and their co-benefits (e.g. habitat provision, soil health, carbon storage, flood, salinity and erosion mitigation, water provision, temperature control, human health, sustainable grazing, timber and bush products).

viii) Improve the condition of native vegetation by identifying and addressing threats and threatening processes (e.g. climate change, inappropriate fire regimes, inappropriate water regimes and quality, pests and unsustainable use).

Strategy 2: Contemporary systems and practice

Goals Approaches

a. Clear, regionally tailored objectives and priorities provide certainty, transparency and strategic coordination.

b. Collated data on decisions allows an overarching view of impact pathways and rates, to inform evidence-based decisions and policy.

c. Opportunities to publish decisions and share data on decision-making are identified and pursued.

i) Apply regionally tailored objectives across State Government functions to ensure action and investment is coordinated and strategic.

ii) Leverage regionally tailored objectives and priorities for regulatory certainty, clear guidance, efficiency and outcome-based regulation.

iii) Assess proposals against regionally tailored objectives across State Government regulatory pathways for certainty, fairness, consistent risk management and strategic coordination.

iv) Regulate effectively and use complementary mechanisms to achieve native vegetation and biodiversity objectives.

v) Improve systems and practices for collecting and sharing data on State Government decisions, enabling a whole-system view of impacts and influences.

vi) Promote transparency through publishing data and decisions which account for the values of native vegetation.

Goals and approaches

The following goals and approaches will guide implementation of the strategies, through applying to relevant actions in the roadmap. The goals provide for evaluation of this policy and its implementation.

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Strategy 3: Build and share knowledge

Goals Approaches

a. Data systems promote information sharing across State Government and with stakeholders.

b. Statewide mapping and monitoring is developed, enabling a whole-of-state view of issues and trends.

c. Integration with decision data which allows policy and practice to be evaluated and improved.

i) Improve mapping, monitoring and information systems for tracking outcomes and improving policy and practice.

ii) Use sound science, risk assessment, monitoring, reporting and continuous improvement to inform decisions on native vegetation management.

iii) Continue to enhance native vegetation knowledge, and systems for its sharing, analysis and use.

iv) Use traditional and local knowledge of native vegetation to inform objectives, priorities and policy-making.

Strategy 4: All sectors enabled

Goals Approaches

a. State Government policy settings inspire and enable conservation and restoration, across public and private sectors.

b. Sustainable jobs derive from Western Australia’s unique flora and landscapes.

c. Awareness of native vegetation values and ecosystem services is built and leveraged.

i) Build public understanding of the critical contribution of native vegetation to community wellbeing.

ii) Manage native vegetation in ways that deliver economic, social and employment opportunities for traditional owners, other Aboriginal people and regional Western Australians.

iii) Leverage existing incentives to support voluntary conservation and restoration on various land tenures, to support biodiversity, ecosystems and their co-benefits.

iv) Explore mechanisms for appropriate pricing and markets, potentially broader than existing offsets schemes, to reward good stewardship and provide economic opportunities.

v) Explore strategic coordination of funding streams (e.g. environmental or carbon offsets, restoration funding, tourism opportunities) to deliver positive native vegetation outcomes together with other priorities.

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Roadmap: Priorities and opportunities

To achieve the intended outcomes, this policy identifies a roadmap of priorities and opportunities to be implemented primarily through State Government actions. These actions comprise a coordinated, whole-of-government approach.

Achievement of the roadmap actions will be monitored through a steering committee of Directors General, with annual public reporting on progress. The roadmap lays out a broad-ranging suite of reforms, sequenced so that earlier actions build lasting change and the foundations for successive actions.

Stage 1 actions

Commence in 1–3 years

Stage 2 actions

Commence in 4–6 years

Stage 3 actions

Commence in 6–10 years

Strategy 1. Planning, collaboration and coordination

Ref. Opportunity Lead agency Partner Stage

1.1 Prioritise areas or matters for strategic collaborations or planning. Identify policy-making pathway(s), spatial boundaries, lead agency, participants and implementation pathways. Prepare framework of relationships between existing policy frameworks, across State Government. Focus on regulatory, land management, land planning and funding responsibilities.

DWERDBCA, EPA, DPLH, DMIRS, DPIRD, DPC

1

1.2 Develop outputs, including regionally tailored objectives and priorities, in line with outcomes 1 and 2, and their goals and approaches.

Lead agency (1.1)As for 1.1 plus key stakeholders including local governments and prescribed body corporates

1

1.3 Implement regionally tailored objectives and priorities through relevant State Government functions, updating documents, processes and systems as appropriate (see Action 2.1b.

Agencies with relevant responsibilities (Table 1)Optional for boards and commissions (per Glossary), local governments

1

1.4 Establish monitoring and evaluation against regionally tailored objectives and priorities, leveraging native vegetation extent, condition and type data, and biodiversity audit data supported by Strategy 3 actions.

EPA / DWERDBCA

3

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Strategy 1. Planning, collaboration and coordination

Ref. Opportunity Lead agency Partner Stage

Priority Projects

1.5 Evaluate the efficacy of existing State Government mechanisms for native vegetation protection and strategic planning. Collaborate with agencies to progress the recommendations.

DWEROther agencies, as relevant

1

1.6 Address ongoing loss of native vegetation in the Wheatbelt through whole-of-government approaches, including (see also Action 3.4):

DWER – coordination and implementation

1

a) Prepare a whole-of-government strategy for a nett improvement in Wheatbelt native vegetation extent – through coordination of restoration (including offsets); reserve and roadside management; and regulation.

Includes defining the policy-making pathway(s), spatial boundaries and stakeholder engagement approach.

DWER or EPAKey stakeholders including local governments, prescribed body corporates and Wheatbelt Development Commission

1

b) Establish a whole-of-government approach to Wheatbelt restoration to coordinate offsets, carbon farming, natural resource management funding, regenerative agriculture and other funding streams with conservation investment.

DPIRDDBCA, DWER, plus key stakeholders including local governments and Prescribed Body Corporates

1

c) Develop and implement a strategic, coordinated, whole-of-government approach to managing roadside vegetation (including for road safety and strategic transport planning).

DWERRSC, DoT, MRWA and key stakeholders including local governments and Wheatbelt Development Commission

1

1.7 Establish a new roadside vegetation advisory group under s.25 of the Environmental Protection Act 1986.

DWERRoadside vegetation stakeholders

1

1.8 Improved coordination of the State Government’s mechanisms for managing silvicultural activities (including thinning) in south‑west forests and woodlands – across land tenures, for multiple outcomes (e.g. biodiversity, forest health, carbon, reducing fire risk, timber production and water production).

DWER (coordination)DBCA, DFES, FPC, DPLH

1

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Strategy 2. Contemporary systems and practice

Ref. Opportunity Lead agency Partner Stage

2.1 a) Progressively improve the transparency of decisions affecting native vegetation, publishing where appropriate.

DWER, EPA, DMIRS, WAPC/DPLH

1

b) Transparently assess regulated proposals against relevant regionally tailored objectives and priorities (see Action 1.3).

DWER, EPA, DMIRS, WAPC/DPLH

1

2.2 Progressively capture decisions that affect native vegetation condition or extent in spatial format, to aligned data standards, supporting data sharing. Identify key pathways for spatial capture of actual (reported) clearing or burning, to support Action 3.1.

DWER – coordinationDWER, EPA, DMIRS, DPLH, DFES, DBCA, local governments

1

2.3 Identify and address legislative or other barriers to data capture or sharing, as appropriate.

DWER – coordination DMIRS, DBCA, DPIRD, DPLH, EPA

2

2.4 Digital systems:

a) Progress the Environment Online digital portal and assessment system for environmental and water regulation, including links to BIO (Action 3.3b), as appropriate).

DWER 1

b) Progress digital systems for capture, interpretation and sharing of biodiversity data, through BIO.

DBCAKey stakeholders

1

c) Engage across State and Local government to progress towards a single, publicly accessible digital system for native vegetation data capture, sharing and use. Leverage Environment Online and BIO, and integrate products from Actions 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3, as appropriate.

DWER – coordinationOther government agencies, as feasible

1

Priority Projects

2.5 Improve operational systems, policy and processes for clearing permits (Part V Division 2, Environmental Protection Act 1986) for efficiency and clarity.

DWER 1

2.6 Support initiatives to improve rangelands’ ecological condition, leveraging pastoral diversification and implementation of the Good Pastoral Land Management Guidelines.

PLB/DPLHDWER, DPIRD, DBCA

2

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Strategy 3. Build, share and use knowledge to improve

Ref. Opportunity Lead agency Partner Stage

3.1 Native vegetation extent: Leverage satellite imagery and machine learning to develop a semi-automated, regularly updated, statewide terrestrial native vegetation extent product. An improved extent product would:

DWER – coordinationLandgate, DBCA, DPIRD, with stakeholders and suppliers

1

a) track clearing over time EPADWER, DBCA

2

b) improve statistics on proportion of vegetation type remaining

DWERDBCA

2

c) enhance compliance and enforcement capacity. DWER, EPA, DMIRS, DPLH 2

3.2 Native vegetation condition:

a) Develop a product derived from satellite imagery to monitor vegetation condition on pastoral leases.

DPIRDDWER, DBCA, PLB/DPLH

1

b) Build on learnings from pastoral condition spatial product (3.2a) to develop a statewide native vegetation condition product to enable tracking of changes over time.

DWER – (coordination)DBCA, DPIRD, key data users and suppliers

2

3.3 Biodiversity datasets and native vegetation type mapping:

a) Expand capture of native vegetation data within the Index of Biodiversity Surveys for Assessment (IBSA).

DWERProponents, EPA

1

b) Progress scientific and system capability to generate updated native vegetation type mapping, leveraging pooled biological survey datasets (e.g. BIO – Action 2.4c).

DBCADWER, key stakeholders

3

Priority Projects

3.4 Improve native vegetation mapping in the Wheatbelt, prioritising mapping to support strategy development (see Action 1.6).

DWERDBCA 1

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Strategy 4. All sectors enabled

Ref. Opportunity Lead agency Partner Stage

4.1 Progress and improve how incentives and pricing are used to support good stewardship of native vegetation, including avoidance and minimisation of clearing:

DWER coordination 1

a) Explore opportunities for new pricing and valuation methods to incentivise stewardship, including environmental offsets.

DWERDPIRD, PLB/DPLH, FPC

2

b) Support and promote agricultural, pastoral and forestry land uses that fix carbon, support biodiversity, promote soil health and other ecosystem services.

DPIRDDWER, FPC, PLB/DPLH

1

4.2 Environmental offsets:

a) Improve the environmental offsets framework in line with recommendations of the WA environmental offsets framework review.

DWER 1

b) Undertake a broad strategic evaluation of environmental offsets to enable flexibility and clarity; encourage rehabilitation and revegetation; and ensure offsets contribute to strategic regional priorities.

DWER 1

4.3 Enhance the effectiveness of fuel-mitigation programs across the state to reduce the risk of bushfire to the community and the environment.

DFES, DBCADPLH, FPC, local governments

1

4.4 Plan for Aboriginal engagement in parks and bushfire management through existing and future initiatives

DBCA, DFES 1

4.5 Leverage Western Australia’s iconic vegetation to create regional jobs in tourism and conservation.

JTSI DBCA, Treasury

1

4.6 Develop and implement a Wildflower Friendliness Rating Scheme, to reward LGAs with wildflower-friendly roadsides.

Wildflower Society of WAJTSI, DWER

1

4.7 Build on existing strategies to protect and enhance urban forests.

DPLHLocal governments

2

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Acronyms

Acronym Abbreviation for:

BIO Biodiversity Information Office at the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions

CAR Comprehensive, adequate and representative

DAFWA Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia (now a part of DPIRD, see below.)

DBCA Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions

DFES Department of Fire and Emergency Services

DoT Department of Transport

DMIRS Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety

DPC Department of the Premier and Cabinet

DPIRD Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development

DPLH Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage

DWER Department of Water and Environmental Regulation

EPA Environmental Protection Authority of Western Australia

FPC Forestry Products Commission of Western Australia

JTSI Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation

MRWA Main Roads Western Australia

PLB Pastoral Lands Board

RSC Road Safety Commission

SES Senior Executive Service (as in State Government boards and commissions in the Glossary below.)

Treasury Department of Treasury

UN United Nations

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Glossary

Aboriginal people Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We acknowledge that many Aboriginal people prefer to be referred to by language group, nation, tribe or clan, with many distinct groups across Western Australia.

Agency/agencies A department or an SES organisation as defined in the Public Sector Management Act 1994.

Bush products Includes foods derived from Australian native plans (including honey), native plant-derived industries and botanicals-based products.

Co-benefits Benefits to other matters or features, from management to achieve positive native vegetation (e.g. urban cooling, climate mitigation, erosion control).

Comprehensive, adequate and representative (CAR)

A recognised objective of the national and state reserve systems is to achieve a comprehensive, adequate and representative suite of ecosystems within protected areas.

Conserve Protect from harm, loss or change.

Ecological thinning Forest thinning which involves a reduction of vegetation density to promote forest health and resilience, and to mitigate the risk of bushfires by reducing woody fuel loads.

Ecologically sustainable development

Using, conserving and enhancing the community’s resources so that ecological processes, on which life depends, are maintained and the total quality of life, now and in the future, can be increased.

Ecosystem services The benefits people derive from ecosystems, including provisioning (e.g. food, fibre, fuel), regulating (e.g. erosion control, water filtration), supporting (e.g. biodiversity conservation) and cultural services (e.g. sense of place, nature based or cultural tourism).

Extensive land-use zone The areas of Western Australia that are not within the intensive land-use zone.

Indigenous Naturally existing within a given region as a result of natural processes, with no human intervention. In this policy, indigenous refers only to vegetation.

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Intensive land-use zone The intensive land-use zone as defined in Shepherd, D.P., Beeston, G.R. and Hopkins, A.J.M. Native Vegetation in Western Australia. Resource Management Technical Report 249 (2001) published by the Department of Agriculture, Perth (aligned with definition in the Environmental Protection (Clearing of Native Vegetation) Regulations 2004).

Landscape-scale At a scale that permits understanding and management of ecological processes across space, jurisdiction and time, often with a focus on ecological corridors, connectivity and global change including climate change. This contrasts from planning for individual projects or places.

Marine vegetation For this policy, marine vegetation includes vegetation found at or below the high-water mark of seas and estuaries. It includes but is not limited to mangroves, seagrass, kelp, algae and corals.

Mitigation hierarchy Essential, sequential steps that must be taken during planning, to limit impacts on native vegetation. The steps are avoid, minimise, rehabilitate and offset. Environmental offsets will only be considered after avoidance and mitigation options have been pursued. See also the WA Environmental Offsets Policy and Guidelines.

Native vegetation Native vegetation is as defined in the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (the Act):

Indigenous aquatic or terrestrial vegetation, including dead vegetation unless that dead vegetation is of a class declared by regulation to be excluded from this definition but does not include vegetation in a plantation.

The Act’s definition also includes indigenous or terrestrial aquatic vegetation that was intentionally sown, planted or propagated, as per Regulation 4 of the Environmental Protection (Clearing of Native Vegetation) Regulations 2004.

Policy settings A coordinated suite of policy instruments and policy positions aimed to, together, achieve the desired native vegetation outcomes.

Regionally tailored objectives and priorities

Objectives and priorities specific to a defined part of the state, derived through a consultative planning process which defines their geographic extent of application.

Restore Includes re-establishment of native vegetation in degraded areas and the repair of ecosystem processes and management of threats

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Sector A specific part of society or the economy (e.g. public and private sectors, community, environment or industry sectors).

Silvicultural activities The theory and practice of managing the establishment, composition, health, quality and growth of forests and woodlands to achieve specified management objectives.

South-west forests and woodlands

For this policy, south-west forests and woodlands means native forests and woodlands within the area covered by Map 1 of the Forest management plan 2014–2023 (Conservation Commission of Western Australia, December 2013).

State Government boards and commissions

For this policy, State Government boards and commissions refers to non-SES organisations, as defined in the Public Sector Management Act 1994. It includes organisations set up under their own legislation but whose senior leaders are not members of the public sector’s Senior Executive Service (such as the seven health service providers, Corruption and Crime Commission, and Environmental Protection Authority).

Swan Coastal Plain For this policy, the Swan Coastal Plain is defined as Perth subregion (SWA02) of the Swan Coastal Plain bioregion, within the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, version 7. The Dandaragan Plateau subregion of the Swan Coastal Plain bioregion (SWA01) is captured within this policy’s definition of the Wheatbelt.

Thinning A felling made to reduce the density of trees within a defined forest area. Undertaken to enhance forest health, water production, reduced forest fuel and its structure, the growth rates of retained trees, or achieve another objective.

Traditional owners Aboriginal people who are native title claimants, native title holders or who have otherwise been recognised as having a right and responsibility to speak for country.

Wheatbelt For this policy, the Wheatbelt is defined as the area of land broadly coinciding with broadacre farming, depicted in the Generalised Land Use of Western Australia map (Department of Agriculture and Food, WA, 2017), with the boundaries to be refined through the collaborative process. See Figure 1.

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Department of Water and Environmental Regulation8 Davidson Terrace JOONDALUP WA 6027Locked Bag 10 Joondalup DC JOONDALUP WA 6919Phone: +61 8 6364 7000 Fax: +61 8 6364 7001For further information

Telephone: (08) 6364 7000 Email: nvs@dwer.wa.gov.au

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