The Opportunity
More than 70 conservation, land management and farming organisations have come together across Australia to support a Conservation Stimulus proposal that would create thousands of new jobs in delivering practical conservation and land management activities across the country.
The proposal outlines a $4 billion national conservation and land management program, with $200m invested in WA. Nationally this would generate 2000 direct and indirect full-time jobs and long-term economic benefits worth $440m in long term economic benefits.
The Conservation Stimulus addresses a historic underfunding of Natural Resource Management (NRM) funding, where only 20% of projects have been being funded.
WA’s 7 NRM Regions and Landcare Network have put forward detailed, shovel ready priority areas for funding across the whole of WA and can also play a lead role coordination and delivery of on-ground works. The projects have been developed to leverage existing programs and capacity and provide seasonal, scalable and flexible work for all skill levels.
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The projects include:
- Northern Agricultural region projects including as seed collection teams with Aboriginal rangers, coast care, community weeding along waterways and regenerative agriculture (50+ jobs)
- Peel-Harvey Catchment projects including greening farms (100,000 seedlings planted), feral animal control, native seed banks, coastal weed and erosion control and restoring river health. (40 jobs)
- Rangelands region projects including sustainable livestock production, native seed collection, landscape -scale rehydration works, and prescribed burning that will employ more than 300 indigenous people
- South Coast region projects including restoring coastal habitats, seed collection and propagation with Aboriginal ranger teams, indigenous cultural site protection and weed and feral animal control (100+ jobs)
- South West Catchments projects including wheatbelt salt remediation and linkage, fire reduction, water quality, eco-tourism trails and bushfire recovery (400+ jobs);
- Wheatbelt region projects such as seed collection, river rat teams, feral animal control ranger teams, intensive weeding along waterways and in listed TECs and knowledge brokers (300+ jobs)
- Perth region projects including bushfire recovery, revegetation and tree planting, RAMSAR wetland habitat restoration works, dune repair along Perth’s coast, and river and creek line restoration (500+ jobs)
In addition, the Urban Bushland Council, representing over 70 local groups has proposed a Perth & Peel Science and Conservation Stimulus proposal outlining over 150 jobs in the following priority areas:
- Bush Forever management and protection (5 scientists in DBCA + 100 on ground bush-carers)
- A Forrestdale Education/Visitor Centre and DBCA base (14FTE)
- Employ scientists in the Threatened Species and Communities & Weed Science branches of DBCE and establish an ongoing group for Banksia Woodlands and Tuart Woodlands TECs (50FTE)
- Bushfire rehabilitation and fire risk management (20FTE)
- Fund the Saving Rare Orchids project proposal (10FTE)
The Proposal
- State and Commonwealth Governments commit $200m funding to commence the Conservation Stimulus projects delivered via the seven WA NRM Regions and the WA Landcare Network.
- Support the Perth and Peel Science and conservation Jobs stimulus proposal developed by the Urban Bushland council.