In 2017, the Victorian Government released Protecting Victoria’s Environment – Biodiversity 2037 (Biodiversity 2037) with the aim of stopping the decline of Victoria’s biodiversity and achieving an overall biodiversity improvement over the next 20 years. Under the two goals of ‘Victorians value nature’, and ‘Victoria’s natural environment is healthy’, Biodiversity 2037 is committed to providing an opportunity for Traditional Owners and Aboriginal Victorians to be involved in biodiversity planning, management and decision-making; self-determination; land justice; and economic advancement. Key targets under the plan include five million Victorians acting to protect the natural environment; ensuring that endangered species will persist in natural environments; and achieving a net gain in the overall extent and condition of terrestrial, marine and waterway habitats.
Under Biodiversity 2037, State Government funding has been made available to support on-ground biodiversity action to protect and manage threatened species and communities. Incentives include:
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2018 Community and Volunteer Action Grants – $2.4 million for 73 projects across Victoria, with durations of between 1 and 3 years, to support communities to conserve their local biodiversity and threatened species
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regional landscapes and targeted action – $4.7 million to fund 67 projects that include large-scale and targeted management projects to protect threatened species and research to better understand native flora and fauna conservation
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2018 biodiversity response planning – $35.6 million for on-ground biodiversity actions and $2.5 million for marine-targeted actions to be delivered across 3 years over 11 geographic areas
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2018 crowdfunding – $116,000 to match efforts of community crowdfunded projects in 2018 to support threatened species and biodiversity conservation campaigns
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regional biodiversity hubs – $7.7 million for 26 large-scale regional hubs and associated projects to remove woody weeds, pest plants and animals and implement protection measures. Additional funding of over $1 million allocated to delivering eight urgent projects and $2 million to support intensive management actions for iconic threatened species such as the Baw Baw frog, brushtailed rock wallaby, eastern barred bandicoot, mountain pygmy possum, orange-bellied parrot, hooded plover, regent honeyeater and plains-wanderer
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support programs – DELWP in collaboration with scientists and communities to increase and share knowledge to manage and respond to biodiversity risks, including seminars, regional events, forums and tools to complement on-ground activities.
All the above incentives, and their projects, will be assessed on how well they contribute to Biodiversity 2037 targets under the goal ‘Victoria’s natural environment is healthy’.
The Guidelines for the Removal, Destruction or Lopping of Native Vegetation aim to prevent net loss to biodiversity. The guidelines provide a three-step approach:
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Avoid the removal, destruction or lopping of native vegetation.
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Minimise impacts from the removal, destruction or lopping of native vegetation that cannot be avoided.
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Provide an offset to compensate for the biodiversity impact from the removal, destruction or lopping of native vegetation.
The guidelines are an incorporated document in Victoria’s planning system, which requires a permit to remove native vegetation. The three-step approach is applied when assessing whether or not to grant a permit, and when determining the conditions on any permits granted. The Victorian Government has also reviewed the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (FFG Act) with the aim to more effectively protect Victoria’s biodiversity in the face of existing and emerging threats. The Flora and Fauna Guarantee Amendment Bill was introduced to Parliament on 23 May 2018 to amend the Act with a new framework for biodiversity protection and management, including Victoria’s native species and important habitats. The Bill was debated in the Legislative Assembly and passed without amendment. It was subsequently introduced into the Legislative Council but was not debated before the final scheduled parliamentary sitting day of the 58th Parliament of Victoria.
The Invasive Plants and Animals Policy Framework (IPAPF) represents the government’s approach to managing existing and potential invasive species across the whole of Victoria. It prioritises actions based on a biosecurity approach that aims to:
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prevent the entry of new high-risk invasive species
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eradicate those that are at an early stage of establishment
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contain where possible species that are beyond eradication
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take an asset-based approach to managing widespread invasive species.
DELWP’s Science Statement, released in 2017, outlines how DELWP will increase connectivity and discoverability and promote science across the department, with department agencies, partners, stakeholders and the community. The statement has three main foci: community participation and ownership; informing policy and operational decisions; and building blocks for the future. DELWP’s Science Statement Implementation Plan, launched in 2018, is structured on four key themes: we value and lead in science, we build our capability, we connect and collaborate, and we share. Each key theme will be delivered through priority actions during 2018, with finalisation and release of a Science Statement evaluation framework, data standards and data catalogues in 2019.