Residents Keen to See More Green
02 November, 2007
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Residents with large bushland properties are being encouraged to restore and preserve their natural habitat to help achieve Council’s target of 40% of bushland in Brisbane by 2026.
Through Council’s Wildlife Conservation Partnerships Program, residents enter a voluntary agreement with Council to preserve significant bushland on their properties in return for technical advice and financial assistance.
Environment and Sustainability Chairperson Helen Abrahams said Council currently offered three types of partnerships with varying degrees of management activities and was considering introducing a higher level of partnership in the form of statutory covenants.
The statutory covenant is a legally binding agreement preventing development from occurring on the conservation portion of the resident’s property.
“This is about protecting and preserving as much bushland as possible for a clean and green Brisbane in the future,” Cr Abrahams said.
“This program will contribute more than 6,000 hectares of natural habitat cover and is a practical way Council can reach its 40% target.
“By working together with residents we can achieve real outcomes that will make a difference for generations to come.”
Cr Abrahams said the higher level agreement of placing covenants on properties was in response to what residents believed was needed to help further preserve the local environment.
The three levels of agreements currently in place are:
1. Voluntary Conservation Agreement – Higher
2. Voluntary Conservation Agreement – General
3. Land for Wildlife
“Currently, program participants undertake activities such as weeding, planting, erosion control and fencing, and in return from Council they receive technical advice, annual visits, management plans and an annual cash payment to assist with managing the property,” Cr Abrahams said.
“But we will look to broaden the assistance to include things like ecological assessments, training days, free plants and rehabilitation support.”
Cr Abrahams said the WCPP was a great program to help educate residents about conservation and also a very cost efficient way to preserve Brisbane’s bushland.
“The restoration of public land costs Council between $3,500 to $5,500/ha/per annum, whereas in comparison, the cost of restoration through these partnerships is $100-$300/ha/per annum,” Cr Abrahams said.