NSW is a step closer to meeting its 30×30 commitments, with a $115 million joint package to expand the state’s network of protected areas confirmed by the NSW Government, the Australian Government and private partners. That is according to Penny Sharpe, NSW’s Minister for Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Heritage and Leader of the Government in the Upper House, who made the announcement yesterday.
The package will expand national parks, strengthen conservation on private land and protect threatened species, with Minister Sharpe confirming it will add up to 175,000 hectares of protected land across the state over the next five years. “NSW protected areas are set to grow with a $115 million joint package with the NSW Government, the Australian Government and private partners,” Minister Sharpe said. “The funding will expand national parks, strengthen conservation on private land and protect threatened species. And it’ll add up to 175,000 hectares of protected land over five years.”
The announcement follows federal and state environment ministers’ endorsement of the national implementation plan for Australia’s Strategy for Nature earlier this month — the whole-of-government framework to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, aligned with the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework — which drew an immediate caution from NSW forestry law specialist Stuart Coppock, who described the 30×30 pledge as “strong on spin but weak on substance.”
Coppock, who advises forest and timber businesses on Regional Forestry Agreements and environmental law, warned the protection targets would be “practically very difficult” to achieve without removing state forests from the timber supply chain or purchasing thousands of private properties.
The five-year timetable to deliver 175,000 hectares of new protected land requires an average of 35,000 hectares per year — a pace Minister Sharpe said the joint package with the federal government and private partners is designed to sustain.
- To learn more about Australia’s commitment to 30×30 and the potential role for forest and agriculture-based assets in meeting the land-based requirements, click here for Wood Central’s special feature from March 2024: How Can Australia’s New Green Laws Juggle Its 30×30 Pledge?
