Conservation efforts to be rewarded

Under a pilot conservation stewardship project delivered by Natural Resources SA - Arid Lands, pastoral leaseholders will receive a financial incentive for taking a section of their property out of production and devoting it to conservation efforts.

NRSA - Arid Lands regional manager Stuart Paul said the conservation stewardship offered landholders an opportunity to diversify their operations.

"The stewardship incentive project offers another business diversification option for pastoralists in the management of their land," Mr Paul said. "They know better that anyone, the unpredictable cycles of 'boom and bust' in the outback and options to diversify their income is a key strategy in managing their risk."

The financial costs associated with managing land for conservation, coupled with the loss of productive land had put many off the idea.

"The development of the pastoral stewardship incentive project grew from conversations with pastoralists about the barriers to devoting parts of their properties to conservation and the potential losses to production and income," he said. "This pilot incentive will test how we cost that impact and the environmental gains. We expect any loss of production income will be effectively offset through the stewardship payment."

The financial incentive component of the stewardship will be site specific and individually assessed on a number of considerations.

These include the type of country, the estimated foregone pastoral production and required infrastructure changes such as new fencing or moving water points.

The ongoing management required on conservation land will also be site specific, depending on factors including pest and weed pressures, and the preferences of landholders. The financial incentive will be paid as a lump sum when the contract is signed.

The stewardship is open to registered holders of a pastoral lease in the SA Arid Lands region who are operating a grazing business. In order to receive a payment, pastoralists must sign an agreement lasting for the remaining term of the lease, or a minimum of 17 years. The agreement will still apply to the lease even if it is sold or transferred.

Mr Paul said the program was designed to bring big environmental benefits.

"Protection of important ecosystems will have huge benefits for the animal and plant species within them," he said. "We are targeting animals, plants or their habitats that are classified as threatened or endangered, particularly those which are not well conserved nationally, or well represented in our public lands system. "

The initial pilot project will involve a one-year trial phase to iron out any issues.

"Our aim is to have several agreements signed by the end of the year with participating pastoralists and the pilot will be evaluated at all stages of the project to fine tune and prove the concept with a vision of securing ongoing funding," he said.

NRSA - Arid Lands had been pleased with the level of interest shown by pastoralists so far.

"If we are over-subscribed with interested pastoralists we will be creating a register for future rounds of the incentive project," he said. "They would be next cab off the rank for consideration as incentive recipients."

The concept of providing financial incentives for conservation efforts might even attract funding from other industries in the future.

"We hope to run future rounds after this pilot, and we would hope other funding opportunities may arise as we prove this incentive concept," he said.

"For example, mining companies who are required to offset vegetation clearance impacts from mining development may see this as an opportunity and a mechanism to pay local pastoralists to provide an offset for them, through setting-aside an area on their property to be managed for conservation."

* Details: Landholders interested in participating need to submit an expression of interest form by December 19. For more information www.naturalresources.sa.gov.au or 08 8124 4735.