Plants and animals of the Mallee get a helping hand

The health of the Mallee's native animal and plants will be improved with a biodiversity action plan. Under the plan, trees will be planted to provide new habitat and to protect and link existing areas.

"About two-thirds of the catchment has been cleared for agriculture, and most remaining native vegetation now occurs within a few large national parks and reserves," said John McLaughlin, Mallee Catchment Authority (CMA) project officer.

"Within cleared areas, only three per cent of the original native vegetation remains and most of this isn't connected.

"For native animals and plants to survive, it's important to have a healthy, functioning landscape and ecosystems.

"Factors such as climate change also need to be taken into account. So it's important to link up corridors of habitat that run north to south because this affects the ability of plants and animals to adjust and migrate."

Funding

The Australian ans State Governments have provided $280,000 to the project. This has enabled the Mallee Catchment Management Authority to combine several biodiversity goals into one project covering the south-west Mallee region.

The Department of Sustainability and Environment, regional Landcare Network, and Trust for Nature are also partners in this project.

Activities

Financial incentives have been provided to farmers to undertake work such as putting up fences. "The higher the biodiversity potential, the higher the incentive paid," said John. "Retaining native vegetation minimises salinity, provides protection for fauna and helps build up the soil by adding organic matter to it and halting erosion.

"We've also worked with Trust for Nature to establish conservation covenants, which enables people to give permanent protection to significant areas of natural bushland on private land."

Achievements

Results from the south-west Mallee project have outstripped initial targets and have included:

1. 372 hectares of remnant vegetation fenced and protected (target was 182 hectares)
2. 25 hectares planted, including strategic areas linking up existing habitat, with 300-500 trees per hectare
3. 450 hectares of land secured under conservation covenants (target was 20 hectares)
4. 17,500 hectares of habitat, involving over 167 different sites, monitored for threatened species, including Major Mitchell's Cockatoo, Regent Parrot, Malleefowl, Heath Skink, Mallee worm-lizard and Orange Sun Moth (target was 2,980 hectares at 52 different sites)

More information

1. Philip Stevens, Mallee CMA project officer: (03) 5051 4377 or philip.stevens@dpi.vic.gov.au
2. Mallee Catchment Management Authority 
3. Trust for Nature 

Australian Government NRM Team
GPO Box 787
Canberra ACT 2601 Australia
1800 552 008 (toll-free)

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Caring for our Country is an Australian Government initiative jointly administered by the Australian Government departments of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts