CEO of FNPW, Ian Darbyshire, Secretary of the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Anthony Lean and Chair of FNPW, David Knowles
The Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife (FNPW) has reached a major milestone in Australia’s biodiversity restoration efforts ahead of schedule, supporting 30 community-based native nurseries across four states – New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and South Australia – and planting one-million trees through its Landscape Resilience Program.
In 2020, FNPW’s Landscape Resilience Program program was created in response to the 2019-20 bushfires, floods and threatened ecological land in partnership with One Tree Planted and L’OCCITANE. Together with its land acquisition to date, FNPW has regenerated over 638,500 hectares across the country.
Currently, over 100 million hectares have been cleared across the Australian landscape. The recovery of just one percent of cleared land – around one million hectares – would significantly impact biodiversity and species conservation.
As a result, FNPW is launching its next major conservation initiative with the goal to triple its current goal by establishing 70 additional community-based native nurseries over the next five years, bringing the total to 100 community-based nurseries nationally. These nurseries, which will be located in priority areas across New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Queensland, will address the national shortage of available seed stock and local provenance of native plants for biodiversity and threatened species programs.
The additional nurseries are expected to produce up to eight million trees by 2030, aligning with Australia’s national reforestation goals and global commitments under the Global Biodiversity Framework: to support the protection of 30 percent of the world’s land and sea goal by 2030.
FNPW’s announcement comes at a time when significant action is required to reverse the decline in Australia’s natural environment. Over the past 100 years, Australia has experienced the highest decline in biodiversity of any continent and boasts the modern world’s highest extinction rate, including more mammals than any other continent.
Anthony Lean, Secretary of the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water said: “FNPW’s efforts contribute to broader national reforestation goals and serve as an essential buffer against the impact of climate change and habitat destruction.”
“To realise our global commitment and shift the dial on climate change and the environment, significant investment is needed in Australia to reverse the decline and actively protect native vegetation and restore new habitat particularly in cleared areas.”
Ian Darbyshire, CEO of FNPW said: “Planting our millionth tree is testament to the collective effort of communities, volunteers, and partners across the country, but there is a lot more work to be done to meet Australia’s goals.”
“Restoration is costly and requires cooperation from governments, landholders, and the private sector. We have the technical expertise and the commitment from conservation organisations and the community but now urgently require assistance from both national and international investment partners to meet our country’s targets.”
Australia’s Dire Landscape
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Rainforests historically covered about one percent of Australia with approximately 50 percent left. These areas support a very high value of biodiversity containing many endemic species.
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Eucalypt woodlands and forests covered about 25 percent of Australia and to date, over 50 percent has been lost. Both of these broad vegetation types support numerous threatened species including multiple community types. Through the Landscape Resilience Program, there will be a proportion of plants propagated that will employ climate-ready principles (i.e. seed sourced from same species predicted climate modelled areas) and FireWise plant species (i.e. naturally fire tolerant/resistant species).
Priority 1 Regions (priority for the next five years)
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South East South Australia (Eucalypt Woodlands)
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North Coast New South Wales / South East Queensland (Subtropical Rainforest and Eucalypt Forests)
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New South Wales / Victorian inland slopes (Grassy Eucalypt Woodlands)
Priority 2 Regions (five to 10-year period)
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South and East Gippsland Victoria (Grassy and Healthy Woodlands/Eucalypt Forests)
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South West Western Australia (SW Eucalypt Woodlands, Forests and Coastal Heaths)
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Northern Kimberley Western Australia (Subtropical Woodlands)
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Eastern Tasmania (Eucalypt Woodlands and Forests)
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