NatureAssist established a custom-made nature refuge agreement,
which allows landholders to actively manage special conservation
values of their properties and sustainable production by balancing
the needs of the environment with their business goals, emphasising
the conservation of biodiversity as an important part of property
management.
Landholders were eligible for funding through a tender
process for work such as fencing, watering points and weed control
on part or all of their properties. This land is then covered by a
voluntary perpetual conservation agreement with the Environmental
Protection Agency as a nature refuge. There are now
242 Nature Refuges across Queensland on property enterprises as
diverse as grazing, cropping, horticulture and ecotourism.
The funding available targeted landholders who managed some of
Queensland’s most threatened ecosystems which are rich in
plant and animal diversity, particularly many endemic species.
These ecosystems often face immediate threat from impacts such as
land clearing, development pressures, salinity, weeds and feral
animals due to their unique position in the landscape and will be
priorities according to EPBC values.
