Australia aims to protect 30 percent of its landscapes by 2030. Harnessing the power of philanthropy through government fund-matching initiatives could help.
Australia aims to protect 30 percent of its landscapes by 2030. Harnessing the power of philanthropy through government fund-matching initiatives could help.
A new national park is set to protect the habitat of endangered species in outback Australia — thanks to an anonymous AU$21 million donation.
The generous gift, from the private donor, recently allowed The Nature Conservancy to assist the Queensland state government to buy Vergemont cattle station, which contains habitat for endangered night parrot, to create a new 300,000-hectare national park.
The Vergemont purchase is just one example of how philanthropy can help Australia meet its lofty land protection goals. And with time ticking, Australian governments may do well to increase their financial commitment to land protection, in order to encourage more private donors.
Needed: 60 million hectares in six years
Australia has committed to protecting and conserving 30 percent of its lands and oceans by 2030. This goal, known as the “30×30” target, comes from the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Global Biodiversity Framework, which Australia signed with 195 other nations in December 2022.
But time is running out. With 22 percent of the continent protected, the country needs to secure a further 60 million hectares in less than six years.
Recent history has shown that when governments are willing to partner with philanthropic donors, they buy more land.
Bigger properties, such as Vergemont station, can be purchased and protected, securing more high-quality habitat for threatened species.
The donation that funded the purchase is almost certainly the single largest philanthropic contribution to land protection in Australia.
Vergemont will also protect more ecosystems than any other Queensland national park. Here you’ll find the headwaters of the Lake Eyre Basin — one of the last remaining free-flowing arid river systems in the world — and habitat for one of the world’s most elusive birds, the endangered night parrot. The entire global distribution of the tiny Opalton grasswren occurs on and immediately surrounding the property.
The Vergemont purchase was an effective collaboration between private philanthropy and government funds. The anonymous donation was made to non-profit organisation The Nature Conservancy, which helped the Queensland government purchase the property with matching funds from its dedicated AU$262.5 million land acquisition budget.
Dedicated land purchase budgets can help
Having dedicated government funding has been important for several other significant philanthropic gifts for land purchases over the past couple of years, too.
In Queensland, these include 43,000 hectares at The Lakes near Townsville, and 131,900 hectares comprising the Bramwell and Richardson Stations on Cape York.
Last year the New South Wales government purchased two properties (Brindingabba and Comeroo) totalling 71,325 hectares on the nationally significant Yantabulla wetlands in the north of the state for new national parks.
In 2019, the South Australian government purchased 60,000 hectares of Nilpena station to create a new national park. Nilpena is famous for its fossils and research into how life evolved on our planet.
Each of these state governments had dedicated land purchase budgets. This helped attract investments from the likes of the Wyss Foundation and its US$1.5 billion pledge for land and ocean conservation, the Holdfast Collective (Patagonia’s non-profit shareholder), and Haley Mellin’s Art into Acres initiative through Re:wild.
In each of these cases, government financial commitments have created the right conditions for philanthropy to partner and get bigger outcomes. That is, because governments had skin in the game — signalling that they thought these particular land protection projects were worthwhile, and the investments well thought-out — philanthropists were attracted to give.
Fund-matching provisions play a part
This recent interest builds on a past legacy of groundbreaking gifts for land protection.
Between 1996 and 2013, the Australian government’s National Reserve System Program channelled about AU$200 million through state governments and land trusts to buy 371 properties. The program helped to protect some of our most endangered and least protected ecosystems including native grasslands, woodlands and wetlands.
Under fund-matching provisions, the program led to new state government and philanthropic money being invested in conservation.
Similarly, the AU$10 million David Thomas Challenge, a matching-funds initiative from The Thomas Foundation, attracted AU$28.1 million in grants for biodiversity conservation programs and projects. These included the acquisition by non-government organisations of six properties totalling more than 900,000 hectares, containing some of Australia’s most under-represented and threatened habitats.
$5 billion fund is part of the solution
Australian donations and bequests to charities have surged in recent years. Giving to charities working on climate and environment grew 82 percent (around AU$122 million) from 2018 to 2021.
But if we want more of these donations to go towards helping ensure Australia meets its land protection targets, more needs to be done by government to help attract them.
Last October, the Australian government announced AU$25 million to “supercharge efforts” to meet our 30×30 target. It suggested “the funding will encourage private and philanthropic investment in projects like purchasing land”.
But spreading the spend of AU$25 million across the continent is unlikely to make a significant contribution to Australia’s 30×30 commitment.
To put the sum into perspective, this allocation is less than one-tenth of the Queensland government’s commitment. It is around half what was required to purchase Vergemont station.
Science and policy experts suggest a dedicated AU$5 billion land acquisition fund is required at the national level. Complementary measures such as long-term funding for Indigenous Protected Areas, more support for conservation covenants on private land and protecting public land are also critical.
In the absence of such funding, achieving 30×30 in Australia will be challenging.
The Australian government continues to miss a significant opportunity to bring new philanthropic money to the table. By not having a substantial dedicated land purchase fund to help deliver its 30×30 commitment, the government is failing to set the right investment conditions for money to flow into land protection.
The upcoming Global Nature Positive Summit seeks to bring business leaders together to discuss how to bridge the US$700 billion annual biodiversity financing gap. It presents an opportune time for significant announcements of dedicated funding for conservation land purchase to emulate the Queensland Government’s ambition.
Dr James Fitzsimons is an adjunct professor at the School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, and an adjunct professor at the School of Law, University of Tasmania. He is Senior Advisor, Global Protection Strategies with The Nature Conservancy, and a Councillor at the Biodiversity Council.
Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.