In brief
The government has added a second method—enhancing native vegetation—to its Nature Repair Market, broadening eligibility and enabling projects that improve habitats or control invasive species. Minister Murray Watt said this will reward landholders and support conservation outcomes for threatened species. The market already protects more than 2,600 hectares of forest under the first method.
A new biodiversity restoration method has been added to Australia’s Nature Repair Market, letting private landholders improve or restore native vegetation and protect threatened species, Canberra said on Oct. 31.
The Nature Repair Market was launched to encourage farmers, Indigenous groups and conservation organisations to invest in activities that restore and protect biodiversity on private land. The first method focused on replanting native forest and woodland ecosystems, and four projects have so far protected 2,656 hectares of land.
The new method – called “enhancing native vegetation” – permits landholders to register projects that maintain existing native vegetation or restore cleared areas. It also allows projects that improve habitats for threatened species and help control invasive plants and animals.
By widening eligibility, the government hopes the market will grow and that some projects can be used as environmental offsets, encouraging more private investment in biodiversity.
Murray Watt said the market was still in its early stages, but that adding more methods would incentivise and reward landholders for protecting and restoring biodiversity on their land.
“The Nature Repair Market is still in its early stages, but by introducing more methods for use, we're incentivizing and rewarding landholders for protecting and restoring biodiversity on their land, including by controlling invasive species.”
Murray Watt added:
“Protecting habitats on private land was essential to improving conservation outcomes for Australia's threatened native species.”
The government said the new method would broaden eligibility for participation and allow certain projects to be used for environmental offsets, potentially stimulating demand for biodiversity restoration activities.
The market currently covers two methods – forest replanting and native vegetation enhancement – and has already protected more than 2,600 hectares under the first method, showing the approach can scale quickly.
By involving farmers and landholders, the market hopes to grow a network of biodiversity stewards across the country.
If the Nature Repair Market succeeds, it could become a model for other countries looking to use private land to meet biodiversity targets.
