Impact Summary 2020

Reducing carbon emissions

“Without regular people-lit fires in the cooler months, dry grass builds up, creating fuel for much bigger bushfires. Hotter, larger fires can have a devastating effect on vegetation and animals in their path, and release huge volumes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere,” says Outback Program, Director David Hinchley.

“Supporting Indigenous communities to return to traditional practices is simply sustainable conservation in action. Managed fire can have huge benefits for people and nature through biodiversity outcomes and climate change mitigation. This creates diversified income streams through carbon credits which is a game changer for these communities”

Through this improved burning and reduced greenhouse gas emissions, carbon credits are generated, where one less tonne of carbon dioxide emitted equals one carbon credit. Credits can be sold, to offset the emissions of other organisations, generating income which in turn is used for conservation land management.

Reflecting on our work up north with eight Indigenous groups on Cape York doing early-season fire management and savanna burning carbon projects, David’s colleague Dr Luke Preece says, “Creating these carbon credits is key in enabling groups to manage Country and build better lives for communities.”

Fire planning reviews assesses the success of the previous year’s fire program. The results are good! Across northern Australia, the last fire season was better than the year before, making ecosystems healthier and abating 954,000 tonnes of carbon for Indigenous-led projects alone. We’re now seeing a growing Indigenous carbon industry network which is impacting positively on Indigenous leadership.

The Healthy Country Planning (HCP) approach is showing great results too. The plans provide a critical foundation for communities to realise cultural and conservation aspirations for their country. In 2020, we supported four groups on Cape York to help create their plan.

These communities are now focussing on how to maintain the positive outcomes achieved so the benefits are ongoing well into the future. 

Empowering women in the outback

We have a strong focus on equity across our work in the outback. We work with women leaders on Cape York and Arnhem Land with an emphasis is on women’s empowerment and includes women and girls from several generations.

In Arnhem Land, we supported the Mimal Land Management Aboriginal Corporation to establish the Northern Territory Strong Women Healthy Country Network. The network is growing, with over 100 women Elders, rangers and supporters.

And at Fish River Station in the Northern Territory, a women’s camp was built. The camp has increased women's engagement. It’s providing a foundation for long-term management with the ultimate goal of hand-back to Traditional Owners. This leads to better conservation outcomes for people and nature.

Murray Darling Basin

We’d established the world’s first impact investing project in Australia with the Murray-Darling Basin Balanced Water Fund. The Fund works to make water available for farmers when they need it most, while protecting culturally significant wetlands that support threatened species and ecosystems. 

In 2020, we returned 1,244 megalitres of water to wetlands located in northern Victoria and south-western NSW.

By investing in permanent water rights in the southern Murray-Darling Basin, we can, through smart allocation of those rights, optimise agricultural and environmental outcomes by replicating the natural wetting and drying cycles of the Basin. By copying nature.

Another property receiving environmental waterflows is Gayini. It’s a place of conservation and cultural significance to the Traditional Custodians, the Nari Nari people.

In December 2020, surveys were undertaken of a known Ibis breeding site. Around 18,500 nests belonging to Straw-necked Ibis’ and Glossy Ibis’ were surveyed.

The Glossy Ibis is the smallest of the three species of ibis in Australia. It’s considered vulnerable in NSW and Victoria due to the loss of wetland ecosystems. This significant breeding event is especially exciting as it’s one of the largest breeding events ever recorded on Gayini. It demonstrates the positive impact of environmental flows returning to Gayini’s wetlands and floodplains.

Ongoing bird surveys have identified a number of threatened birds across Gayini including the White-fronted Chat, Blue-billed Duck and Freckled Duck.

Bushfire Recovery

Thank you to everyone who donated to our bushfire appeal. We received an outpouring of support from all corners of the globe. But the fight is nowhere near over. Our response to bushfire recovery was swift and remains ongoing.

In an unprecedented coordinated effort, we worked with over 50 farming, conservation and land management organisations to create a plan that is a practical, tangible and a responsible way to invest in long-term, landscape-scale initiatives in bushfire-affected areas and beyond.

It brings together government, the private sector and philanthropy to invest in Australia’s natural environment at a scale much greater than government could achieve alone.

Rest assured, we’re working tirelessly to get it across the line. If it gets up, it will a significant advance in the funding of conservation in Australia’s working landscapes.

Thank you for being there during the toughest bushfire season in our history.

Oceans

We’re leading a bold commitment to build 60 reefs alongside communities who need them most. It’s the largest marine restoration initiative to bring back shellfish reef ecosystems from the brink of extinction—for the benefit of people and nature.

We've successfully built shellfish reefs all over the world, with many projects already well underway in Australia. So far we’ve completed projects in: 

• Oyster Harbour, Western Australia
• Port Phillip Bay, Victoria
• Gulf St Vincent and Glenelg, South Australia.

More projects are in progress. The success of these projects have demonstrated that shellfish reefs can be restored at scale and their benefits returned.

“Our supporters are helping us bring an entire ecosystem back from the brink. In 2020, we built shellfish reefs over a six hectare area. To put that in perspective, that’s about the size of nearly 3.5 football ovals,” said Dr Chris Gillies, Oceans Director.

“We seeded these reefs with four million oysters and mussels,  which, along with the 14 million seeded in previous years, will form the basis of a thriving ecosystem. Monitoring progress is vital, with our team spending close to 400 hours scuba diving underwater, conducting surveys  to understand how the reefs are developing.”

Reef Builder

In 2020, we were awarded a $20 million grant from the Australian Government to initiate the ‘Reef Builder’ program. The investment will support our successful program to rebuild shellfish reefs at 13 locations around the Australian coastline targeting bushfire and COVID-19-affected coastal communities.

The initiative is set to create up to 170 jobs and engage up to 120 subcontractors, many in regional areas and provides a massive boost towards achieving our goal of restoring reefs in 60 locations.

Thank you!

Our impact in 2020 would never have been possible without the support of people like you, partners and local communities. We’d like to send you a heartfelt “thank you”. 

It’s all because you believe in a world where people and nature can thrive. You’re helping to ensure a brighter future for wildlife, wild places, and our planet as a whole.

With the support of passionate people like, you have made these achievements a reality.

We’re looking forward achieving many more great wins for our planet and wildlife. Thank you.

The Nature Conservancy acknowledges the Traditional Owners of places in which we work and honour the deep cultural, social, environmental, spiritual and economic connection they share with their lands and waters.