Question On Notice No. 1140 asked in the Legislative Council on 30 November 2022 by Hon Dr Brad Pettitt
Question Directed to the: Minister for Emergency Services representing the Minister for Environment
Parliament: 41 Session: 1
Question
(1) What is the total funding allocated to Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) for staff, on ground
monitoring and management of the Bush Forever ‘CAR’ reserve system?
(2) What is the total area in hectares of Bush Forever lands currently managed
by (DBCA)?
(3) What is the budget allocation to (DBCA) to manage these Bush Forever lands?
(4) Given that according to the Bush Forever Audit 2021, the Western Australian Planning Commission now owns 13,440
hectares of Bush Forever areas, what
has been the increase in recurrent funding for (DBCA) to employ staff and
especially botanists, biologists and ecologists to properly manage this significant area of the
conservation estate?
Answered on 14 February 2023
(1) The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) does not keep separate financial accounts specific to Bush Forever sites and is therefore unable to quantify the total funding limited only to the management of Bush Forever sites.
Bush Forever areas managed by DBCA contribute to the comprehensive, adequate and representative (CAR) reserve system, which also includes other significant areas of conservation reserves.
(2) As identified in the Western Australian Planning Commission Bush Forever Audit 2021, DBCA currently manages around 40,000 hectares of Bush Forever areas.
(3) See response to question 1.
(4) As identified in the Western Australian Planning Commission Bush Forever Audit 2021, DBCA currently manages approximately 5000 hectares of the 13,440 hectares of Bush Forever areas owned by the Western Australian Planning Commission under Section 8A of the Conservation and Land Management Act 1984. The remainder of these lands are managed by the Western Australian Planning Commission.
As per the response to question 1, DBCA does not keep separate accounts specific to Bush Forever sites, therefore is unable to quantify the total allocation of recurrent funding to employ staff.