The rationale for projects funded by this initiative is to implement on-ground action and to empower the community through landholder collaborative planning at the landscape scale.
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WHAT IS HEAT?
High-value Environmental Area Targeted (HEAT) investment was one of three projects within the environment stream implemented to tackle serious issues in the region.
A region-wide, targeted, environmental project, it focused on high value areas such as vegetation communities or species listed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, properties that surround National Parks, or for refugia that support species migration and are crucial in a changing climate.
A multi criteria decision matrix was used to inform where projects will be targeted. This matrix considered areas of high biodiversity value such as Matters of National Environmental Significance, or areas that support the conservation of the protected area estate.
As an environmental stream project, HEAT included an Indigenous consultation strategy to assist with incorporating Indigenous values and knowledge, and developing skills in natural resource management.
Primarily, the engagement strategy delivered a series of unique workshops connected to each project to build capacity, knowledge and experience in managing matters of national environmental significance.
Supporting promotional bags sporting three of the region’s emblematic threatened species, Julia Creek Dunnart, Night Parrot and Bilby were also produced to highlight the HEAT program and its connection to EPBC species
From 2013 to early 2015, this project was funded by the Commonwealth Government’s Caring for our Country Initiative – Environment Stream; since then, it has been funded by the National Landcare Program.
The rationale for projects funded by this initiative is to both implement on-ground action for strategic and high value areas within the region, and to empower the community through landholder collaborative planning at the landscape scale.
The integrations of on-ground action and planning helped to achieve quality outcomes, and efficiencies in the implementation, as well as building landholder continuity in undertaking natural resource management into the long term.