Conservation tenders

Conservation tenders provide an opportunity for eligible landholders to enter into a funded conservation agreement with the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust.

Landholders who think they may have important native plants and animals on parts of their property, and wish to set their own price to protect and manage biodiversity on their land, may wish to participate.

Successful landholders will receive the annual conservation payments set in their bids for undertaking agreed conservation actions under their agreement.
 

How does a tender process work?

The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust periodically invites landholders in high priority areas to express their interest in a site assessment. Expressing interest does not create a binding obligation to proceed to an agreement. 

NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust staff members assist landholders with eligible sites to identify an area (or areas) on their land that could be managed for biodiversity conservation, and develop a conservation management plan. 

Landholders are then invited to submit a tender or ‘bid’ which sets the annual payments they wish to receive to implement the conservation management plan. As part of their bid, landholders can choose the term of the conservation agreement, which will be either in-perpetuity or for a fixed term (a minimum of 15 years).

How are bids assessed?

Submitted bids are ranked by value for money. The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust will calculate a biodiversity value score (BVS) for the proposed conservation management plan for each eligible site. This score is divided by the bid price to calculate a biodiversity value index (BVI) which is used to rank the bids.

Conservation agreements will be offered to sites that provide good value for money until the available funds for each conservation tender are exhausted.

Tender assessment will be supervised by an independent probity adviser and approved by the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust Board.

What happens if a bid is successful?

Landholders with successful bids will be offered to sign a funded conservation agreement with the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust. Landholders will receive annual conservation management payments, as set out in their bid, for the term of the agreement.

The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust will set aside sufficient funds to ensure it can make the agreed annual payments over the term of the agreement, including for in-perpetuity agreements.

All agreements will include a provision for the conservation management plan and associated payments to be reviewed and in limited circumstances renegotiated every five years. Landholders that have signed term agreements will be able to upgrade to in-perpetuity agreements at any time. In either of these scenarios, if the BCT has available funds at that time, the amount set aside by the BCT will be increased commensurately.

Where do conservation tenders occur?

The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust runs conservation tenders within selected areas of NSW each year. The areas selected for conservation tenders are based on the targets and investment principles set out in the Biodiversity Conservation Investment Strategy.

Areas selected will typically include landscapes that are underrepresented or inadequately reserved in the protected area system, or are otherwise identified by the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust as high priority investment areas for biodiversity conservation.

The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust may target specific biodiversity assets, such as koala habitat or or other conservation assets, as guided by the Investment Strategy.

Express interest in a conservation tender 

The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust runs conservation tenders throughout the year in targeted regions of the state.

To view current tender openings and express your interest, click here.