Nature conservation

Background

Tasmania’s natural environment is diverse, rich and unique. It contributes to healthy ecosystems and ecological processes, and also contributes to the quality of life and general wellbeing of the community.

Land use planning seeks to recognise the value of the natural environment. It also acknowledges that by protecting these values it can support those sectors that rely on healthy ecosystems and intact landscapes to produce goods and services that stimulate our economy and support the general wellbeing of the community.

A significant proportion of Tasmania’s environmental values is protected by legislation and management systems outside the planning system. Land use planning can play a strategic role in identifying and prioritising other environmental values and applying measures to protect them. In doing so, it can help address the broad scale cumulative effects associated with land use and its impacts on the natural environment.

How is this managed within the planning system?

The entire Resource Management and Planning System (RMPS) places a high value on the natural environment. Its objectives are based on sustainable development and the maintenance of ecological processes and genetic diversity.

The planning system, through the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993 (LUPAA), works in combination with other legislation relating to environmental management, national parks and reserves, threatened species, nature conservation and forestry to identify and protect the natural environment. The State Coastal Policy 1996 also applies detailed outcomes for the management and protection of the coastal environment, which must be implemented through the broader RMPS, including the planning system.

The protection of natural values is important at a strategic level. This means identifying areas of important natural value and ensuring they are not negatively impacted by major areas of development and settlement. This is achieved through planning for settlement growth in appropriate locations, through regional land use strategies and local strategic plans, and applying appropriate zoning in the planning scheme.

For example, the planning scheme will include land with the most significant natural values, such as the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA), national parks and reserves, within the Environmental Management Zone. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (Parks and Wildlife Service) manages these areas through their legislation and regulations, and management plans.

The introduction of the Tasmanian Planning Scheme (TPS) means that for the first time there are statewide consistent controls for dealing with the protection of the natural environment through zones and codes. Previously, these matters were either managed inconsistently across the State, or not at all in some interim planning schemes and older planning schemes.

Environmental values will also be present across a number of different zones, for example the Landscape Conservation Zone, Rural Zone and the Open Space Zone. The main purpose of the Landscape Conservation Zone is for the protection, conservation and management of landscape values, such as large areas of bushland or areas of important scenic value. Some zones, like the Rural Living Zone, also have a dual role of providing for low density housing in a rural setting where existing natural and landscape values should be retained.

Some zones, such as residential, business, commercial and industrial zones, generally have limited controls for protecting the natural environment. This is because strategic planning decisions have already been made to make this land available for more intensive development. This helps to prioritise development in the right locations and minimises urban sprawl and impacts on the natural environment.

Private land is important for nature conservation. Many Tasmanians dedicate some or all of their properties to nature conservation, for example, by placing a conservation covenant on the property or by developing wildlife friendly gardens. These properties often support movement corridors for wildlife through our rural and settlement areas. Conservation covenants are not impacted by zones or other requirements in the planning scheme. They work in addition to the planning system.

The zones in the planning scheme are supplemented by additional controls on development from codes. The Natural Assets Code in the TPS provides extra protection over and above the zoning. It applies to:

• waterway and coastal protection areas
• future coastal refugia areas
• priority vegetation areas.

The locations of these areas are mapped by overlays through each council’s Local Provisions Schedule in the TPS and can be found on The LIST.

Waterways, wetlands and coastal protection areas

The Natural Assets Code applies buffers for waterways, wetlands and coastal waters, which are based on the Forest Practices Code. Waterways in Tasmania are classified into four categories based on catchment size, with the largest being Class 1. Coastal waters are identified as Class 1 waterways. The code states how wide the buffer (or protection area) is and then applies specific controls to manage development and minimise impacts. The largest buffer is 100 metres for wetlands classified under the Ramsar Convention for their international significance. Information about all the buffer widths is in Table C7.3 of the Natural Assets Code in the Tasmanian Planning Scheme.

Matters considered when assessing proposed development near waterways, coastal waters, and wetlands include:

• preventing erosion
• preventing water pollution
• preserving stream bank plants (riparian vegetation)
• preserving in-stream habitat
• maintaining natural flow rates.

Future coastal refugia areas

Future coastal refugia areas identify land for the potential movement of coastal habitats, such as wetlands and saltmarshes with future tidal inundation and erosion resulting from climate change. The overlay map for future coastal refugia areas is based on the statewide coastal inundation hazard maps applied through the Coastal Inundation Hazard Code and considers the existing zones and development on the land.

Priority vegetation areas

Priority vegetation areas are areas potentially containing:

• threatened native vegetation communities listed under the Nature Conservation Act 2002
• threatened flora species
• significant habitat for threatened fauna species
• other locally important native vegetation.

The overlay for priority vegetation areas was prepared by local councils using detailed information from the Regional Ecosystem Model of Tasmanian Biodiversity developed by the consulting firm Natural Resource Planning Pty Ltd.

The zone and code rules in the TPS work in combination with other legislation and management systems. This includes the:

• management of national parks and reserves (including the TWWHA) under the National Parks and Reserves Management Act 2002 and the Nature Conservation Act 2002
• protection of threatened species under the Threatened Species Protection Act 1995
• management of forestry, clearance of threatened native vegetation communities, and impacts on other sensitive land under the Forest Practices Act 1985 and the Forest Practices Code
• management of environmental impacts under the Environmental Management and Pollution Control Act 1994
• management of matters of national environmental significance under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

Planning initiatives

The Tasmanian Planning Policies (TPPs)

The draft TPPs have a policy dedicated to environmental values. It is based on 4 principles:

• identifying environmentally significant land and determining its value
• protecting the identified land from incompatible land uses
• minimising impacts where avoidance is not possible
• applying offsets.

The draft policy is applied to 5 categories of environmental values:

• biodiversity
• waterways, wetlands and estuaries
• geodiversity
• landscape values
• coasts.

The TPPs will be implemented through revisions to the regional land use strategies and the State Planning Provisions (SPPs) in the TPS. All amendments to the council Local Provisions Schedules in the TPS will need to be consistent with the TPPs.

Please see Planning System/Tasmanian Planning Policies for more information.

Review of regional land use strategies

Regional planning can address nature conservation at a regional level. This offers the ability to consider the systemic and interconnected nature of ecological processes, and how they support all human activity.

The three existing regional land use strategies include strategies for the protection of environmental values and management of impacts. The regional land use strategies guide where growth occurs in our settlements. They aim for growth to occur in appropriate locations and guide the application of zones in the TPS. These current regional strategies are subject to reviews, which will include application of the TPPs at the regional scale.

Please see Planning System/Regional Planning for more information.

Review of the State Planning Provisions (SPPs)

The SPPs in the TPS are being reviewed following their introduction in 2017. The SPPs are reviewed every 5 years to ensure they remain relevant and to implement improvements.

A review of the Natural Assets Code has been identified as a key project for the review of the SPPs. The review will implement the policies in the TPPs (when finalised) and deliver improvements to the way the Code operates and other related requirements in the TPS.

Please see the SPP Review page for more information.

Who does what?

Councils are central to administering the TPS, and handle the bulk of development applications in Tasmania, including assessing compliance with the zone and code requirements. Councils are also responsible for applying the zones and codes to the land in their municipality through their Local Provisions Schedule (LPS) in the TPS. The Tasmanian Planning Commission approves each council’s Local Provision Schedule in accordance with the requirements in the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993, including consistency with future TPPs and the regional land use strategies.

Local councils also have a role in managing bushland and natural values on council owned land, such as local parks and reserves.

The Minister sets the overall direction for the planning system through the approval and amendment of the:

• TPPs
• regional land use strategies, in partnership with local government and state agencies
• planning rules in the SPPs of the TPS.

These processes involve public consultation and independent review by the Tasmanian Planning Commission.

Both Houses of Parliament are responsible for the making and amending of state policies, like the State Coastal Policy 1996. This is based on community and industry input, expert advice from relevant state departments and councils and independent review by the Tasmanian Planning Commission.

The Environment Protection Authority (EPA Tasmania) regulates developments and activities that may impact on environmental quality. Under the Environmental Management and Pollution Control Act 1994, the EPA Tasmania regulates many industrial and municipal activities and assesses new developments for their potential impact, including developments involving:

• petroleum and chemical products
• manufacturing
• waste treatment
• food production
• mining and materials processing.

The Forest Practices Authority (FPA) manages the Tasmanian forest practices system on both public and private land under the Forest Practices Act 1985. The FPA regulates all the activities that are defined as ‘forest practices’, including:

• establishing forests
• growing and harvesting timber
• clearing trees
• clearing and converting threatened native vegetation
• work within forest areas such as on roads and in quarries.

Most people who want to carry out forest practices on private land need a certified forest practices plan (FPP) first.

While states and territories are responsible for land use, water, pollution control and air quality, the Australian government becomes involved if the project could impact nationally significant and protected animals, plants, habitats or places. This is controlled under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE) has the lead role in nature conservation in Tasmania. It has roles and work programs relevant to nature conservation in the following areas:

• strategic advice to the government on primary industries, waters, parks and reserves, heritage, environment and lands
• planning and management of national parks, reserves, marine reserves and world heritage areas
• natural resource management, geo-conservation, waterway or coastal protection, managing invasive species
• the conservation of threatened species and communities
• reserve activity assessments (like an environmental impact assessment on private land)
• an advisory role in conservation assessments of developments on private land.

The Wellington Park Management Trust is the independent statutory management authority for Wellington Park. The Trust is responsible for the management and protection of the diverse natural and cultural values of Wellington Park. The Trust develops and periodically updates the Wellington Park Management Plan, which functions as the planning scheme for the Wellington Park.

The three Natural Resource Management (NRM) bodies coordinate conservation projects at regional levels. They identify the region’s priorities for natural resource management, work with the community to prepare a regional NRM strategy and oversee its implementation.

Private landowners are responsible for natural values on their land involving conservation covenants.

More information

EPA Tasmania (epa.tas.gov.au)

Forest Practices Authority (fpa.tas.gov.au)

Department of Natural Resources and the Environment Tasmania (nre.tas.gov.au)

Wellington Park Trust (wellingtonpark.org.au)

Cradle Coast NRM
NRM North​
NRM South​

Private Land Conservation Program | Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (nre.tas.gov.au)