Nature reserve (Australia) is the title of a type of
protected area used in the
Australian jurisdictions of the
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. I ...
,
New South Wales
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, established_title = Before federation
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,
Tasmania
)
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, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
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and
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
. The term “nature reserve” is defined by state and territory
statutes rather than by a single national statute. As of 2014, 1767 (or ) out of a total of 10339 protected areas listed within the Australian
National Reserve System
Australia's National Reserve System (NRS) is a network of more than 10,000 Commonwealth plus state and territory protected areas which, in combination, on a national scale, protect more than , greater than 17% of the continent, of unique biodi ...
were “nature reserves.”
Extent of use on Australia
The term “nature reserves” is only used in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Tasmania and Western Australia.
As of 2014, 1767 protected areas whose titles include the words “nature reserve” have been listed on the National Reserve System with a total area of or 1.47% of the Australian territorial area. This compares with the National Reserve System’s total inventory of 10339 protected areas that have a total area of or 17.88% of the Australian territorial area.
[
]
Australian Capital Territory
In the Australian Capital Territory, the term “nature reserve” appears in the following legislation - the ''Nature Conservation Act 2014'' and the ''Planning and Development Act 2007'' with the former defining the term as “an area of public land reserved in the territory plan for a nature reserve under the ''Planning and Development Act 2007''” while the latter defines it as one of the purposes for which “public land may be reserved in the territory plan.”
New South Wales
In New South Wales, a nature reserve is defined by the ''National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974
The ''National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974'' is the legislation passed by the New South Wales Parliament with the explicit intent of conserving the's natural and cultural heritage of the state of New South Wales; fostering public appreciation, u ...
'' as land being reserved to “identify, protect and conserve areas containing outstanding, unique or representative ecosystems, species, communities or natural phenomena.”
Tasmania
In Tasmania, a nature reserve is defined in two statutes - the ''Nature Conservation Act 2002'' and the ''National Parks and Reserves Management Act 2002''.[ The second statute includes a list of seven objectives for the management of nature reserves concerned with matters such as “natural biological diversity”, “geological diversity”, water quality & catchment protection, “sites or areas of cultural significance”, education, research, protection & rehabilitation, and engagement with ]Aboriginal people
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
.[
As of 2014, a total of 80 nature reserves have been listed as part of the Tasmanian contribution to the National Reserve System with a total area of .]
Western Australia
In Western Australia, a nature reserve is defined in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' as being used for land which has been vested
In law, vesting is the point in time when the rights and interests arising from legal ownership of a property is acquired by some person. Vesting creates an immediately secured right of present or future deployment. One has a vested right to an ...
in a government agency known as the Conservation Commission either by a person or persons, or by other state legislation where land has been reserved for “ the conservation of flora or fauna, or both flora and fauna.”
Victoria
See also
*Indigenous Protected Area
An Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) is a class of protected area used in Australia; each is formed by voluntary agreement with Indigenous Australians, and declared by Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander representative organisations ...
*Protected areas of Australia
Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...
References
{{reflist, 30em
Protected areas of Australia
Nature reserves in Australia