| Bush Heritage Australia | |
| Location: | Melbourne, Australia |
| Key People: | Bob Brown |
| Area Served: | Australia |
| Focus: | Conservation |
| Method: | Acquisition |
| Revenue: | A $34,000,000 (2023/August 2023)[1] |
| Num Volunteers: | 785 |
| Num Employees: | 199 (full-time equivalent)[2] |
| Num Members: | 54,000 supporters |
| Former Name: | Australian Bush Heritage Fund |
Bush Heritage Australia is a non-profit organisation with headquarters in Melbourne, Australia, that operates throughout Australia. It was previously known as the Australian Bush Heritage Fund. Its vision is: Healthy Country, Protected Forever.
It works under three Impact models:
It does so to protect endangered species and preserve Australia's biodiversity. It's 2022-23 Impact Report stated it was contributing to the protection of 11.3 million hectares on its reserves and partnership lands. There were 7,735 Australian species recorded on its reserves and partnership properties, including more than 200 threatened species.[3]
Bush Heritage Australia was founded in 1990 by Bob Brown who purchased two forested properties in Tasmania, adjoining the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Site, to save them from being woodchipped. He used the money of his Goldman Environmental Prize as a deposit, borrowing the rest and setting up the Australian Bush Heritage Fund.[4]
The organization subsequently developed, first in a small way in Tasmania, before expanding to the Australian mainland, and has grown with the assistance of regular subscribers and other donors.[5]
Doug Humann led Bush Heritage Australia as CEO from 1997 to 2011, raising its profile nationally. (he is chair of Landcare Australia.)[6] Gerard O'Neill took over from 2011 until 2018 and Heather Campbell has been the CEO since January 2019.[7]
In 1997 Bush Heritage acquired the lease of Erith Island, an island in the Kent Group, Bass Strait, used for cattle grazing. It was relinquished to the Tasmanian Government in 2002 for incorporation into the Kent Group National Park.[8]
In 2011 Bush Heritage entered into a ten-year agreement with the Wunambal Gaambera Aboriginal Corporation, the "first long-term agreement in Australia between traditional landowners and a non-government conservation organisation". Many others have since followed. The Healthy Country Plan developed by the two groups helps to manage the Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) within the Mitchell River National Park in the Kimberley region in Western Australia.[9] Bush Heritage now has an extensive Aboriginal Partnerships Program.
Bush Heritage Australia is striving for the long-term protection of Australia's biodiversity through the acquisition and management of land, water and wildlife of outstanding conservation significance. To do so it focuses its attention and investment on broad 'priority landscape' regions across Australia, selected for a combination of criteria, including the number of threatened species and ecosystems, the number of endemic species, the general condition of the lands, expected climate change impacts and existing staff and resources deployed in the region. Care of Bush Heritage owned properties includes the rehabilitation of degraded land, the control of introduced herbivores and predators, the use of fire as a management tool, consultation and co-operation with neighbouring landowners and traditional owners, as well as with government departments, and the creation of habitat corridors.
Bush Heritage Australia also has a conservation science program led by Rebecca Spindler.[10] They study public attitude towards conservation as well as the conservation of animal and plant species.[11]
Bush Heritage is run by an independent board of directors skilled in land management and conservation, around 200 paid staff and many volunteers. In 2022-23 Bush Heritage had over 50,000 supporters and hundreds of highly skilled volunteers (contributing over 43,206 hours in 2022-23) who are given opportunities to visit and work on the reserves. Details of income and expenditure can be found in the Impact Report on its website.[1]
As of October 2023, Bush Heritage had 42 reserves and was working with 25 Aboriginal partnerships protecting 11.3 million hectares (113,000 square km):[1]