Queensland Trust for Nature

Welcome to the Queensland Trust for Nature ('the Trust'), a not-for-profit organisation established for the protection of the natural environment in Queensland.

Landscape fragmentation is recognised as a key threatening process resulting in the loss of biodiversity. Protecting existing remnants and restoring wildlife corridors is critical to the long-term survival of many species. For this reason, the Trust works to protect habitat and compliment public and private protected areas for the conservation of biodiversity.

The Trust operates a revolving fund that is used to buy, covenant and re-sell land with high conservation values. The Trust also develops partnerships with other organisations to identify, acquire, manage and protect land.

To-date the Trust has acquired ten properties and sold five. In excess of 101,000 hectares has been managed for conservation.

In most cases, the Trust negotiates a conservation agreement to establish a nature refuge with the Department of Environment and Resource Management. The conservation agreement is tailored to each property and is designed to help landholders protect the significant natural and cultural resources while allowing for sustainable land use practices.

Nature refuges are a class of protected area under the Nature Conservation Act 1992. In addition to knowing that they are making a valuable contribution to protecting Queensland's biodiversity, landholders who purchase a Trust property can access the benefits of the nature refuge program including conservation and land management advice and in some cases, financial assistance.

See nature refuges on the Department of Environment and Resource Management's site for further information on nature refuges.

Criteria has been developed to assess and prioritise properties for acquisition according to conservation values.

The Trust has also established partnerships with government and non-government organisations including:

In this instance, the Trust is facilitating the appeal until such time that donations can be invested in projects consistant with the Objects of the Trust.

If your organisation is interested in partnering with the Trust to help conserve Queensland's unique biodiversity please contact us to discuss opportunities.

Last updated 10 January 2012