The need to act

The coastal environments of the Corangamite region are highly diverse. Coastal habitats are dominated by a variety of vegetation classes, including coastal dune scrub, coastal headland scrub, coastal tussock grassland, and coastal salt marsh Ecological Vegetation Classes (EVC). A number of these EVCs are made up of threatened vegetation communities listed under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988, including coastal alkaline scrub, which once covered approximately 12,978 hectares of coastal Victoria, while today there is only 980 hectares (or 7.5 %) remaining in Victoria.

CoastalTender seeks to protect, enhance and restore key biodiversity coastal assets in the Corangamite region of Victoria. The project also aims to increase the involvement of the local community and visitors in coastal natural resource management activities.

The Corangamite coastline constitutes four bioregions, dominated mainly by Otway Plain and Otway Range, the latter maintaining the majority of its original vegetation cover (81.6 %). In the Corangamite region, the Otway Range and Otway Plain bioregions have the highest percentages of remnant vegetation in public land (79.1 % and 61.9 % respectively). While a large proportion of coastal environment in the Corangamite region is held in public ownership, under varied management agreements significant areas are still present on private property.   

Sections of the internationally significant Port Phillip (Western Shoreline) and Bellarine Peninsular Ramsar site reside in Corangamite’s marine and coastal zone. These areas support numerous threatened species and provide valuable habitat to many migratory bird species, including the critically endangered orange-bellied parrot. The Port Phillip Bay has recorded 323 indigenous, non-marine flora species, of which two are nationally threatened and 22 threatened in Victoria, including the endangered rare bitter bush. These areas have also recorded 29 fauna species listed under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988, including seven species that are critically endangered. 

Establishing CoastalTender

The Corangamite Catchment Management Authority (CMA) was successful in gaining investment support through Caring for our Country for the implementation of the Corangamite Coastal Incentive and Engagement Project in 2000–2010 (CoastalTender).

The project has developed and implemented a strategic engagement and investment program for the entire coastal region. The project has an emphasis on the coastal hotspot of the Port Phillip Bay (Western Shoreline) and Bellarine Peninsula Ramsar site in the Corangamite region. The main objectives of the project are to secure conservation outcomes through protection and enhancement of threatened coastal vegetation communities, areas known to be critical habitat for threatened species, the Ramsar site, coastal hotspots and to (where practicable) increase community participation in coastal natural resource management.

CoastalTender is delivered using a market-based instrument that enables a strong biophysical outcome while continuing to seek appropriate community involvement across both public and private land over the entire coastline for the region.

How CoastalTender works

The CoastalTender process is similar to other tenders. Landholders submit an expression of interest and those that meet the project criteria receive a free site assessment. All remnant vegetation is assessed using the Habitat Hectare methodology, designed by the Victorian Government.

Landholders submit a bid value based on the management plan they receive following the site assessment, which includes the site’s Environmental Benefit Score (EBS). The EBS and bid amount is combined to form the Environmental Benefit Index (EBI). All EBI are ranked in order of cost versus benefit with the most cost-effective bids granted landholder agreements.

As CoastalTender has been implemented across multiple tenures with varied levels of duty of care, this project includes design elements to cater for this additional complexity. The EnSym model, developed by the Victorian Government, has been used to develop management plans and assess multiple parameters as well as to administer the bid evaluation. This software has enabled the project to deal with complex design and administrative issues with relative ease.

Outcomes

Round one of CoastalTender was run as a pilot in 2010. Forty registered expressions of interests were received across the region, from private landholders, committees of management and local government. Eight sites, totalling 166 hectares, were successful through the tender process. A total of $269,680 was invested in five–year landholder agreements. Round one of the project was used to test project design prior to the implementation of the significantly larger second round of the project. Round two took place in 2011.

A summary of the round two results include:

• 80 expressions of interest registered from 43 land managers
• 88 draft management plans created
• A total of 1,811.32 hectares eligible for funding
• $1.58 million invested in five–year landholder agreements
• 1,148.73 hectares under contract (five years), with three new properties under permanent protection
• 17 land managers (public and private) under contract.

Evaluation

As CoastalTender is implemented across both public and private tenure, it has been possible to protect, enhance and restore key biodiversity coastal assets of the region under contract. The project provides land managers with financial incentive for environmental works, and as such has attracted a vast range of land managers who would not typically carry out such conservation works. As a result significant interest has been generated throughout the region, with high participations rates recorded.

CoastalTender aims to build on the Corangamite CMAs other successful tender projects (including PlainsTender in the Victorian Volcanic Plains) with land managers given opportunities to network with other participating land managers and have regular contact and extension visits from project staff during the implementation stage of management contracts.

Find out more

www.ccma.vic.gov.au

The need to act

The coastal environments of the Corangamite region are highly diverse. Coastal habitats are dominated by a variety of vegetation classes, including coastal dune scrub, coastal headland scrub, coastal tussock grassland, and coastal salt marsh Ecological Vegetation Classes (EVC). A number of these EVCs are made up of threatened vegetation communities listed under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988, including coastal alkaline scrub, which once covered approximately 12,978 hectares of coastal Victoria, while today there is only 980 hectares (or 7.5 %) remaining in Victoria.

CoastalTender seeks to protect, enhance and restore key biodiversity coastal assets in the Corangamite region of Victoria. The project also aims to increase the involvement of the local community and visitors in coastal natural resource management activities.

The Corangamite coastline constitutes four bioregions, dominated mainly by Otway Plain and Otway Range, the latter maintaining the majority of its original vegetation cover (81.6 %). In the Corangamite region, the Otway Range and Otway Plain bioregions have the highest percentages of remnant vegetation in public land (79.1 % and 61.9 % respectively). While a large proportion of coastal environment in the Corangamite region is held in public ownership, under varied management agreements significant areas are still present on private property.   

Sections of the internationally significant Port Phillip (Western Shoreline) and Bellarine Peninsular Ramsar site reside in Corangamite’s marine and coastal zone. These areas support numerous threatened species and provide valuable habitat to many migratory bird species, including the critically endangered orange-bellied parrot. The Port Phillip Bay has recorded 323 indigenous, non-marine flora species, of which two are nationally threatened and 22 threatened in Victoria, including the endangered rare bitter bush. These areas have also recorded 29 fauna species listed under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988, including seven species that are critically endangered. 

Establishing CoastalTender

The Corangamite Catchment Management Authority (CMA) was successful in gaining investment support through Caring for our Country for the implementation of the Corangamite Coastal Incentive and Engagement Project in 2000–2010 (CoastalTender).

The project has developed and implemented a strategic engagement and investment program for the entire coastal region. The project has an emphasis on the coastal hotspot of the Port Phillip Bay (Western Shoreline) and Bellarine Peninsula Ramsar site in the Corangamite region. The main objectives of the project are to secure conservation outcomes through protection and enhancement of threatened coastal vegetation communities, areas known to be critical habitat for threatened species, the Ramsar site, coastal hotspots and to (where practicable) increase community participation in coastal natural resource management.

CoastalTender is delivered using a market-based instrument that enables a strong biophysical outcome while continuing to seek appropriate community involvement across both public and private land over the entire coastline for the region.

How CoastalTender works

The CoastalTender process is similar to other tenders. Landholders submit an expression of interest and those that meet the project criteria receive a free site assessment. All remnant vegetation is assessed using the Habitat Hectare methodology, designed by the Victorian Government.

Landholders submit a bid value based on the management plan they receive following the site assessment, which includes the site’s Environmental Benefit Score (EBS). The EBS and bid amount is combined to form the Environmental Benefit Index (EBI). All EBI are ranked in order of cost versus benefit with the most cost-effective bids granted landholder agreements.

As CoastalTender has been implemented across multiple tenures with varied levels of duty of care, this project includes design elements to cater for this additional complexity. The EnSym model, developed by the Victorian Government, has been used to develop management plans and assess multiple parameters as well as to administer the bid evaluation. This software has enabled the project to deal with complex design and administrative issues with relative ease.

Outcomes

Round one of CoastalTender was run as a pilot in 2010. Forty registered expressions of interests were received across the region, from private landholders, committees of management and local government. Eight sites, totalling 166 hectares, were successful through the tender process. A total of $269,680 was invested in five–year landholder agreements. Round one of the project was used to test project design prior to the implementation of the significantly larger second round of the project. Round two took place in 2011.

A summary of the round two results include:

• 80 expressions of interest registered from 43 land managers
• 88 draft management plans created
• A total of 1,811.32 hectares eligible for funding
• $1.58 million invested in five–year landholder agreements
• 1,148.73 hectares under contract (five years), with three new properties under permanent protection
• 17 land managers (public and private) under contract.

Evaluation

As CoastalTender is implemented across both public and private tenure, it has been possible to protect, enhance and restore key biodiversity coastal assets of the region under contract. The project provides land managers with financial incentive for environmental works, and as such has attracted a vast range of land managers who would not typically carry out such conservation works. As a result significant interest has been generated throughout the region, with high participations rates recorded.

CoastalTender aims to build on the Corangamite CMAs other successful tender projects (including PlainsTender in the Victorian Volcanic Plains) with land managers given opportunities to network with other participating land managers and have regular contact and extension visits from project staff during the implementation stage of management contracts.

Find out more

www.ccma.vic.gov.au