Regional Vegetation Planning
Vegetation Home
Throughout Victoria’s regions, CMAs are required to regularly produce a Regional Vegetation Plan, describing the vegetation of their region and identifying those vegetation types considered most at risk. The plan will also propose a range of strategies and programs for reversing overall vegetation loss and decline. Biodiversity programs are an additional task for each CMA. These are usually detailed within Regional Catchment Strategies.
Planning
The Environment Conservation Council (ECC) has been given the task of proposing an appropriate system for the protection and management of Box-Ironbark forests and woodlands in Victoria (ECC, 2000). This report identifies and evaluates the extent, condition, values and uses of the Box-Ironbark forests and woodland areas and makes recommendations on the balanced use of these areas.
Public Land
There are a number of Victorian Government policy documents, strategic plans and management plans available that focus on protecting and managing vegetation on public land within the State. This includes vegetation within reserves, state forests and council-owned land.
Parks Victoria (external link) is responsible for management of reserved areas in Victoria. All National and State Parks are managed according to Park Management Plans, which aim to establish the long-term framework to protect important conservation values of these areas and to provide visitor opportunities.
Responsibility for management of state forests in the region rests with the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Forests Division. These areas are managed according to Forest Management Plans.
Forest Management Plans
The purpose of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Forest Management Plans is to ensure that a forest’s natural and cultural values are maintained and the use of forest resources provide long-term community benefit.
These are working plans, put into operation by the Secretary of DSE, pursuant to Section 22 of the Forests Act 1958. They have also been developed to conform with all Victorian land and natural resources legislation, including the National Parks Act 1975, Land Act 1958, Heritage Rivers Act 1992, Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988, and the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994. Protection of species listed under the Commonwealth Endangered Species Protection Act 1992 are also provided for in these plans.
Forest Management Area Plans also fulfil a requirement of the Code of Forest Practices for Timber Production which sets goals and guidelines for the conduct of all commercial timber production activities in Victoria. The Code has recently been revised to incorporate the most recent research on forest protection and management.
Victorian regions for which Forest Management Plans have been detailed include the East Gippsland, Otway, Midlands, North East and Central Highlands regions.
© The State of Victoria, 1996 - 2008.
This document was last reviewed on 23/09/2008