In 2015 the Eucalypt Woodlands of the Wheatbelt was added as a Threatened Ecological Community under the EPBC Act. This ecological community is composed of various eucalypt woodlands that were formerly the most common type of vegetation across the Wheatbelt.
The challenge in conserving these woodland communities is that the actual extent of the woodlands is not known. The conservation advice identifies ‘potential’ locations.
Wheatbelt NRM is seeking submissions from suitably qualified and experienced consultants to develop a community accessible assessment tool for the Threatened Ecological Community (TEC) listed Eucalypt Woodlands of the Western Australian Wheatbelt.
The purpose of the tool is to enable the assessment of potential TEC remnants throughout the Wheatbelt and understand which of these meet the specified criteria required to be considered part of the EPBC listing.
The purpose of the methodology is twofold:
- That the assessment tool is designed so it can be used by a broad range of community members and does not rely on prior knowledge of the Wheatbelt Woodlands
- The tool will provide sufficient information for the a determination and classification of the site as ‘actual TEC’ in line with the conservation advice
It is expected that the final product will be a user friendly ‘tool’ as well as a report describing the development process and use of the tool.
Wheatbelt NRM intends to appoint a consultant to design an assessment process that meets the criteria set out in the Approved Conservation Advice (including listing advice) for the Eucalypt Woodlands of the Western Australian Wheatbelt. Key to this is:
- Ensuring the assessment tool is able to be picked up and used by general community with little or no prior survey experience
- That the information generated from the methodology is robust enough to allow shifting from potential TEC extent to TEC actual for the point in time it is conducted It is possible the methodology will be made up of two elements - an initial or reconnaissance phase followed by the potential to ground truth in more detail as required.
Wheatbelt NRM expect that the successful proposal will address the following:
Foundational Activity
- Review the literature for similar methodologies
- Clearly identify each element of the EPBC listing criteria to ensure it is addressed in the formulation of the assessment methodology
Tool development
- Is accessible to community members • Captures the right information with respect to the Approved Conservation Advice (including listing advice)
- Allows those assessing a particular remnant to easily determine the quality of the remnant against the specified criteria in a broad sense
- Provides robust data to inform decision making allowing identification of:
- Which patches of remnant are currently TEC
- Which elements of those remnants that are not currently TEC could be restored to TEC with specific management interventions
- Identify and develop assessment support material o It is envisaged this will be minimal
Expressions of interest and will be accepted by post or email.
Responses must be received by 4.00pm Friday 1st of June 2018.
Post responses to:
Wheatbelt NRM
PO Box 311
Northam WA 6401
Or emailed to rhegglun@wheatbeltnrm.org.au
Further information about the project can be obtained by contacting Rowan Hegglun, Healthy Environments Manager on 0427 386 274 & rhegglun@wheatbeltnrm.org.au – immediate availability will be intermittent from the 17th through to the 23rd of May. Alternative contact during this time is Anika Dent on 0488 902 220 or email adent@wheatbeltnrm.org.au.
