Draft NSW Biodiversity Strategy 2010-2015: Formation Priorities

To maximise outcomes for biodiversity over such a large area like NSW, decisions on where to invest need to be made carefully. In response to this, the NSW Government developed a set of draft Priority Areas for investment in native vegetation management as part of the draft NSW Biodiversity Strategy 2010-2015. State scale priorities for investment are presented in the Priority Areas Map in Part A of the draft Strategy. The draft Strategy divides the ecosystems of NSW based on 15 formations described by Keith (2004), and all have been mapped with the exception of 'Arid Acacia Shrublands', 'Arid Chenopod Shrublands', 'Rivers', 'Marine Waters', 'Estuaries and Coastal Lakes' and 'Freshwater Wetlands'. Part B of the draft Strategy presents Priority Areas for each in a series of 15 'ecosystem profiles'. The prioritisation was undertaken using the Biodiversity Forecasting Toolkit (BFT) (NSW DEC 2006), a decision-support system developed by NSW DEC for evaluating biodiversity outcomes and for mapping biodiversity management priorities. Technical detail to support this statement can be obtained from: DECCW (2010) Deriving Priority Areas for Investment: A Technical Report to accompany the draft NSW Biodiversity Strategy This statement describes the data and processes used to produce two interim products to assist the public exhibition of the draft NSW Biodiversity Strategy (2010-15): 1) the derivation of proposed State scale priorities for investment in native vegetation management in NSW; and 2) description of those priorities according to the Keith (2010) vegetation classification. The proposed State scale priorities are described in detail in the draft NSW Biodiversity Strategy 2010-2015. The proposed priorities are subject to comment during public exhibition, and a final version will follow subject to review of comments received on the draft Strategy. The data identifies areas that are a priority for investment in management because they are generally: in moderate-to-good condition; well-connected with the surrounding landscape; part of a highly cleared, and/or degraded type of vegetation; and floristically distinct from other, well-conserved types of vegetation. In other words, priority areas are the best remaining examples of distinctive ecosystems that have been highly cleared or degraded across NSW. It is important to note that the data does not identify individual sites 'on-the-ground' and site assessment is required to confirm site values. The map should be viewed at a scale of 1:250,000.\r\n\r\nThe proposed State scale priorities are described in detail in the draft NSW Biodiversity Strategy 2010-2015. It had been planned that the proposed priorities were subject to comment during public exhibition, and a final version was to follow subject to review of comments received on the draft Strategy. The Strategy was never finalised. The Priority Areas were developed to inform the former CMAs (now LLS) Catchment Action Plans that identified priorities for NRM. LLS don’t do these Plans anymore. Several meetings were held with NPWS on how they could use the priorities to inform investment in rehab/reveg in NPWS reserves and how it related to an analysis that Andrew Steed had done with the NatureConservationTool - http://insite.environment.nsw.gov.au/Intranet%20Library/Pages/NatureConservationTool.aspx\r\n\r\nThis spatial data is in the format of Esri GRID in Lamberts Conic Conformal projection.

为在新南威尔士州（New South Wales, NSW）这样广袤的区域实现生物多样性保护效益最大化，需审慎制定投资选址决策。为此，新南威尔士州政府依托《2010-2015年新南威尔士州生物多样性战略（草案）》，制定了一套本土植被管理投资优先区域草案。该战略草案的A部分通过《优先区域地图》展示了全州层面的投资优先级。
该战略草案以基思（Keith, 2004）提出的15种植被群系型为依据，对新南威尔士州的生态系统进行划分，除干旱金合欢灌丛（Arid Acacia Shrublands）、干旱藜科灌丛（Arid Chenopod Shrublands）、河流（Rivers）、海域（Marine Waters）、河口与沿海湖泊（Estuaries and Coastal Lakes）以及淡水湿地（Freshwater Wetlands）外，其余均已完成制图。战略草案的B部分则通过15份“生态系统概况”系列文档，逐一展示各群系型对应的优先投资区域。
本次优先级划分采用了新南威尔士州环境与气候保护局（NSW DEC, 2006）开发的生物多样性预测工具包（Biodiversity Forecasting Toolkit, BFT），该系统是用于评估生物多样性效益、绘制生物多样性管理优先级地图的决策支持工具。相关技术细节可参阅：新南威尔士州环境、气候与水部（DECCW, 2010）发布的《确定投资优先区域：<2010-2015年新南威尔士州生物多样性战略（草案）>配套技术报告》。
本说明阐述了为辅助《2010-2015年新南威尔士州生物多样性战略（草案）》公众咨询而制作的两份中期产品的相关数据与制作流程：一是推导新南威尔士州本土植被管理投资的全州层面拟议优先级；二是依据基思（Keith, 2010）的植被分类体系，对上述优先级进行描述。
上述拟议的全州层面投资优先级已在《2010-2015年新南威尔士州生物多样性战略（草案）》中详细说明。该拟议优先级将在公众咨询阶段征集意见，后续将根据草案收到的反馈意见进行修订后发布最终版本。
本数据集所标识的投资优先管理区域通常具备以下特征：生境状况处于中等至良好水平；与周边景观连通性佳；属于受大规模清除或（且）严重退化的植被类型；且在区系组成上与其他保护完好的植被类型存在显著差异。换言之，优先区域即新南威尔士州范围内那些曾遭大规模清除或退化的特色生态系统中，现存保存最为完好的样本。
需特别说明的是，本数据集并未标识实地的具体点位，需通过现场评估方能确认点位的生态价值。该地图的最佳查看比例尺为1:250000。

上述拟议的全州层面投资优先级已在《2010-2015年新南威尔士州生物多样性战略（草案）》中详细说明。该草案原计划在公众咨询阶段征集意见，并将根据反馈修订后发布最终版本，但该战略最终并未定稿。本次制定的优先区域最初是为辅助原流域管理局（Catchment Management Authorities, CMAs，现为本地土地服务机构Local Land Services, LLS）的流域行动计划——该计划旨在确定自然资源管理（Natural Resource Management, NRM）的优先级——而服务的，但目前LLS已不再开展此类计划。
团队曾与国家公园与野生动物服务处（National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS）多次开展会议，探讨其如何利用上述优先级来指导NPWS保护区内的生境修复与植被重建工作，以及该优先级与安德鲁·斯蒂德（Andrew Steed）借助自然保护工具（NatureConservationTool）完成的分析之间的关联，相关工具链接为：http://insite.environment.nsw.gov.au/Intranet%20Library/Pages/NatureConservationTool.aspx

本空间数据采用Esri GRID格式，投影方式为兰伯特共形圆锥投影（Lamberts Conic Conformal projection）。