Introduction Aim of the Strategy The benefits gained from biodiversity are shared by everyone and so is the responsibility to address its serious decline. The Wagga Wagga City Council Biodiversity Strategy: Maldhangilanha (the Strategy) aims to increase awareness and address a wide range of key threatening processes impacting biodiversity. This will be achieved by working together to preserve and take care of biodiversity within the Wagga Wagga Local Government Area (LGA). It is recognised that protecting biodiversity is the responsibility of all levels of government and the community. The Strategy identifies a number of stakeholders other than Council, which includes government and non-government agencies that have biodiversity conservation and natural resource management as a priority. The Strategy is a ten-year document that outlines the legislative framework associated with biodiversity conservation, internal and external policy context, key threatening processes, threatened species within the Wagga Wagga LGA, connecting biodiversity areas, strategic objectives and actions and monitoring and reporting. Following an extensive consultation process, the feedback identified a number of themes, which was divided into four main focus areas, with strategic objectives and underlying actions including: • • • •
Planning for Biodiversity Strengthening our Natural Assets Managing Biosecurity Educating and Collaborating
The Strategy has identified objectives and actions that will be delivered throughout the next ten years by Council and other stakeholders. These objectives and actions will aim to meet the overarching target of increasing the extent of EPBC listed native vegetation cover in the LGA by 10% (1,900ha) by 2030.
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