What We Do
We support long-term biodiversity protection in the Cumberland Plain through the Cumberland Plain Conservation Plan (CPCP), which identifies key biodiversity areas to offset the impacts of future urban development.
To support biodiversity protection and conservation in the Cumberland Plain over the long-term, the NSW Government has implemented the Cumberland Plain Conservation Plan (CPCP). The CPCP identifies important biodiversity areas within the region to offset the impacts of future urban development.
The CPCP Research Program Implementation Strategy (the Research Strategy) was developed by a team from Western Sydney University in collaboration with the NSW Department of Planning and Environment to guide the delivery of a 35-year research program that will help achieve the CPCP’s outcomes in Western Sydney.
The Research Strategy will:
help to improve knowledge about the area’s threatened species and ecosystems and our ability to manage, restore and monitor plant, animal and ecosystem responses to our efforts
deliver the data and new knowledge needed by the different stakeholders who are working to conserve and restore the native plants and animals of the Cumberland Plain.
The Cumberland Plain is the Country of the Darug, Dharawal and Gundungurra peoples while Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from many other groups also live in, or have care relationships with, the area. The Research Strategy will also recognise the need to undertake research to support Aboriginal peoples to maintain their distinctive cultural, spiritual, physical and economic relationships with the land and waters in the Cumberland Plain.
The Research Strategy proposes research priorities around four key themes:
Supporting Aboriginal connections: Partnering with Aboriginal peoples on research which helps maintain their distinctive cultural, spiritual, physical and economic relationships with their land and waters in the Cumberland Plain.
Engaging with peoples and cultures: Understanding the attitudes and behaviours of the community toward biodiversity and conservation values found in the Cumberland Plain and how these can be positively influenced.
Conserving threatened species and ecosystems: Understanding the ecology, habitat requirements, the geographic distribution and genetic diversity of species and ecological communities and in particular, their likely responses to changing land use and climate.
Restoring and reconstructing ecosystems: Understanding how to successfully restore degraded ecosystems and overcome barriers to enable the reconstruction of functional habitats to enhance the extent and value of conservation areas in the Cumberland Plain.
