Building
the Gondwana Link is a huge task, requiring a range of skills and
resources. A number of
non-government groups are leading the work to meet this challenge.
Each group has a
long and
distinguished record of achievement in
environmental protection and management. Through our wide range of work
experiences and interests, we’ve each acquired particular skills and
agreed to take on specific tasks along the Link. As well as building on
each group’s strength, this integrated approach minimises duplication.
We have a simple working
arrangement whereby each group continues its core work but looks for
opportunities to collaborate with other groups so that progress can be
accelerated. This arrangement rests on the strong working
relationship we have built. We’re in regular contact and meet regularly
to plan and coordinate activities and celebrate successes.
Check us out on our
individual websites below:

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Bush Heritage Australia
Bush Heritage Australia acquires - by purchase, gift and
bequest - land and water of outstanding ecological significance to
preserve as the nation's heritage. These areas are managed to protect
and enhance their natural values. Funds are raised by tax-deductible
donations from the public and funding organisations.
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Fitzgerald
Biosphere Group
The Fitzgerald
Biosphere Group is a non-profit
grower and natural resource management group operating within the Shire
of Jerramungup on the south coast of WA. The group works with farmers,
researchers, industry groups and federal and state agencies to address
local production (ie: diseases, pests and nutrient limitations) and
natural resource management issues (ie: salinity and soil
acidification) to ensure the long-term sustainability of the
agricultural industry and the communities within the region.
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Friends of
Fitzgerald River National Park
The Friends of the
Fitzgerald support and promote the appreciation,
enjoyment and
study of the Fitzgerald River National Park in a manner consistent with its high conservation values.
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Greening
Australia
Greening
Australia works in partnership with landholders, the community,
government and business to tackle environmental degradation in a
practical, apolitical, scientific way. Greening Australia has
considerable experience in environmental restoration and is committed
to large scale revegetation with native species and the trial of native
species for ecologically sensitive industries.
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Green Skills
Green Skills Inc is committed to
supporting the creation of ecologically sustainable employment by
providing quality environmental training, employment services and
management of environmental projects. The organisation focuses on
Biodiversity Conservation, New Farming Systems and Sustainable Living.
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The Nature Conservancy
The
Nature Conservancy's mission is to preserve the plants, animals and
natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by
protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. Science guides
the organisation's work by identifying Earth's most important natural
places. Using innovative tools, The Nature Conservancy protects and
restores these priority places. The organisation works together with
communities and partners around the world.
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The
Wilderness Society
The Wilderness
Society (TWS) is Australia's
largest national, community-based, conservation organisation working
solely for
the protection of Australia's
wilderness and other high conservation value areas; and through this
our unique
ecosystems, plants and animals. Since
its formation in 1976, The Wilderness Society has protected over seven
million
hectares of wilderness in Australia, including Kakadu, the Daintree,
Kangaroo
Island, south west Tasmania, including the Franklin River, Australia's
sub-Antarctic Islands (Macquarie, Heard and McDonald Islands),
Victoria's mallee
woodlands and SE Queensland's high conservation value forests.
The work of TWS is guided by the science and
philosophy of WildCountry. WildCountry
is a long-term, large scale vision for the conservation of Australian
ecosystems and involves a range of conservation strategies in a variety
of
projects nationwide and it recognises that the conservation of
biodiversity requires the protection and restoration, not just of small
patches of
country,
but entire ecosystems and ecological processes.
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OTHER KEY GROUPS
Many other groups are supporting work that is needed to achieve the
Gondwana Link vision. A series of beneficial activities, employing a
variety of strategies, are occurring across
the link.
Across
the south coast region there are dozens of groups involved in a wide
range of sustainability and environmental work. Together with
key state agencies and local
councils, they meet regularly as the South Coast Natural Resource
Management group (www.southcoastnrm.com.au) to integrate this effort.
Curtin University through the Alcoa Research
Centre for Stronger Communities are connecting and supporting people and places to
achieve liveable and sustainable communities. The Centre is working towards the cultivation of
responsive and responsible links with the wider community, emphasising
service, practical relevance, social justice and ethical behaviour.
MIX Artists, a collective of
emerging and established artists from Albany, have worked together
since 1999 to implement independent, challenging and innovative art
activity in the region. The involvement of the community has been
integral to many of their projects through engagement in workshops and
exhibitions.
One of the key groups in
co-ordinating community action across the region is the Great Southern Development Commission. Check their credentials at www.gsdc.wa.gov.au.
Keith Bradby, Gondwana Link's coordinator, won the regionally prestigious Great Southern Development
Commission Natural Resource Management medal in 2005.
In Denmark, at the
forest-end of Gondwana Link, is one of Western Australia’s most active
and successful environment centres: www.denmarkwa.net.au~environ.
Recognising the need
for
strong research to help overcome our huge sustainability problems, the
region has established a Centre for Excellence in Natural Resource
Management, linked to the University of Western Australia. It can be
found at www.cenrm.uwa.edu.au.
There are many
community and volunteer groups doing valuable research and monitoring
in the region. For example Birds Australia
(WA)
is involved in a number of projects for the monitoring and conservation
of birds in the state. Two of the current projects focus on Carnaby's
Black Cockatoo and the Western Ground Parrot. Both species were once
common in the region but are now listed as endangered and critically
endangered respectively.
In the future it is anticipated that additional committed groups will
be involved in the work to achieve the Gondwana Link vision.
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