Land owners will be able to be paid to improve the environment on their property, after the Greens struck a deal with the government on its proposed nature repair market. Under the scheme, which passed the Senate on Tuesday, businesses and philanthropists would be able to come forward and invest in projects to protect the environment. Projects could include removing invasive species or repairing damage to river beds or replanting habitats of threatened species. The Greens agreed to support the nature repair market in exchange for the government updating its water trigger for new gas developments, meaning all projects would need to be assessed for its impact on water resources. The nature repair market will be overseen by the Clean Energy Regulator, as well as being monitored by the federal government. Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said the scheme would help to protect crucial areas without greenwashing. "If you're a farmer and you've got a remnant rainforest on your land, you can get paid for keeping feral species and the weeds out of it," she told ABC Radio on Wednesday. "We are really excited about this as an opportunity to bring additional investment into nature across Australia." Traditional land owners can also be paid as part of the nature repair market for work such as cultural burning. Ms Plibersek said funding for projects would only be provided for approved methods. "We'll set up methodologies guided by ecologists and scientists ... the methodologies will be publicly available," she said. Greens leader Adam Bandt said the party had secured a significant win on the water trigger. "There's been a blow against new gas and oil projects. Previously you could frack areas ... and the government didn't even have to consider whether that was going to affect our previous water supplies," he told ABC TV. "As a result of changes secured by the Greens, the government has to look at the impact on water before they approve or look at fracking. That means they can stop some of these projects." Australian Associated Press
