LandLife SouthWest
Southwest Victoria has little left of the extensive forests and biodiversity which existed before European settlement.
The map of southwest Victoria shows large forested areas remain in the Otway Ranges to the east, and national parks such as Cobboboonee in the west and Budj Bim and Gariwerd to the north. However in the Warrnambool and Moyne region only remnants remain of once widespread forested areas and volcanic plains grasslands.
There are some small fragmented natural habitats scattered across the region – such as the Mepunga Coastal Reserve, Belfast Coastal Reserve and Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve – but to our local flora and fauna these are islands where diminishing populations and genetic diversity are signs of future extinction.
There is an urgent need to restore the habitats and ecosystems that endangered, vulnerable or threatened species rely upon, as we, too, rely on the same ecosystems.
Warrnambool Coastcare Landcare Network has a plan to deliver large-scale revegetation across the region, linking existing vegetation from east to west to north. This project, known as LandLife SouthWest, would provide a range of benefits – such as increasing canopy cover and carbon sinks in urban areas, improving soil and animal health for farmers, improving run-off and water quality outcomes in local rivers, and providing wildlife corridors to connect isolated flora and fauna populations.