Updates to Plant Community Types in Eastern NSW & Implications to Transitional Arrangements for the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme

This seminar brought together experts from the Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) and ecological consultants to explore the recent changes to Plant Community Types (PCTs) in eastern NSW. Attendees gained valuable insights into how these updates will affect transitional arrangements within the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme and what they mean for ongoing and future projects. The event included presentations from DPE specialists, a panel discussion featuring two leading industry professionals, and time for Q&A.

Guest Speakers

Karen Caves – Principal Project Officer, Department of Planning and Environment
Karen is part of the Offsets Practice and Guidance team in the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme Branch. With over 20 years of experience at the Department, she has worked across conservation assessment, vegetation classification, and mapping. More recently, her focus has been on the implementation and refinement of the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme.

Daniel Connolly – Senior Team Leader, Department of Planning and Environment
Daniel leads the Vegetation Ecology and Classification team in the Remote Sensing and Landscape Science Branch. With more than 25 years of experience, Daniel has played a central role in vegetation classification and mapping programs across NSW.

Panelists

Stephen Bell – Vegetation Ecologist, Eastcoast Flora Survey & Adjunct Researcher, University of Newcastle
Stephen is a long-standing consultant botanist and vegetation ecologist with over three decades of experience surveying and classifying native vegetation in NSW. He runs his own botanical consultancy in Newcastle and has contributed extensively to regional vegetation classifications. He is also a former member of the NSW Threatened Species Scientific Committee, advising on plant species and communities under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016.

Jacob Manners – Senior Ecologist, Umwelt
Jacob brings over 15 years of experience in ecological consulting and has worked on a range of biodiversity impact assessment projects. He is highly experienced in the application of the Biodiversity Assessment Method (BAM) and regulatory frameworks. His work has involved practical site-scale application of the NSW PCTs, including the updated Eastern NSW classification.

Missed the seminar? View the recording here:

https://youtu.be/MJ_98NvN06s?si=WIACKeogxdwUVvoe