The Biodiversity Investment Opportunities Map (BIO Map) is a key deliverable of the NSW Government’s $40 million Green Corridors program, a Government priority action identified in NSW 2021: A Plan to make NSW number one. The map was prepared with funding provided by the NSW Environmental Trust.

The Illawarra BIO Map covers a 112,942-hectare area defined by the Kiama, Shellharbour and Wollongong Local Government Areas. This includes the Illawarra coastal plain and escarpment, and the eastern parts of the sandstone plateau to the west. Each of these landscapes provides a diversity of vegetation types, habitats and landforms, which combined make the region rich in overall biodiversity values.

Mapping criteria were used to identify and map priority investment areas, and targeted stakeholder consultation was conducted to inform the outputs of the project. Stakeholders consulted included nine state government authorities, four local councils and six non-government organisations.

The priority investment areas comprise of biodiversity core areas and a network of state and regional biodiversity corridors within the Illawarra region. The total area represented within the mapped priority investment areas is 66,827 hectares, comprising 13,980 hectares of core area and 52,847 hectares of corridors. This represents about 59 per cent of the Illawarra region.

The BIO Map project aims to achieve better biodiversity outcomes by directing biodiversity investment funding to the strategic locations of greatest benefit. A landholder’s right to carry out agricultural and developmental activities on their land are not altered by their property being identified as a priority investment area on the BIO Map. The BIO Map identifies areas where landowners have more opportunities to receive funding to protect their bushland. Any involvement by a landowner in such programs is entirely voluntary. Report Title: Biodiversity Investment Opportunities Map Mapping Priority Investment Areas for the Illawarra Region