Dubbo Zoo receives $80,000 for Regent Honeyeater Recovery Program

The Regent Honeyeater Recovery Program at Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo will receive $80,000 as part of the Mindyarra Maintenance Centre's voluntary biodiversity offset strategy.

$40,000 will be contributed by CPB Contractors, the firm currently building the maintenance centre, and Transport for NSW will contribute another $40,000.

Visiting the zoo on September 26, regional transport minister Jenny Aitchison said September is Biodiversity Month and a chance to highlight efforts to protect and maintain some of Australia's 700,000 unique species of plants and animals.

"It is important that Transport for NSW does its part to assist in conservation and Taronga Western Plains Zoo's breeding program is making a real difference in that regard," she said.

"While we are constructing regional railways and regional roads, we are also taking every opportunity we can to contribute to biodiversity.

"It is vital to highlight the importance of biodiversity, we must ensure that any species that is disrupted by human construction, is able to have a chance to survive."

The funding injection will allow the zoo to buy essential equipment such as holding boxes, transport boxes and feeders for the birds.

There are currently fewer than 350 Regent Honeyeaters in the wild. At Taronga Western Plains Zoo, there are 75 honeyeaters comprising 10 breeding pairs and their offspring.

"This project has been ongoing for about 30 years now," Taronga Conservation Society Australia conservation officer Monique Van Sluys said.

"The objective of the project is to halt the critical decline of the wild population by restoring the Regent Honeyeater's habitat and establish an insurance population so that those birds could be released to achieve a self-sustaining wild population.

"The program relies on huge partnerships and collaborations across many organisations. Taronga is leading the program as an institution, but we rely on many other zoos and partners to assist with this work."

The breeding program is led by Taronga Conservation Society Australia, BirdLife Australia and the NSW Government's Saving our Species program and is part of wider conservation efforts under the National Regent Honeyeater Recovery Plan.

As well as the support for the zoo's Regent Honeyeater Recovery program, the Mindyarra Centre is also planting and rehabilitating an area on-site with a woodland type which is a known Regent Honeyeater habitat.

"Transport for NSW has an ongoing commitment to biodiversity conservation and enhancement and the large effort to support the Regent Honeyeater breeding program is only one example of how offsets and initiatives can protect our priceless flora and fauna," Tim Renshaw, environment and sustainability officer at Transport for NSW, said.

"This is especially important when planning major a project like the Mindyarra Maintenance Centre in Dubbo. It is extremely satisfying to see the ongoing commitment of the Regional Rail project to biodiversity conservation.

"Protecting, repairing, and managing nature better is everyone's responsibility."

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