This paper provides an analysis of an auction-based approach to allocating biodiversity conservation contracts on private land. The action, called BushTender, was conducted by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE) in two regions of Victoria. The paper describes the key design features of the auction: including the auction format, contract specification and specification of biodiversity preferences. The author analyses the bids provided by landowners and compare the discriminative price auction with a hypothetical fixed-price scheme. The anecdotal evidence on the likely indirect benefits is covered.
