Rural and regional Australia could lose up to 2000 environmental science jobs under a radical overhaul of conservation funding by the Rudd Government.
Funding for Landcare has been cut by 20 per cent, and hundreds of regional conservation projects are being wound up as the Government reallocates funds to meet its 2007 election promises.
Two of Australia's most successful marine conservation organisations SeaNet and the Marine Coastal Community Network will not receive any more money with the founding of the Government's $2.25 billion Caring for Our Country grants program.
The chief executive of OceanWatch Australia, Anissa Lawrence, said, ''SeaNet is an immense loss. These are the people who turn policy into action.
''They are the front line of conservation.''
SeaNet, which had eight staff based around Australia, recently won a UN environmental award for helping Australia's commercial fishing industry reduce the number of albatrosses, turtles and sea lions accidentally captured and killed when they come into contact with fishing nets.
NSW commercial fisherman Geoff Blackburn described losing the organisation as ''devastating news'' for the industry.
''Everyone wants responsible fishing, and SeaNet has been instrumental in doing this,'' Mr Blackburn said.
''The Government has been quite vocal on its opposition to Japanese whaling. Meanwhile, it's got nothing to say about continuing to protect the sustainability of seafood and marine life in its own backyard.''
The Marine Coastal Community Network, which had 10,000 volunteers working on ocean and coastal conservation projects, received one of Australia's top environmental awards the Gold Banksia for increasing public involvement in marine conservation.
A marine biologist at James Cook University, Dr Alastair Birtles, said it was ''almost inconceivable'' the network had been forced to fold at an ''absolutely critical time in Australia's history when the pressures on coastal and marine environments have never been greater''.
The network, which had substantial input into developing Australia's oceans policy and the national network of marine protected areas, hopes to attract funding from the private sector to continue its work.
In a letter advising the network that would receive no further funding, the Department of Environment said the decision-makers had considered ''whether the project will implement 2007 election commitments (or) fulfil a Commonwealth obligation''.
Federal Greens senator Rachel Siewert said the Rudd Government's new grants program was ill conceived and had been '' a shambles from the start''.
''It seems to consist of cutting funding to successful programs in order to start afresh in 2008-09. This is madness: we are not learning from years of knowledge and experience.''
The Opposition's environment spokeswoman, Sharman Stone, said the Government's new grants scheme forced small community groups to compete against the CSIRO and other Commonwealth agencies.
Funding for regional catchment management groups had been slashed from $300million to $25 million.
Dr Stone said, ''The Rudd Labor Government seems to have forgotten that protecting the environment isn't just done from behind a desk: someone also has to be behind a shovel.''
Replying to questions in the Senate yesterday, Climate Change Minister Penny Wong said the new grants program presented ''a range of more targeted opportunities''.