Australia - Details

Status and Trends of Biodiversity

Overview

As a large island continent Australia contains a diverse range of biogeographic regions. The arid interior occupies approximately 70% of the continent, with tropical monsoon areas to the north and a Mediterranean and temperate climate to the south. Australia's marine habitats are just as diverse, ranging from extensive coral reefs to seagrass plains, giant kelp forests and the sand-bottomed habitats that cover much of the continental shelf. Australia is endowed with a unique and diverse biodiversity, with an estimated 80% of endemic wildlife, including flowering plants, fungi, mollusc, insects, fishes, frogs, reptiles and mammals. This high level of endemism has earned Australia its place among the world’s 12 megadiverse countries. A particularity of Australia is its marsupials, having evolved into a great diversity of species filling an extraordinary range of niches, which in other countries are largely occupied by placental mammals. As of February 2001, there were 1,478 species and 27 ecological communities listed as either endangered or vulnerable at the national level. Vegetation clearing remains a significant but diminishing threat to terrestrial biodiversity. Threats affecting Australia's coral reefs include the effects of sediments, agricultural chemicals and nutrients, fishing and tourism, oil spills, and climate change.

Number and Extent of Protected Areas

Terrestrial protected areas covered 10.52% (80.89 million hectares) of the country in 2004 whereas marine protected areas, including ‘no take’ zones’, covered 64,600,000 hectares or 7% of Australia's marine jurisdiction.

Percentage of Forest Cover

Of the estimated 33% forest cover of Australia at the time of European settlement, there is now 21% remaining.

National Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan

Major features of National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan

The overall goal of the Strategy for the Conservation of Australia's Biological Diversity (1996) is to protect biological diversity and maintain ecological processes and systems. There are 6 main objectives, with priorities covering the identification and description of: main ecosystems, existing knowledge about biodiversity, and threats. The strategy also provides the framework to develop a mechanism and management plans for: biodiversity in general, protected areas, information and support of conservation projects, major introduced pests, control of access to genetic resources, bioregional planning and management, private lands to complement the protection provided by the public estate in protected areas, and for local governments to assume a significant role in the conservation of biodiversity.
 

• National Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan National Strategy (English)
• National Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan (English)

Implementation of the Convention

Measures Taken to Achieve the 2010 Target

Australia has substantially moved towards specific, time bound and measurable outcomes in regional planning under the National Action Plan on Salinity and Water Quality (NAP) and the Natural Heritage Trust (NHT). Regional plans are playing an important role in protecting and enhancing Australia's unique biodiversity, the viability of rural and regional communities and the future of agricultural industries. Resource Condition Indicators, coordinated by the Australian Government’s Monitoring and Evaluation Working Group (MEWG), are being developed primarily to measure the performance of investments made under funding programs and to contribute to overall assessments of resource condition. The EPBC Act provides for the identification and listing of threatened species and ecological communities, the development of recovery plans for listed species and communities, the recognition of key threatening processes, and where appropriate, reducing the impact of these processes through the development and implementation of threat abatement plans. The international movement of wildlife and wildlife products for commercial purposes is also regulated under the EPBC Act and legislation to meet CITES obligations. The threat of pollution on the conservation of biodiversity is being addressed through the National Pollutant Inventory, whose goals include the maintenance and improvement of ambient air quality as well as marine, estuarine and fresh water quality.

Initiatives in Protected Areas

Between 2002 and 2004, terrestrial protected areas increased by 0.44% of the total land area. Designation of marine protected areas has accelerated over the reporting period with one of the most significant increases occurring because of the rezoning of the entire Great Barrier Reef, which became law in July 2004. The proportion of the Marine Park protected under ‘no-take’ zones was increased from less than 5% to more than 33%, and now protects representative examples of each of the 70 broad habitat types identified across the Great Barrier Reef region. By the end of 2002 the National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas (NRSMPA) covered approximately 64,600,000 hectares or 7% of Australia's marine jurisdiction.

Initiatives for Article 8(j)

Several Australian initiatives address this article, such as the Indigenous Protected Areas Program, in which the Department of the Environment and Water Resources and indigenous communities work together to: develop management plans, and hold indigenous knowledge workshops through the Natural Heritage Trust. The Australian Government has also taken measures to engage indigenous people in the key goals of Australia’s Oceans Policy by involving them in the use, conservation and management of Australia’s marine jurisdictions. This led to the development of pilot ‘Sea Country’ Plans as a potential vehicle for indigenous involvement in marine resource use and management processes. There are currently six plans being developed, allowing indigenous people to consider their sea country management priorities, needs and interests. Finally an Indigenous Advisory Committee (IAC) has been established under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). The Committee advises the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources on the operation of the Act, taking into account the significance of indigenous peoples' knowledge of the management of land and the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.