Building Nature’s Safety Net - WWF

Building Nature’s Safety NetA Review of Australia’s Terrestrial Protected Area System, 1991-2004

Paul Sattler and Andreas Glanznig

© WWF-Australia. All Rights Reserved.ISBN 1 921031 15 8Authors: Paul Sattler and Andreas Glanznig

WWF-AustraliaHead OfficeGPO Box 528Sydney, NSW, Australia 2001Tel: +612 9281 5515Fax: +612 9281 1060wwf.org.au

Published November 2006 by WWF-Australia.

All rights reserved.

Any reproduction in full or part of this publication must mention thetitle and credit the above mentioned publisher as the copyright owner.For bibliographic purposes this report should be cited as:Sattler, P.S. and Glanznig, A. 2006. Building Nature’s Safety Net: A review of Australia’s terrestrial protected area system, 1991-2004,WWF-Australia Report, WWF-Australia, Sydney. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authorsand do not necessarily reflect the views of WWF.Copies of the this report are available on the WWF-Australia web siteat www.wwf.org.auWorld Wide Fund for Nature ABN: 57 001 594 074

AcknowledgementsThe support of The Mullum Trust, the assistance of Dr John Mooney,WWF project officer, the contributions by Bruce Cummings and TimBond of the Department of Environment and Heritage, and by themany State and Territory conservation agency staff are gratefullyacknowledged.

Design: Pro Bono Publico, www.probono.com.auPrinted on Zanders Mega Recycled. Made with 50% recycled, 50% FSC sourced (managed plantation fibres – PEFC and FSC),elemental chlorine free and acid free.

Map sources and caveatsThe data: Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australiaversion 6.1 (2004) and the Collaborative Australian Protected AreasDatabase (2004).

Both datasets listed above were developed through cooperative effortsof the Australian Government Department of the Environment andHeritage and State/Territory land management agencies andcustodianship rests with these agencies

Australia Populated Places (1991) was produced by the AustralianBureau of Statistics.

All maps are Copyright © Australian Government Department of theEnvironment and Heritage 2006.

About the AuthorsPaul Sattler OAM

Paul has a lifetime experience working professionally in natureconservation. He was the principal architect in doublingQueensland’s National Park estate in the early 1990’s whilst with the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service. This included theimplementation of representative park networks for bioregions across the State.

Paul initiated and guided the comprehensive description ofQueensland’s bioregional ecosystems and assessment of their status,a vital planning tool for conservation and natural resourcemanagement. He was principal author of the National Land andWater Resources Audit’s terrestrial biodiversity assessment ofAustralia, the first detailed assessment of biodiversity at a range of scales nationally. He now manages his own specialised eco-consultancy business.

Paul has been awarded an OAM for his services to biodiversityconservation.

Andreas Glanznig

Andreas is a biodiversity conservation and NRM policy specialist.He started his career as a policy analyst in the AustralianGovernment, most of which was spent in the Biodiversity Unitinvolved with the development of the National Strategy for theConservation of Australia’s Biological Diversity.

His interest in communication and community education led him to then take the role of national coordinator with the CommunityBiodiversity Network where he spent five years working on a rangeof initiatives ranging from mass media communications, to workingwith and networking a broad range of community and scientificgroups to increase public understanding and involvement inconserving wildlife habitat.

He is currently WWF’s Program Leader – Biodiversity Policy, andleads its policy and advocacy work on invasive species, terrestrialprotected areas and other national biodiversity policy issues.

Cover image: West MacDonnell National Park, Northern Territorylooking toward Mount Sonder© NT Parks and Wildlife Service

'Australia is fantastically rich in environmentalvariety. From the wet tropics of the north tothe temperate woods and forests of the south,the hot desert, the Barrier Reef: your countryis so rich. And that richness is the variety ofecosystems that you have, the variety ofanimals and plants that live within them thathave evolved to sustain them. You have inyour hands one of the great treasures.' Sir David Attenborough, WWF conservation launch,May 1991

'…every race owes certain duties to itsdescendants, chief among which is topreserve, develop and hand down the greatheritage which has been given it. 'In whatsense, then, can a people have performed this duty, if in years to come one of itsdescendants can say, “oh, yes, but where arethose forests you talk of, those animals whichwere the wonder of the world, those birds thatscientists came from the four corners of theworld to see, that scenery which you say hadno peer?” 'Great that nation whose men canput their finger's on the map and say, “Hereand here, and here you can see Nature …”'Romeo Lahey 19.6.1913 seeking the reservation ofLamington N.P. in Queensland (Jarrott 1990)

'By the year 2000 Australia will havecompleted development of a nationwidesystem of protected areas on public land andwaters, that are representative of the majorecosystems in each biogeographical region'.National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia'sBiological Diversity (NSCABD) adopted by theCommonwealth and all State and Territorygovernments in 1996

‘By 2005, a representative sample of eachbioregion … is protected within the NationalReserve System or network of IndigenousProtected Areas or as private land managedfor conservation under a conservationagreement’.National Objectives and Targets for BiodiversityConservation 2001-2005 adopted by theCommonwealth and five State and Territorygovernments in 2001

01This report is dedicated to the memory of Stella ‘Bobbie’ Sattler, Dr Jill Bowling and Steve Irwin. Each in their own way has contributed to the protection of wildlifeand the survival of disappearing habitat. These efforts will always remain one of their lasting legacies.

Executive Summary Review Findings ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 07National Progress to Establish the National Reserve System, 1991-2004...................................................................................... 07Australia’s Protected Area Report Card........................................................................................................................................................... 08Funding Trends ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 09Ten of the Outstanding Protected Areas for the Decade, 1992-2002................................................................................................ 09Bioregional Priorities ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 10

1.0 Introduction1.1 Background.................................................................................................................................................................................................. 111.2 Review Objectives.................................................................................................................................................................................... 111.3 The Policy Context for the National Reserve System Program ..................................................................................... 12

2.0 Review Scope and Methodology2.1 Review Scope ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 142.2 Definitions ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 142.3 Bioregional Framework ......................................................................................................................................................................... 152.4 Major Information Sources ................................................................................................................................................................. 172.5 Methodology to Calculate Level of Comprehensiveness of the National Reserve System ........................... 182.6 Methodology to Calculate Extent (Adequacy) and Change in Protected Area Extent ...................................... 192.7 Methodology to Calculate Standard of Management of Protected Areas ............................................................... 192.8 Benchmarks for Australia’s Protected Area Report Card ................................................................................................. 20

PART A EVALUATION AND SCORECARD

3.1 International Comparison .................................................................................................................................................................... 213.2 National Comparison .............................................................................................................................................................................. 23

3.2.1 Comprehensiveness by Bioregion ........................................................................................................................................ 233.2.2 Change in Protected Area Extent, 1991-2002................................................................................................................. 263.2.3 Relative Change in Extent of Protected Preas ................................................................................................................ 293.2.4 Bioregional Analysis of the Extent of Australia’s Protected Areas.......................................................................... 313.2.5 Management Standard of the Protected Area Estate .................................................................................................. 34

3.3 Funding Trends for Protected Area Establishment, 1993-2002 ...................................................................................... 353.3.1 Funding Trends by Jurisdiction .............................................................................................................................................. 353.3.2 Australian Government Allocations for the National Reserve System, 1993-2003......................................... 363.3.3 Australian Government Expenditures for Covenanting on Private Lands

under National Reserve System Program ......................................................................................................................... 373.3.4 Cost Sharing Arranagements .................................................................................................................................................. 37

3.4 Australia’s Protected Area Report Card ...................................................................................................................................... 383.5 Overall Performance in Meeting National Objectives and

Targets for Biodiversity Conservation, 2001-2005 ................................................................................................................. 393.6 Cost Effectiveness of Protected Areas in Conserving Biodiversity ............................................................................. 393.7 Jurisdictional Contributions to Developing Australia’s Protected Area System .................................................. 40

Contents

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3.7.1 Australian Capital Territory ....................................................................................................................................................... 403.7.2 New South Wales ......................................................................................................................................................................... 423.7.3 Northern Territory.......................................................................................................................................................................... 443.7.4 Queensland ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 453.7.5 South Australia .............................................................................................................................................................................. 463.7.6 Tasmania........................................................................................................................................................................................... 483.7.7 Victoria............................................................................................................................................................................................... 493.7.8 Western Australia.......................................................................................................................................................................... 513.7.9 Australian Government .............................................................................................................................................................. 52

3.8 Indigenous Protected Areas ............................................................................................................................................................... 53

PART B AUSTRALIA’S TOP PROTECTED AREAS ESTABLISHED BY EACH GOVERNMENT AND BY A NON-GOVERNMENT ORGANISATION OVER THE DECADE 1992-20024.0 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 55

4.1 Australian Capital Territory ................................................................................................................................................................. 564.2 New South Wales...................................................................................................................................................................................... 574.3 Northern Territory ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 604.4 Queensland .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 624.5 South Australia........................................................................................................................................................................................... 644.6 Tasmania........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 654.7 Victoria............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 664.8 Western Australia ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 684.9 Australian Government.......................................................................................................................................................................... 704.10 Non-government Organisation ......................................................................................................................................................... 71

PART C DESCRIPTION OF THE PROTECTED AREA SYSTEM AND PRIORITIES IN EACH BIOREGION BY STATE AND TERRITORY

5.1 Determining Priorities ............................................................................................................................................................................ 735.1.1 Setting Priorities for the Development of the National Reserve System ............................................................. 735.1.2 Bioregional Outlook for Consolidating the National Reserve System................................................................... 74

5.2 Bioregional Priorities for the Protected Area System in each State and Territory.............................................. 775.2.1 New South Wales ......................................................................................................................................................................... 775.2.2 Northern Territory.......................................................................................................................................................................... 815.2.3 Queensland ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 865.2.4 South Australia .............................................................................................................................................................................. 915.2.5 Tasmania........................................................................................................................................................................................... 945.2.6 Victoria............................................................................................................................................................................................... 985.2.7 Western Australia.......................................................................................................................................................................... 101

6.0 References ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 111

7.0 Appendices ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 112Appendix 1: IUCN Protected Area Categories........................................................................................................................................ 112Appendix 2: Covenanting Projects Funded under the National Reserve System Program .......................................... 117

03Building Nature’s Safety NetA Review of Australia’s Terrestrial Protected Area System, 1991–2004

Tables

Table 1: Australian Government policies and enquiry findingsto establishing the national protected area system

Table 2: Protected Area Standard of Management classes(NLWRA 2002)

Table 3: Protected Area System Benchmarks

Table 4: Comparison of the Extent of Protected Areas inOECD Countries in 2003 for IUCN Protected Area CategoriesI-II, I-V, and I-VI. Countries are ranked by percentage of totalarea in Categories I-VI

Table 5: Comprehensiveness, Extent and Standard ofManagement of Australia’s protected area system in eachbioregion

Table 6: Extent and Change in Extent of Protected Areas byJurisdiction, 1991-2004

Table 7: Change in Extent of Terrestrial Protected Areas byIUCN Protected Area Category, 1991-2004

Table 8: Ranking by State and Territory of the Change inExtent (ha) of Protected Areas (Categories I-IV), 1991-2004

Table 9: Ranking by State and Territory of the Change inExtent (ha) of Protected Areas (Categories I-VI), 1991-2004

Table 10: Ranking of Relative Change (% of jurisdictionalarea) in Protected Areas (Categories I-IV), 1991-2004

Table 11: Ranking of Relative Change (% of jurisdictionalarea) in Protected Areas (Categories I-VI), 1991-2004

Table 12: Ranking of Protected Areas (Categories I-IV) aspercentage of jurisdictional area at 2004

Table 13: Ranking of Protected Areas (Categories I-VI) aspercentage of jurisdictional area at 2004

Table 14: Protected Areas (hectares) by IUCN Category ineach Bioregion of Australia

Table 15: Reservation Levels in IBRA Regions, 2002 and 2004

Table 16: Ranking of Standard of Management for ProtectedAreas across Bioregions in each Jurisdiction

Table 17: Funding Trends for Protected Area Establishmentby each Jurisdiction

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Table 18: Australian Government Allocations to Jurisdictionsunder the National Reserve System Program for landacquisition or covenanting activities

Table 19: Funding for Covenanting projects allocated by theAustralian Government under the NRS program

Table 20: Australia’s Protected Area Report Card byjurisdiction and in ranked order of performance

Table 21: Change in Protected Area Extent by IUCNCategory in the Australian Capital Territory 1991-2004

Table 22: Change in Protected Area Extent by IUCNCategory in New South Wales 1991-2004

Table 23: Funding Trends for Protected Area Establishment in New South Wales

Table 24: Change in Protected Area Extent by IUCNCategory in the Northern Territory 1991-2004 (includingCommonwealth protected areas)

Table 25: Change in Protected Area Extent by IUCNCategory in Queensland, 1991-2004

Table 26: Funding Trends for Protected Area LandAcquisition in Queensland, 1993-2003

Table 27: Change in Protected Area Extent by IUCNCategory in South Australia 1991-2004

Table 28: Change in Protected Area Extent by IUCNCategory in Tasmania, 1991-2004

Table 29: Change in Protected Area Extent by IUCNCategory in Victoria, 1991-2004

Table 30: Funding Trends for Protected Area LandAcquisition in Victoria, 1998-2004

Table 31: Change in Protected Area Extent by IUCNCategory in Western Australia, 1991-2004

Table 32: Change in Protected Area Extent by IUCNCategory managed by the Australian Government, 1991-2004

Table 33: Bioregional priorities to consolidate Australia’sprotected area system

Table 34: Bioregional priorities to consolidate Australia’sprotected area system by jurisdiction

Figure 1: Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia(IBRA), version 5.1

Figure 2: Australia’s Protected Areas showing IUCNCategories I-IV and V-VI

Figure 3: Change in Protected Area Extent, 1991-2004

Figure 4(a): Change in Extent of Protected Areas 1991-2004for each State/Territory: IUCN Categories I-IV

Figure 4(b): Change in Extent of Protected Areas 1991-2004:IUCN Categories I-IV showing expanded axis for the fivelower ranked jurisdictions.

Figure 5(a): Change in Extent of Protected Areas 1991-2004for each State/Territory: IUCN Categories I-VI

Figure 5(b): Change in Extent of Protected Areas 1991-2004:IUCN Categories I-VI showing expanded axis for the fivelower ranked jurisdictions

Figure 6: Distribution of Indigenous Protected Areas acrossAustralia

Figure 7: Terrestrial Protected Areas of the Australian CapitalTerritory and the most significant area established over thedecade, 1992-2002: Gungahlin and Dunlop Grassland Reserves

Figure 8: Terrestrial Protected Areas of New South Wales and the most significant areas established over the decade1992-2002: Paroo - Darling National Park and StateConservation Area, and by the Australian Government,Booderee National Park

Figure 9: Terrestrial Protected Areas of the Northern Territoryand the most significant area established over the decade1992-2002: West MacDonnell National Park

Figure 10: Terrestrial Protected Areas of Queensland and themost significant Protected Area established over the decade1992-2002: Diamantina - Astrebla Downs National Parks

Figure 11: Terrestrial Protected Areas of South Australia andthe most significant protected area established over the decade1992-2002: Gawler Ranges National Park

Figure 12: Terrestrial Protected Areas of Tasmania and themost significant protected area established over the decade1992-2002: Savage River National Park

Figure 13: Terrestrial Protected Areas of Victoria and themost significant protected area established over the decade1992-2002: Terrick Terrick National Park

Figure 14: Terrestrial Protected Areas of Western Australiaand the most significant protected area established over thedecade 1992-2002: Francois Peron National Park andMornington Wildlife Sanctuary

Figure 15: Bioregional priorities for consolidating Australia’sprotected area system

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Australia’s protected area system is the nation’s premierinvestment in biodiversity conservation. The protected areasystem also has major economic benefits, especially fornature based tourism as well as the protection of ecosystemservices, such as production of clean water.

The National Reserve System is well recognised as one of themost cost-effective means to protect biodiversity, as confirmedby the expert report, Setting Biodiversity Priorities, preparedfor the Prime Minister’s Science, Engineering and InnovationCouncil (PMSEIC) in 2002.

There is a strong bipartisan policy foundation for a nation-wide system of protected areas. This is reflected in variousnational policies, most notably in the National Strategy for theConservation of Australia’s Biological Diversity adopted in1996, the National Objectives and Targets for BiodiversityConservation, 2001-2005 and most recently Directions for theNational Reserve System - a Partnership Approach adopted bygovernments in 2005. These national policy commitmentsfollowed scientific recommendations that started about 20 years earlier on the need for a national representativeprotected area system (e.g. Specht 1974, 1975).

The review shows that significant progress has been made inbuilding the protected area system across Australia. Between1991 and 2004, extensive areas have been secured in protectedareas through a combination of national parks and otherreserves, Indigenous Protected Areas and covenanted privatelands. This is a major national achievement and ten of theoutstanding protected areas across Australia are specificallyacknowledged.

However, this review shows that the 2000 and 2005 nationaltargets to establish a national protected area system that fullyrepresents Australia’s biodiversity have not yet been achieved.Additionally, the State and Territory Protected Area ReportCard shows that significant effort is still required in manyjurisdictions to overcome outstanding gaps in developing arepresentative and well-managed protected area system.

The new target agreed to by the Australian and all State andTerritory governments in the national policy, Directions for theNational Reserve System - a Partnership Approach, sets apractical target of 80% Comprehensiveness by 2010-2015. This target represents the third timeline to achieve the aim of arepresentative protected area system for Australia. This reviewshows that current funding and acquisition trends will need to be accelerated to ensure this target is met within the agreedtimeframe.

The Australian Government has a critical national leadership roleto play in this endeavour by providing financial incentives togovernments and private land trusts in order to accelerate theacquisition and secured management of high value conservationlands. These incentives need to reflect appropriate cost sharingarrangements between the Australian Government and partnersfor land acquisition and for the costs of both establishment andon-going management. The 2:1 funding formula recommendedby the 1993 House of Representatives Standing Committee onEnvironment, Recreation and the Arts (HORSCERA) enquiry onprotected areas only results in roughly equal cost sharing for theacquisition and initial establishment costs between the AustralianGovernment and partners, but does not provide relief for on-going management costs which are carried by the States or other partners.

Increasingly, private protected areas have been promoted as apreferred means to secure biodiversity and as an alternative tothe acquisition and management costs in establishing formalreserves. Significant incentive payments per hectare, however,are now being made to secure conservation agreements, oftenwithout long term security of protection.

The establishment of public and private protected areas shouldbe complemented by a critical analysis of costs, security andlikely management effectiveness for biodiversity.

Implementation of a program to build a representative protectedarea system should be carried out in conjunction with thetargeting of off-reserve conservation initiatives across thebroader landscape. A collaborative program is required betweenthe Australian Government, and the State and Territorygovernments, to facilitate the systematic bioregional assessmentof biodiversity priorities and the identification of conservationresponse options that include protected area requirements.

Executive Summary

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The less than desirable level of management of many ofAustralia’s protected areas shows that increased managementeffort is required, including ecological monitoring of protectedareas in many jurisdictions.

Review FindingsThis review examined progress by governments to establish anation-wide system of protected areas from 1991 to 2004. This period was selected to measure progress since the formalinception of the National Reserve System in 1992.

It shows that Australia has not yet met the agreed nationalpolicy objective to develop a nation-wide system of protectedareas that is representative of the major ecological communitiesin each biogeographical region (bioregion). Insufficient anddeclining funding for this important program by the AustralianGovernment and many State and Territory governments hassignificantly increased the risk that this restated objective willnot be achieved within the agreed 2010-2015 timeframe.Meeting national policy commitments needs to be made afunding priority for NHT 3 or any equivalent nationalconservation initiative, as well as in State and Territory budgetprocesses.

This review has considered both protected areas managedprimarily for biodiversity conservation, e.g., National Parks,that are classed within the IUCN protected area Categories I-IVand those that are managed for multiple uses that specificallyinclude nature conservation, e.g., Indigenous Protected Areasand Nature Refuges, which are classed within the IUCNCategories V-VI.

National progress to establish the National Reserve System, 1991-2004Significant effort has been made in extending the protected areasystem across jurisdictions between 1991 and 2004. For thisperiod, 31.38 million hectares were added to the total protectedarea system (Categories I-VI). Of this, 15.64 million hectaresrepresented areas managed primarily for nature conservation(Categories I-IV). These figures show that about half the areasadded were primarily for nature conservation with a growingemphasis on multiple use conservation tenures. In 2004,Australia had 10.5% of its land area reserved as IUCNprotected area Categories I-VI.

The principal criterion for expanding the protected areasystem is ‘Comprehensiveness’, which is the broad measureof whether the protected area is representative of regionalecosystems. This measure is used as a surrogate for theecological diversity of each bioregion. Australia’s protectedarea system samples approximately 67% of its ecologicaldiversity (IUCN protected area Categories I-IV as of June2001). A further five percent of Australia’s ecologicaldiversity is included in multiple use conservation tenures orunder covenants (IUCN Categories V-VI).

The selection techniques used for multiple land use areas is ofconcern given the limited increase in Comprehensiveness (5% based on 2001 data) from the addition of such largeareas. Although, these areas may meet other objectives toprotect ecosystem services and encourage sustainable landmanagement, the lack of information about managementeffectiveness of such areas for achieving nature conservationoutcomes is also cause for concern. These issues areimportant as increasing effort has been applied throughnational programs such as NHT 2 to promote ‘off-park’conservation.

In terms of total area, South Australia made the biggestadditions to Categories I-IV areas. The largest increase inCategories V-VI areas occurred in Western Australia where verylarge Indigenous Protected Areas were established by theAustralian Government and traditional owners. Questions areraised at the State level as to the security and managementeffectiveness of such areas as they were established outside ofState conservation management arrangements. This said, inSouth Australia, Indigenous Protected Areas provide aframework for partnerships with third parties to assist in co-ordinated land management activities and for theconservation of biodiversity that cannot be represented in other types of protected area.


In relation to the total area of the State or Territory, theAustralian Capital Territory and South Australia made thebiggest relative additions to Categories I-IV areas,while theAustralian Capital Territory and Tasmania made the biggestrelative additions to Categories I-VI areas.

Internationally, the relative extent of Australia’s protected areasystem is below average. The available comparative figuresfor 2003 show Australia with 10.1% protected land area inIUCN protected area Categories I-VI. This ranks Australia inthe bottom half (16th out of 30) of OECD countries. Australiatrails Austria (first with 36.4% reserved), New Zealand (5th with 24% reserved), United States of America (10th with16% reserved), and the United Kingdom (15th with 10.4%reserved). However, Australia ranks third among OECDcountries for IUCN Category I-II protected areas.

Australia’s Protected Area Report CardA report card has been developed for each State and Territoryjurisdiction and benchmarked in terms of theComprehensiveness, Extent (Adequacy) and the Standard ofManagement of their protected area estate. The AustralianGovernment contribution is assessed separately in terms of itsfunding commitment to the National Reserve System programthough a significant commitment is also made to NationalParks under its control such as Kakadu National Park.

The overall report card for each State and Territory as of 2002is shown in the Table below (Table 20 main report) with thejurisdictions appearing in ranked order.

The evaluation shows that:

• The ACT and Tasmania have a Comprehensive and largeprotected area estate.

• Victoria has an extensive protected area estate but it is notComprehensive, principally due to the early alienationand clearing in many of the agriculturally suitablebioregions and the protected area system being primarilyformed by upgrading existing public lands.

• Western Australia has a large protected area system but it is not Comprehensive.

• In Queensland, Western Australia and the NorthernTerritory, extensive consolidation is required to meet theobjectives of developing a representative protected areasystem. It is recognised that Queensland and WesternAustralia have a large job to do in having the greatestlevel of biodiversity in Australia but are smaller in termsof population base. Fortunately, opportunities exist tofurther develop a Comprehensive protected area system,though options have been lost in some bioregions, e.g.Brigalow Belt South in Queensland and Avon Wheatbeltin Western Australia.

• The Northern Territory protected area system is notComprehensive. However, opportunities exist for theexpansion of the protected area system to be placed in the context of achieving sustainable management and theconservation of biodiversity across the whole landscapemore so than in any other jurisdiction.

• While it is indicated that the New South Wales protectedarea system is Comprehensive, this may be partly anartefact of very coarse identification of bioregionalecosystems in the absence of systematic vegetationmapping across the whole State. Significant strides havebeen made in recent years to develop a more representativesystem, particularly in western parts of the State.

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Australia’s Protected Area System Report Card

State/Territory Comprehensiveness Extent ManagementStandard

Australian Capital Territory A A ATasmania A A BVictoria C A BSouth Australia B/C A C/D*New South Wales A/D* C CWestern Australia D B CQueensland C D CNorthern Territory D D B

* data deficient.

• It is unclear how Comprehensive South Australia’sprotected area system is again due to the dearth ofvegetation mapping in the northern part of the State,however a significant proportion of ‘environmentalassociations’ are reserved. South Australia’s protected area system is large in relative and absolute terms andincludes very large areas of multiple use conservationtenures. The standard of management in terms ofbiodiversity conservation is largely unknown on thesemultiple use tenures.

• The standard of management for protected areas in theAustralian Capital Territory is good to very good, andgood in Tasmania, Victoria and the Northern Territory.

• Management of the protected area systems in New SouthWales, Western Australia, Queensland and where knownin South Australia is only ranked as fair.

Funding trendsFunding trends are an indicator of government commitment tomeeting national and State policy objectives for developing arepresentative protected area system. Principal findings include:

• The Australian Government made a substantialcommitment from 1998 to 2002 to the National ReserveSystem program, but funding has been significantlyreduced since then. This has adversely affected theimplementation of the national policy objective ofdeveloping a representative protected area system. Inparticular, the reduction of the 2:1 financial incentive forState and Territory governments has not encouraged theirinvestment in expanding and taking on furthermanagement responsibility for the protected area system.

• New South Wales has made a very large and consistentfunding commitment to consolidating its protected areasystem over the past decade.

• Western Australia made a very substantial commitmentfrom 1999 to 2001 relating to the Gascoyne-Murchisonpastoral adjustment program and the acquisition ofWellington National Park.

• Queensland’s substantial commitment at the start of the1990’s to developing a Comprehensive protected areasystem has not continued with increasing focus being onregion-specific special issue funding, such as for the SugarCoast Environmental Rescue Package, the DaintreeRescue Package and conversion of State Forests toprotected areas. Although these initiatives have protectedsignificant valuable new areas, the reduced funding fordeveloping a Comprehensive protected area system as partof a Statewide plan has meant the loss of importantopportunities in vulnerable parts of the State.

• A significant part of total acquisition funding in Victoriawas for the acquisition of residential land to protect thehabitat of the Little Penguin.

• Little funding has been allocated in the Northern Territoryto protected area expansion over the review period or inthose States with more extensive systems to address theimportant gaps in Comprehensiveness.

Recent program evaluations show that the National ReserveSystem program is very cost-effective, costing the AustralianGovernment on average only $10.61 per hectare acquired.Government and non-government partners put on average$12.30 per hectare of matching funds into acquisition.Covenanting has been expensive and approaches acquisitioncosts in many areas, particularly to attract interest fromlandholders to set aside land. Land repair is roughly 25 timesmore costly for the Australian Government than acquisition.The Envirofund program is estimated to have cost on average$258 per hectare.

Ten of the most outstanding protectedareas for the decade, 1992-2002 Ten of the most outstanding protected areas established for the decade, 1992-2002 by each government and by a non-government organisation are identified.

The government jurisdictions and non-governmentorganisations are to be complimented for these achievementswhich often have quietly proceeded without the fanfareattached to new conservation initiatives. The significantcontribution by a number of non-government organisations andprivate individuals in acquiring land for conservation acrossAustralia is acknowledged.

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Some of these outstanding protected area additions reliedupon financial contributions from the Australian Government.

Ten of the most outstanding protected areas are:

• Australian Capital Territory - Gungahlin and DunlopGrasslands Reserves

• New South Wales - Paroo-Darling National Park andState Conservation Area

• Northern Territory - West MacDonnell National Park

• Queensland - Diamantina and Astrebla National Parkaggregation

• South Australia - Gawler Ranges National Park

• Tasmania - Savage River National Park

• Victoria - Terrick Terrick National Park

• Western Australia - Francois Peron National Park

• Australian Government - Booderee National Park

• Non-government organisation - Australian WildlifeConservancy: Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary

Bioregional prioritiesHalf of Australia’s bioregions, 42 out of 85, are of highpriority for further protected area reservation owing to thecurrent inadequacy of the protected area system in thesebioregions and the extent of existing threats to biodiversity. In addition, priorities to protect poorly reserved andthreatened ecosystems exist across most bioregions.

Specific information is presented on the status of protectedareas and on priorities for protected area reservation acrosseach of Australia’s 85 bioregions. This information, collatedprincipally from the National Land and Water ResourcesAudit’s Terrestrial Biodiversity Assessment and the AustralianGovernment’s Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation forAustralia (Version 5.1), provides an important informationbase for further elaboration in the future. Bioregionalpriorities to consolidate Australia’s protected area systemacross jurisdictions are shown in the following table (Table 34 in main report).

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Bioregional priorities for consolidating Australia’sprotected area system by jurisdiction

State/ No. No. Total National Territory Priority 1 Priority 2 Rank

Bioregions Bioregions [for further action]

NT 7 10 17 1Qld 5 6 11 2WA 4 7 11 3NSW 5 5 10 4SA 4 5 9 5Vic 3 3 6 6Tas 1 1 2 7ACT 0 0 0 8

Note Bioregions overlapping State and Territory borders are counted in eachjurisdiction for the purposes of this table.

1.0 Introduction

1.1 BackgroundA key principle identified by the National Strategy for theConservation of Australia’s Biodiversity (NSCABD) 1996was the essential role of a fully representative protected areasystem in conserving Australia’s biodiversity, namely:

‘Central to the conservation of Australia’s biologicaldiversity is the establishment of a comprehensive,representative and adequate system of ecologically viableprotected areas integrated with the sympatheticmanagement of all other areas, including agricultural andother resource production areas.’

The National Strategy also committed the Australian, Stateand Territory governments to a 10 year program to establish a Comprehensive, Adequate and Representative nationalprotected area system by 2000. This national commitmentbuilt on the 1992 National Forest Policy Statement and theAustralian Government’s commitment in late 1992 toestablish the National Reserve System Cooperative Program,to amongst other things provide incentives to the States andTerritories to cooperate in progressively developing theNational Reserve System by the year 2000, including fundsfor land acquisition.

WWF-Australia played an instrumental role in the lead up tothese commitments. In 1992, WWF-Australia released aseminal discussion paper, A Protected Areas Strategy for theConservation of Biological Diversity (Habel 1992), followedsoon after in 1993 with the launch of its national protectedareas campaign. A key part of this campaign was thedevelopment of WWF Australia Report Cards in 1994 and1995 (WWF-Australia 1994, 1995b). These cards ranked theperformance of Australia’s Commonwealth, State andTerritory governments in adding to the protected area system.

In tandem, from 1991 WWF-Australia played an active role inbuilding support for the inclusion of a national protected areastarget in the emerging National Strategy for the Conservationof Australia’s Biological Diversity, through its membership ofthe Australian Government’s Biological Diversity AdvisoryCommittee, (eg. WWF-Australia 1995a).

As well as drawing attention to the level of commitment to theprotected area system, the WWF campaign enabled credit tobe given to outstanding government achievements in adding tothe estate. This approach is revived in this evaluation so thatthe vital work of getting on with establishing a representativesystem is recognised. Often, the solid work in progressivelydeveloping a representative protected area system by alljurisdictions across Australia and more recently by otherorganisations has been overshadowed by other conservationissues.

1.2 Review Objectives The objectives for the three parts of this review are to:

PART AEvaluate and report on the progress being made in Australia todevelop a representative and well managed protected areasystem over the period 1991-2004 and to produce acomparative report card.

This evaluation reports on:

• the protected area system across Australia, in each Stateand Territory jurisdiction and for each bioregion in termsof its Comprehensiveness, Extent (Adequacy) and theStandard of Management

• the commitment by governments to develop a fullyrepresentative protected area system by examiningfunding commitments.

PART BIdentify ten of the outstanding protected area achievements byeach government and by a non-government organisation forthe decade since the inception of the NRS in 1992.

PART C Present details of the specific bioregional priorities forconsolidating a representative protected area system in eachState and Territory. Detailed information is collated on theprotected area requirements of each bioregion to guide wherefuture investment is a priority.


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1.3 The Policy Context for theNational Reserve SystemProgram

The premier role of the National Reserve System inconserving our continent’s biodiversity has been recognisedby the Australian and State governments in a range of nationalpolicies and in the scientific literature.

Foremost of these is the National Strategy for theConservation of Australia’s Biological Diversity 1996, whichstates that the protected area system is the central strategy toprotect biodiversity in conjunction with sympatheticmanagement of all other lands.

A number of national policy commitments have set outspecific requirements for establishing the national protectedarea system. These are summarised in Table 1.

12

Convention on Biological Diversity1992(Ratified in 1993 by the Australian Government)

National Forest Policy Statement(Adopted in 1992 by Commonwealth and allState and Territory governments, exceptTasmania which subsequently signed).

Nationally agreed reserve criteria(JANIS Criteria) established for a Comprehensive, Adequateand Representative (CAR) forest reservesystem.

Article 8(a)Each Contracting Party shall, as far as possible and as appropriate:(a) Establish a system of protected areas or areas where special measures need to betaken to conserve biological diversityProtected Area Programme of Work (Decision VII/28) 2004Goal 1.1 Target: By 2010, terrestrially a global network of comprehensive,representative and effectively managed national and regional protected area system isestablished.Action 1.1.2. As a matter of urgency, by 2006, take action to establish or expandprotected areas in any large, intact or relatively unfragmented or highly irreplaceablenatural areas, or areas under high threat, as well as areas securing the most threatenedspecies in the context of national priorities, and taking into consideration theconservation needs of migratory species.

Policy established that parts of the public native forest estate be set aside in dedicatednature reserves based on the principles of Comprehensiveness, Adequacy andRepresentativeness.Comprehensiveness defined as including the full range of forest communitiesrecognised by an agreed national scientific classification at appropriate hierarchicallevels.Adequacy referred to as the level of reservation to ensure the ecological viability ofpopulations, species and communities.Representativeness was defined to ensure that those sample areas of forest that areselected for inclusion in reserves should reasonably reflect the biotic diversity of thecommunities.JANIS Criteria further defined CAR criteria and proposed various thresholds as planningtools for public native forest reservation.

Table 1: Australian Government policies and enquiry findings for establishing the national protected area system

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The House of RepresentativesStanding Committee on Environment,Recreation and the Arts (HORSCERA) enquiry into Biodiversity - The Role of ProtectedAreas, 1993

National Strategy for theConservation of Australia’s BiologicalDiversity(Adopted in 1996 by the Commonwealth andall State and Territory Governments)

National Objectives and Targets forBiodiversity Conservation 2001-2005(Adopted in 2001 by the Commonwealth andall State and Territory Governments exceptthose of the Northern Territory, Queensland andTasmania)

Directions for the National ReserveSystem - A Partnership Approach(Adopted in 2005 by the Commonwealth andall State and Territory Governments)

Recommended that ‘in setting up a core protected area system nationwide, theCommonwealth set as a minimum target the representation of at least 80% ofbioregional ecosystems in core protected areas by the turn of the century.’

By the year 2000 Australia will have:7.1.1 (e) ‘completed development of a nationwide system of protected areas on publicland, and waters, that are representative of the major ecosystems in eachbiogeographical region’

By the year 2005 Australia will have:7.1.1 (b) ‘implemented management plans for the protected area network’Action 1.4.1‘Undertake a 10-year Commonwealth, State and Territory cooperative program, whichincludes the provision of adequate resources, to ensure that the terrestrial and marineprotected area systems are comprehensive, adequate and representative’.Action 1.4.2Undertake a 10-year Commonwealth, State and Territory cooperative program to:(a)‘develop management plans for all protected areas’.

Target 1.2.2. By 2001, ANZECC has developed an action plan for the National ReserveSystem, which includes targets for the protection and restoration of terrestrialecosystems on indigenous-owned estates and private land.Target 1.2.3. By 2005, a representative sample of each bioregion (as specified in theANZECC action plan) is protected within the National Reserve System or network ofIndigenous Protected Areas or as private land managed for conservation under aconservation agreement.

Direction 1: At least 80% of the number of extant regional ecosystems in each IBRAregion are to be represented in the NRS (by) 2010-2015.Direction 3: Examples of at least 80% of the number of extant regional ecosystems ineach IBRA subregion are represented in the NRS by 2010-2020.

2.1 Review ScopeThis review focuses on the terrestrial protected areas ofAustralia excluding Australia’s external territories. In someinstances, area statistics might include some adjacent marinesystems that are part of the overall gazettal of the chieflyterrestrial protected area.

Australia’s protected area system is principally made up ofgovernment managed formal reserves and multiple use tenureswhere conservation is a specific goal: this is the primary focusof this evaluation. More recent involvement by non-government organisations to purchase and manage landfor conservation, e.g. the Australian Bush Heritage Fund,Australian Wildlife Conservancy, Birds Australia, EarthSanctuaries, Victorian Trust for Nature and the QueenslandWildlife Land Fund, are making increasingly valuablecontributions to the protected area estate. Large tracts of landare now also designated as Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs).

Protected areas set aside on private lands as part of integratednatural resource management and property managementplanning can play a valuable complementary role but remain asmall component (with the exception of Indigenous ProtectedAreas) of the protected area system. There has been littleevaluation to date of their success and efficiency in meetingbiodiversity objectives and of the effectiveness of on-goingmanagement in protecting biodiversity values.

All six IUCN protected area Categories are included in thereview. Information is aggregated into two classes: IUCNprotected area Categories I-IV and IUCN protected areaCategories V-VI. Definitions of each Category are set outbelow.

2.2 DefinitionsProtected area: A protected area is defined as a‘geographically defined area which is designated or regulatedand managed to achieve specific conservation objectives’(Article 2 of the International Convention on BiologicalDiversity 1992).

IUCN Protected Area Categories

Protected areas in Australia are classified into aninternationally defined set of management categories, knownas IUCN (World Conservation Union) protected areaCategories. This provides consistency in comparing protectedareas across jurisdictions, and enables the collation ofinternational statistics on the protected area extent within eachcountry. There are six IUCN protected categories:

• Category IaStrict Nature Reserve: Protected Area managed mainly for science

• Category IbWilderness Area: Protected Area managed mainly forwilderness protection

• Category IINational Park: Protected Area managed mainly forecosystem conservation and recreation

• Category IIINatural Monument: Protected Area managed forconservation of specific natural features

• Category IVHabitat/Species Management Area: Protected Area managed mainly for conservation throughmanagement intervention

• Category VProtected Landscape/Seascape: Protected Area managed mainly for landscape/seascape conservation and recreation

• Category VIManaged Resource Protected Areas: Protected Areamanaged mainly for the sustainable use of naturalecosystems

2. Review Scope and Methodology

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Further description and the management objectives for eachprotected area Category are presented in Appendix 1.

The key criteria for the conservation of biodiversity withinAustralia’s protected area system, includeComprehensiveness, Adequacy and Representativeness(CAR). These criteria are defined in the National Strategy forthe Conservation of Australia’s Biological Diversity 1996as follows:

Comprehensiveness - the degree to which the full range ofecological communities and their biological diversity areincorporated within reserves.

Adequacy - the ability of the reserve to maintain the ecologicalviability and integrity of populations, species and communities.The interactions between reserves and surrounding areasshould be taken into account in determining the reserve’sability to meet ecological viability and integrity criteria.

Representativeness - the extent to which areas selected forinclusion in the National Reserve System are capable ofreflecting the known biological diversity and ecologicalpatterns and processes of the ecological community orecosystem concerned.

2.3 Bioregional FrameworkThis review has based its reporting framework on Australia’s 85terrestrial biogeographic regions (Interim BiogeographicRegionalisation for Australia version 5.1, EnvironmentAustralia 2000) and collated the results for those bioregionsoccurring in each of Australia’s States and Territories. A morerefined version of IBRA (Version 6.1) is now available butVersion 5.1 was used in this analysis since it was moreappropriate for the period of interest.

The Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia(IBRA) is a framework for conservation planning andsustainable natural resource management within an ecologicalcontext. Each bioregion reflects a unifying set of majorenvironmental influences that shape the occurrence of flora andfauna through their association with the physical environment.The IBRA has been adopted by the Commonwealth and allStates and Territories as the agreed planning framework toenable the systematic development of a Comprehensive,Adequate and Representative National Reserve System inAustralia.


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Figure 1: Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, Version 5.1

2.4 Major Information SourcesThis review has used a variety of information sources toassess progress in establishing a representative and wellmanaged protected area system and include:

Collaborative Australian Protected Areas Database(CAPAD) - a national database that contains information(textual and spatial) on all declared protected areas inAustralia that have been allocated an IUCN Category.CAPAD is maintained by the Australian Government (through the Department of Environment and Heritage) with the co-operation of State and Territory governments and published biennially.

The most recent version is CAPAD 2004 (Department ofEnvironment and Heritage 2004), containing information onthe extent of the protected area system up until October 2004.Previous to CAPAD, the Commonwealth publishedinformation on declared protected areas as Terrestrial andMarine Protected Areas in Australia in 1991 (Hooy andShaughnessy 1992) and Terrestrial and Marine ProtectedAreas in Australia 1997 (Cresswell and Thomas 1997), thelatter forming the basis of CAPAD 1997.

Australian Terrestrial Biodiversity Assessment, AustralianNatural Resources Atlas and Data Library - is a nationalreport (Chapter 8), web based information system anddatabase developed by the National Land and WaterResources Audit (NLWRA 2002) that contains a gap analysisof Australia’s protected area system. This analysis ofAustralia’s protected area system:

• calculates the level of Comprehensiveness, Adequacy, and Representativeness (where data are available) bothnationally and by bioregion (based on protected area dataas of 30 June 2001)

• identifies bioregional and subregional priorities toconsolidate Australia’s protected area system

• provides a summary description of the protected areasystem in each bioregion

• provides a listing of 1500 broad regional ecosystems thatare either not reserved or inadequately reserved

• describes the standard of management of the protectedarea estate in each bioregion.

In addition, this assessment describes more than 2800threatened ecosystems (ecological communities) (Chapter 4).The Australian Natural Resources Atlas is at:www.environment.gov.au/atlas

This information has been complemented subsequently with additional data from Western Australia and is presentedin this report.

IBRA Version 5.1 - provided summary descriptions of eachbioregion (Environment Australia 2000). This information wascombined with specific State and Territory information onprotected area priorities in each bioregion from NLWRA(2002) to develop Part C of this report.

United Nations List of Protected Areas - is an internationaldatabase maintained by IUCN and the World ConservationMonitoring Centre (UNEP - WCMC) and derived from theWorld Database on Protected Areas (United NationsEnvironment Programme - World Conservation MonitoringCentre (UNEP-WCMC) 2003, World Database on ProtectedAreas (WDPA) Version 6. Contained on the World ResourcesInstitute Earthtrends: the environmental information portal(http://earthtrends.wri.org). The exclusion of Europeancountries in the 2006 World Database on Protected Areasprecluded its use in this review.

The Australian Government and State and Territoryconservation agencies - were requested to provideinformation on funding provided by their respectivegovernment for the acquisition of new lands for the NationalReserve System for financial years 1993/94 to 2002/03. For a number of jurisdictions the annual State expenditure on protected area acquisition over this period is not availableor was not forthcoming from some agencies.

The Australian Government, States and Territories andsome non-government organisations - were requested tonominate a short list of their most significant protected areaacquisitions from 1992-2002.


2.5 Methodology to Calculate Level ofComprehensiveness of the National ReserveSystem

The Australian Terrestrial Biodiversity Assessment (NLWRA2002), Australian Natural Resources Atlas and the NLWRAdata library, provides statistics on Comprehensiveness,Adequacy, and Representativeness of the National ReserveSystem both nationally and by bioregion, for both IUCNCategories I-IV and for Categories V-VI.

This was the first national assessment of theComprehensiveness of Australia’s protected area system. It assessed the degree to which broad regional ecosystems, in most cases at a scale of 1:100 000 - 1:250 000, are sampled in the protected area system across each bioregion.

The NLWRA analysis of Comprehensiveness was constrainedby the availability of data which only enabled an assessmentof 68 of the 85 bioregions. Subsequently, bioregional data hasbecome available from Western Australia and has beenincluded in Table 5.

The median value of the Comprehensiveness of the protectedarea system in the principal bioregions in each State andTerritory was calculated. The principal bioregions were those with the largest area occurring in each jurisdiction. The specific median value is not presented owing to thecoarseness of this approach. Rather that value was allocated to a Comprehensiveness benchmark class (A to D) for rankingon the Report Card.

Representativeness was calculated in the NLWRA’sassessment by the degree to which ecological communities aresampled in protected areas across their subregional range toincorporate ecological variation within ecologicalcommunities. This assessment was constrained by the lack ofspatial vegetation data at an appropriate scale and thusRepresentativeness is not treated further in this evaluation.

The Australian Guidelines for establishing the NationalReserve System (ANZECC) (1999) stressed that increasing the Comprehensiveness of the national protected area system,particularly in bioregions where biodiversity is poorlyconserved, should be the primary focus with the selection ofpriority additions based primarily on the principles ofComprehensiveness, viability and vulnerability to loss.

These ANZECC guidelines recognised that as well as theCAR criteria, consideration should be given to the ecologicalrequirements of rare and threatened species and ecologicalcommunities and special groups of organisms such asmigratory species. The success of the protected area system in addressing this issue is difficult to assess. However, theNLWRA’s assessment has shown continuing decline for allspecies groups across large areas of Australia. It is recognisedthat biodiversity decline can not be addressed throughprotected areas alone and depends on integrated recoveryresponses between protected areas and the wider landscape.

The bioregional priorities for consolidating the NationalReserve System described in Part C are based on the analysisof Comprehensiveness as well as the bioregional threats tobiodiversity.

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2.6 Methodology to CalculateExtent (Adequacy) andChange in Protected Area Extent

Adequacy of the protected area system is only crudelyreflected by the area reserved in each bioregion, recognisingthat such a surrogate does not reflect the ecological needs ofspecific species and ecosystems to remain viable. These needsare difficult to quantify and include: context with thesurrounding landscape, connectivity, resilience and habitatquality, particularly for threatened and endemic species.

The change in Extent of the protected area estate over theevaluation period has been assessed from the Terrestrial andMarine Protected Areas in Australia (1991) report and theCollaborative Australian Protected Areas Database versionsCAPAD1997, CAPAD2000, CAPAD 2002 and CAPAD2004.These reports provide reference information and summarystatistics on the extent of protected areas reserved for natureconservation from 30 June 1991 to 30 November 2004. Thecurrency of these statistics for terrestrial protected areas is asfollows:

• Terrestrial and Marine Protected Areas in Australia (1991)report: current as of 30 June 1991

• CAPAD 1997: the least current information is 30 June1996 (ACT, Queensland, South Australia and WesternAustralia) and the most recent is 15 July 1997 (Victoria)

• CAPAD 2000: the least current information is dated 31 December 1998 and the most current is 30 September2000

• CAPAD 2002: the least current information is datedOctober 2001 (Queensland) and the most recent is 11 September 2002.

• CAPAD 2004: the least current information is dated 4 March 2004 (NSW) and the most recent is 22 November 2004 (SA) with the exception of additionalinformation supplied on private protected areas dated 5 May 2005 and protected areas in Tasmania dated 31 July 2005.

Summary statistics pertaining to the extent of protected areasin IUCN Categories I-IV and V-VI were collated to determinethe absolute and relative change in extent between 30 June1991 (before the National Reserve System initiative wasannounced) and 2004. The four datasets are comparable butdiffer in terms of information on Indigenous Protected Areasand private protected areas. Some private protected areas alsoare held in CAPAD 2004 only in the Summary Statistics andnot in the spatial data.

2.7 Methodology to Calculate the Standard of Management ofProtected Areas

The National Land and Water Resources Audit (2002)assessed the management standard of reserves (non privatelands) as an average across each bioregion. The reservemanagement classes are shown in Table 2. This assessmentpublished by the NLWRA has been subsequentlycomplemented by data on all bioregions and subregions inWestern Australia and is incorporated into this evaluation.This evaluation of appropriate management class was carriedout by a number of agency staff in each jurisdiction.

The median Standard of Management across all bioregions ineach jurisdiction has subsequently been calculated to gaugeoverall jurisdictional performance against the Report Cardbenchmarks.


2.8 Benchmarks for Australia’sProtected Area ReportCard

To date, no overall benchmark has been developed to gaugeprogress towards establishing a representative protected areasystem across Australia and one that is well managed.Jurisdictions have used some of the CAR measures, e.g.Queensland from the late 1980s to 1990s used bioregionalComprehensiveness as the principal measure to systematicallyplan for the consolidation of its National Park system (Sattler 1992).

Benchmarks are provided for Comprehensiveness, Extent andStandard of Management as three key components inevaluating the national protected area system, refer Table 3.These establishment and management benchmarks provide aneffective basis for developing the Report Card and to rank theperformance of each jurisdiction.

To ensure a consistent data timeline, the 2002 Extent figuresare combined with Comprehensiveness and Standard ofManagement as of that time to develop the Report Card.

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Table 3: Protected Area System Benchmarks

Comprehensiveness Extent Standard of Rank(% representation (% area Managementof ecosystems reservedacross all per State/bioregions) Territory)>85 >15 Very good AAA70-85 10-15 Good BBB55-<70 5-<10 Fair CCC<55/Unknown <5 Poor/Unknown DDD

Table 2: Protected area Standard of Managementclasses (NLWRA 2002)

Management Descriptionclass

Very good High proportion of parks have parkmanagement plans, ecological monitoringprograms in place and key biodiversity issues are being addressed

Good Major biodiversity issues effectivelymanaged

Fair Biodiversity values and or managementissues are poorly identified; resourcedegradation is occurring though retrievable

Poor High visitor impact and/or other threateningprocesses that are not managed and areleading to permanent resource degradationin a number of parks.

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3.1 International ComparisonThe latest available figures show that Australia’s terrestrialprotected area system (IUCN protected area Categories I-VI)covers 10.5% of the total land area (CAPAD 2004).

To enable a more consistent international comparison thissection of the report uses comparative data available in theUNEP-WCMC 2003 report, refer Table 4. In this 2003 report,Australia’s protected areas (IUCN protected area Categories I-VI) extended over 10.1%, which was below the overallworld average of 11.3 %.

Australia ranks 16th out of the 30 OECD countries in terms of the per cent land area reserved. The three countries with themost expansive park systems are Austria (36.4%), Germany(32.7%) and Switzerland (28.7%). Corresponding figures forother countries are: New Zealand (24.0% - rank 5th), USA(United States of America) (16.0% - rank 10th) and Canada(6.3% - rank 21st).

When excluding the principal multiple resource use Category(Category VI), Australia again ranks 16th for protected areaCategories I-V (7.1%): the top three countries are againAustria (32.3%), Germany (29.3%) and Switzerland (28.7%).For these Categories, New Zealand (23.7%) ranks 4th , USA(8.6%) ranks 12th and Canada (5.2%) ranks 18th.

However, Australia ranks highly for Categories I-II, namely3rd at 6.7% after New Zealand (7.2%) and the SlovakRepublic (7.0%). For these Categories, the USA (5.8%) ranks4th, Norway (4.7%) ranks 5th and Canada (4.6%) ranks 6th.

Australia is in many ways unique and cannot be compareddirectly to most other countries. Many European countries arerelatively small and have high population densities. They havebeen developed over many centuries and typically have a largepercentage of their reserves in the higher Categories (V-VI),protected landscapes and multiple use areas. Australia bycontrast is arguably more comparable to OECD countries ofcontinental scale and of similar settlement history, such asNew Zealand, USA and Canada.

Australia is characterised by (i) large continental scale, (ii) low population density, (iii) large proportion of arid andsemi-arid land and (iv) relatively short history of Europeansettlement. The most comparable country is probably Canada,to which Australia compares favourably with modestly greaterpercentages of land areas in each of the IUCN Categories I-II(6.7% vs 4.6%), I-V (7.1% vs 5.2%), and I-VI (10.1% vs6.3%) . The second most comparable country is the USA (butwith much higher population and much lower proportion ofarid and semi-arid land). In comparison to the USA, Australiahas reserved more in Categories I-II (6.7% vs 5.8%) but muchless overall for Categories I-VI (10.1% vs 16.0%).

Australia has obvious social and historical connections to itsnear neighbour New Zealand. In comparison to New Zealand,Australia’s protected areas are significantly less in CategoriesI-VI (10.1 vs 24.0%), but only slightly less in Categories I-II(6.7% vs 7.2%).

Part A Evaluation and Scorecard

21Building Nature’s Safety NetA Review of Australia’s Terrestrial Protected Area System, 1991 – 2004

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Table 4: Comparison of the extent of protected areas in OECD countries in 2003 for IUCN Protected Area Categories I-II, I-V, and I-VI1,2. Countries are ranked by percentage of total area in Categories I-VI.

Rank Country Total Area Protected Protected Protected Per cent of(IUCN (000 ha) Area Extent, Area Extent, Area Extent, Total Land AreaI-VI) (IUCN I-II) (IUCN I-V) (IUCN I-VI)

(000 ha) (000 ha) (000 ha) (IUCN I-II I-V I-VI)3

1 Austria 8,386 47.4 2,712.6 3,049.6 0.6 32.3 36.42 Germany 35,698 129.5 10,444.6 11,660.7 0.4 29.3 32.73 Switzerland 4,129 16.9 1,185.1 1,185.1 0.4 28.7 28.74 Denmark 4,309 10.7 933.1 1,093.6 0.2 21.7 25.45 New Zealand 27,053 1,934.6 6,414.6 6,485.0 7.2 23.7 24.06 Netherlands 4,084 41.6 175.2 950.4 1.0 4.3 23.37 Poland 32,325 522.5 3,698.8 7,314.6 1.6 11.4 22.68 Slovak Republic 4,901 344.4 1,096.7 0 7.0 22.4 22.49 Luxembourg 259 0 37 44 0.0 14.3 17.0 10 United States

of America 936,352 54,317.5 80,450.6 149,796.9 5.8 8.6 16.011 Czech Republic 7,886 85.6 1247.0 1,254.3 1.1 15.8 15.912 Japan 37,780 637.8 3,123.4 5,334.0 1.7 8.3 14.113 France4 55,150 258.9 6186.8 6,186.0 0.5 11.2 11.214 Italy 30,127 468.1 2,190.7 3,376.5 1.6 7.3 11.215 United Kingdom 24,488 0.0 136.3 2,551.5 0.0 0.6 10.416 Australia5 768,827 51,398.2 54,803.2 77,462.0 6.7 7.1 10.117 Spain 50,599 160.4 4,058.8 4,663.9 0.3 8.0 9.218 Hungary 9,303 224.0 820.6 829.9 2.4 8.8 8.919 Finland 33,815 998.8 1,059.8 2,964.7 3.0 3.1 8.820 Sweden 44,996 1,743.1 3189.0 0 3.9 7.1 7.121 Canada 997,061 45,636.2 52,070.9 62,879.1 4.6 5.2 6.322 Norway 32,388 1,529.2 1,952.5 1,972.7 4.7 6.0 6.123 Portugal 9,198 31.9 398.7 469.9 0.3 4.3 5.124 Mexico 195,820 1,188.9 1,205.3 9,901.7 0.6 0.6 5.125 Iceland 10,300 177.0 475.8 0 1.7 4.6 4.626 Korea, Rep 9,926 0.0 350.1 353.9 0.0 3.5 3.627 Turkey 77,482 380.0 571.2 2,754.0 0.5 0.7 3.628 Belgium 3,051 0.0 83.1 104.8 0.0 2.7 3.429 Greece 13,196 79.2 239.0 427.2 0.6 1.8 3.230 Ireland 7,028 53.5 69.4 159.4 0.8 1.0 2.3

Notes1 Marine and littoral protected areas are excluded from these totals2 For inclusion in this dataset, protected areas must be specifically designated by a national government and also be larger than 1,000 hectares3 Underlined figure indicates that more than 50% of the total protected area is in IUCN Management Category 6.4 Data for France include French Guiana and Guadeloupe5 Data from CAPAD 2002 provided to World Database on Protected Areas Consortium

3.2 National Comparison3.2.1 Comprehensiveness by BioregionThe Comprehensiveness of the protected area estate in eachbioregion is shown in Table 5. Table 5 also provides asummary of combined data on Comprehensiveness, Extent(Adequacy) and Standard of Management, discussed below as of June 2001.

The overall ranking score (median value) of theComprehensiveness of the protected area estate in theprincipal bioregions in each State and the Northern Territoryis calculated and shown in the report card in Table 20.

Table 5 retains the CAPAD 2002 extent data which closelyrelate to when Comprehensiveness was calculated by theNLWRA (2002) assessment: this being the last nation-wideattempt to collate such data. This 2002 data are used todevelop the report card. Elsewhere in this report however, themore recent CAPAD 2004 data on extent are presented withthe extent per IUCN Category shown for each bioregion in Table 14.

A map of Australia’s protected areas is shown in Figure 2.

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Figure 2: Australia’s protected areas showing IUCN Categories I-IV and V-VI

Note See inside front cover for source information, acknowledgements, and map projection.

Table 5: Comprehensiveness, Extent and Standard of Management of Australia’s protected area system ineach bioregion (data current as of June 2001).

IBRA Bioregion Total Area Area Compre- Compre- Extent Extent Mang’tcode area (ha) reserved reserved hensiveness hensiveness (I-IV)% (V-VI)% Standard

(IUCN (IUCN (I-IV)%1 (V-VI)%1I-IV) ha V-VI) ha

AA AustralianAlps 793019 611705 241 93 4 77.14 0.03 Fair

ARC ArnhemCoast 3300097 0 0 0 0 0 0 -

ARP ArnhemPlateau 2306033 484825 0 62 0 21.02 0 Very good

AW AvonWheatbelt 9517104 134609 20693 60 ? 1.41 0.22 Poor

BBN BrigalowBelt North 13552769 160582 17556 54 6 1.18 0.13 Fair

BBS BrigalowBelt South 26926569 719504 44317 54 5 2.67 0.16 Fair

BEL Ben Lomond 657506 71554 545 63 7 10.88 0.08 Good BHC Broken Hill

Complex 5702887 79965 15516 92 8 1.4 0.27 Fair BRT Burt Plain 7379739 19093 100 12 0 0.26 0 Fair CA Central

Arnhem 3461518 0 0 0 0 0 0 - CAR Carnarvon 8377095 318580 67659 46 ? 3.8 0.81 Fair CHC Channel

Country 28475229 699142 1233985 48 3 2.46 4.33 FairCK Central

Kimberley 7675587 357951 2 15 0 4.66 0 Poor/FairCMC Central

Mackay Coast 1442766 144559 8931 71 11 10.02 0.62 GoodCOO Coolgardie 12912209 1339065 453029 53 ? 10.37 3.51 Fair/Good CP Cobar

Peneplain 7350084 116771 61748 70 30 1.59 0.84 Fair CR Central Ranges 10117745 0 313038 0 ? 0 3.09 - CYP Cape York

Peninsula 12117469 1414783 166641 80 2 11.68 1.38 PoorDAB Daly Basin 2092232 30296 18023 31 6 1.45 0.86 Very good DAC Darwin Coastal 2801057 785691 26426 68 0 28.05 0.94 Fair DEU Desert Uplands 7032206 167991 162111 27 8 2.39 2.31 FairDL Dampierland 8371142 91239 24 20 ? 1.09 0 Poor/Fair DMR Davenport

Murchison Ranges 5805106 113997 1816 11 ? 1.96 0.03 Fair

DRP Darling Riverine Plains 10652242 87342 224158 40 20 0.82 2.1 Poor

EIU EinasleighUplands 11851756 286864 45094 35 8 2.42 0.38 Fair

ESP EsperancePlains 2906794 966334 4447 78 ? 33.24 0.15 Fair

EYB Eyre YorkeBlock 6078578 813122 1408 ? ? 13.38 0.02 -

FIN Finke 7379574 411 1736 ? 4 0.01 0.02 Good FLB Flinders Lofty

Block 7126107 376868 0 ? 0 5.29 0 - FLI Flinders 528431 90043 25665 75 11 17.04 4.86 Fair GAS Gascoyne 18075257 384878 0 14 0 2.13 0 FairGAW Gawler 12360777 1341744 247838 ? ? 10.85 2.01 Fair GD Gibson Desert 15628919 2067479 0 46 0 13.23 0 Fair/GoodGFU Gulf Fall

and Uplands 11847886 119334 83475 15 19 1.01 0.7 Good GS Geraldton

Sandplains 3966818 581113 164134 74 ? 14.65 4.14 Poor GSD Great Sandy

Desert 39524952 1005582 0 17 0 2.54 0 Poor GUC Gulf Coastal 2687552 4931 0 1 0 0.18 0 Fair GUP Gulf Plains 21939710 543820 8567 16 4 2.48 0.04 FairGVD Great Victoria

Desert 41875439 5883099 4436236 44 ? 14.05 10.59 Fair/GoodHAM Hampton 1087879 134486 0 67 0 12.36 0 Poor/Fair JF Jarrah Forest 4507955 244587 1724606 38 47 5.43 38.26 Fair KAN Kanmantoo 810577 151948 296 ? ? 18.75 0.04 Fair KIN King 426027 35242 34305 66 9 8.27 8.05 Fair

24

25

IBRA Bioregion Total Area Area Compre- Compre- Extent Extent Mang’tcode area (ha) reserved reserved hensiveness hensiveness (I-IV)% (V-VI)% Standard

(IUCN (IUCN (I-IV)%1 (V-VI)%1I-IV) ha V-VI) ha

LSD Little SandyDesert 11089857 558448 0 22 0 5.04 0 Poor

MAC MacDonnellRanges 3929421 346236 25039 52 4 8.81 0.64 Very good

MAL Mallee 7394964 1493453 1121 65 ? 20.2 0.02 FairMDD Murray Darling

Depression 19749274 2528698 447889 43 11 12.8 2.27 Fair MGD Mitchell Grass

Downs 33513747 379494 29732 33 1 1.13 0.09 FairMII Mount Isa Inlier 6664113 175418 5488 18 0 2.63 0.08 FairML Mulga Lands 25299584 653567 82033 57 4 2.58 0.32 Fair MUR Murchison 28120554 443899 339371 40 ? 1.58 1.21 FairNAN Nandewar 2698796 48257 2728 54 6 1.79 0.1 Fair NCP Naracoorte

Coastal Plain 2542082 159021 0 60 0 6.26 0 - NET New England

Tableland 3004184 199374 11385 84 4 6.64 0.38 Poor NK Northern

Kimberley 8388921 1085329 49451 35 ? 12.94 0.59 Poor/FairNNC NSW

North Coast 5925127 991939 69165 93 3 16.74 1.17 Fair NSS NSW South

Western Slopes 8674115 97248 81786 84 15 1.12 0.94 Fair NUL Nullarbor 19721792 3576772 3053147 44 ? 18.14 15.48 Fair/Good OVP Ord

Victoria Plain 12540691 671582 0 4 0 5.36 0 Fair PCK Pine Creek 2851787 1203961 12402 76 ? 42.22 0.43 Very good PIL Pilbara 17853194 1250881 64241 36 7 7.01 0.36 Fair/GoodRIV Riverina 9589487 82334 133515 30 15 0.86 1.39 Poor SB Sydney Basin 3632890 1275681 21908 92 8 35.11 0.6 Fair SCP South East

Coastal Plain 1697114 121790 1636 43 ? 7.18 0.1 Good SEC South East

Corner 2701388 930327 14864 93 ? 34.44 0.55 Good SEH South Eastern

Highlands 8743280 1310289 111982 89 5 14.99 1.28 Poor SEQ South Eastern

Queensland 5943821 369169 4929 86 3 6.21 0.08 FairSSD Simpson

StrzeleckiDunefields 29417921 3313149 4819103 13 19 11.26 16.38 Poor

STP Stony Plains 13419615 721896 10910 ? ? 5.38 0.08 - STU Sturt Plateau 9857524 20534 0 16 0 0.21 0 Good SWA Swan

Coastal Plain 1512428 159885 50850 79 ? 10.57 3.36 Fair TAN Tanami 25997236 0 239417 0 4 0 0.92 Fair TCH Tasmanian

CentralHighlands 767856 229321 149485 63 32 29.87 19.47 Very good

TIW Tiwi Cobourg 996377 203375 0 44 0 20.41 0 Good TMI Tasmanian

NorthernMidlands 415439 2957 3977 29 23 0.71 0.96 Fair

TNS TasmanianNorthern Slopes 623510 56749 5644 57 12 9.1 0.91 Good

TSE Tasmanian South East 1098227 98462 17178 78 8 8.97 1.56 Good

TSR Tasmanian Southern

Ranges 778006 304837 6494 84 7 39.18 0.83 Very good TWE Tasmanian

West 1551567 847679 258865 48 39 54.63 16.68 Very good VB Victoria

Bonaparte 7269232 885590 463 47 ? 12.18 0.01 Fair VM Victorian

Midlands 3782092 290093 4592 62 ? 7.67 0.12 Good VVP Victorian

Volcanic Plain 2162141 27837 1075 25 ? 1.29 0.05 Good WAR Warren 844153 296864 331953 93 ? 35.17 39.32 Fair WT Wet Tropics 1984466 376204 5719 73 1 18.96 0.29 PoorYAL Yalgoo 4254289 492838 107350 31 ? 11.58 2.52 Fair

NNoottee1 In WA where Comprehensiveness data does not distinguish between I-IV and V-VI Category protected areas, it is represented as a combined figure

under I-IV categories.

26

3.2.2 Change in Protected Area Extent,1991-2004

The Extent of Australia’s protected areas by jurisdiction forIUCN protected area Categories I-IV and the overall I-VICategories are shown in Table 6. Figure 3 and Table 6 showthe increase in protected areas in these Categories over theperiod 1991-2004 using reports for the years 1991, 1997,2000, 2002 and 2004. The table shows the areas in hectaresand as percentages relative to the total land area of eachjurisdiction.

Table 6 shows that in 2004, Australia had 7.26% of its landarea as reserves (IUCN I -IV) and a further 3.26 % as otherprotected areas including Indigenous Protected Areas (IUCNV-VI). The table shows the Australian Capital Territory havingthe highest percentage area reserved in both Categories(54.73%) and Queensland, the most biodiverse State inAustralia, with the least (4.98%); Northern Territory(including the Australian Government protected areas withinthe Territory) has the next least (5.14%).

More detailed information about the extent and change inextent by each IUCN protected area Category is provided inTable 7.

For the 13 year period from 1991- 2004, the area of protectedestate added across Australia totalled 31,382,578 ha or 4.08%.Of this amount, 15,636,891 ha or 2.03% was IUCN Categoryprotected areas I-IV.

The overall change in area added for each State and Territoryover the past 13 years of IUCN Categories I-IV and I-VI isshown in Tables 8 and 9. These tables also rank the areaacquired by each jurisdiction.

Table 8 shows that the largest areas added in Categories I-IVwere in South Australia, 6,240,449 ha, Queensland, 2,997,380 ha and third, the Northern Territory, 2,457,394 ha(including Kakadu and Uluru-Kata Tjuta under AustralianGovernment jurisdiction).

With the inclusion of predominately multiple use reserves,(Category V-VI protected areas) as shown in shown in Table 9, the rankings change with Western Australia havingthe largest area with a total (Category I-VI) addition of11,667,560 ha or 4.62% of the State, and South Australia with8,576,600 ha or 8.71% of the State. Queensland ranks thirdwith 4,477,841 ha or 2.59% of the State.

A minor component of the changes in Extent shown in Tables 6-10 reflect administrative reclassification of existingareas between IUCN Categories. The apparent decline inExtent in IUCN I-IV protected areas in Tasmania is from thereclassification of some reserves from IUCN I-IV to V-VI.

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

Pro

tect

ed a

rea

exte

nt (%

)

Year

National Total (I-IV) National Total (V-VI)

Figure 3: Change in protected area Extent,1991-2004

Bilb

y, T

errit

ory

Wild

life

Par

k, N

T. ©

WW

F/K

lein

Hub

ert

27

Tab

le 6

: E

xten

t an

d c

hang

e in

Ext

ent

of

pro

tect

ed a

reas

by

juri

sdic

tion,

199

1- 2

004

No

tes

1To

tal l

and

area

s fo

r ea

ch ju

risdi

ctio

n on

the

Aus

tralia

n m

ainl

and

(incl

udin

g Ta

sman

ia) a

re fr

om C

APA

D 2

002;

this

dat

a is

bas

ed o

n th

e A

US

LIG

dat

aset

of G

eosc

ienc

eA

ustra

lia.

2P

rote

cted

are

as in

the

tabl

e ar

e ga

zette

d ar

eas

supp

lied

from

eac

h ju

risdi

ctio

n fo

r co

mpi

latio

n of

CA

PAD

199

1 -

2004

, unl

ess

othe

rwis

e no

ted.

3P

erce

ntag

e la

nd a

reas

refe

r to

tota

l lan

d ar

eas

as a

t not

e 1.

4Th

ese

prot

ecte

d ar

eas

are

Kak

adu

(NT,

1,9

80,4

00ha

), U

luru

-Kat

a Tj

uta

(NT,

132

,566

ha),

Boo

dere

e (J

ervi

s B

ay N

SW

, 6,3

12ha

) and

the

Aus

tralia

n N

atio

nal B

otan

icG

arde

ns (A

CT,

90h

a); e

xter

nal A

ustra

lian

Terr

itorie

s ar

e ex

clud

ed; a

reas

and

enc

losi

ng ju

risdi

ctio

ns a

re in

dica

ted

in b

rack

ets.

Kak

adu

and

Boo

dere

e in

clud

e m

arin

eco

mpo

nent

s, b

ut th

ese

are

excl

uded

as

the

scop

e of

this

repo

rt is

con

fined

to te

rrest

rial p

rote

cted

are

as.

5Ex

clud

es B

oode

ree

(6,3

12ha

) und

er A

ustra

lian

Gov

ernm

ent j

uris

dict

ion.

6To

tal a

rea

incl

udes

29,

036h

a of

Flo

ra R

eser

ves

not a

lloca

ted

to IU

CN

Cat

egor

ies

as o

f CA

PAD

200

0.

7Ex

clud

es K

akad

u an

d U

luru

-Kat

a Tj

uta

(und

er A

ustra

lian

Gov

ernm

ent j

uris

dict

ion)

.8

Incl

udes

Kak

adu

and

Ulu

ru-K

ata

Tjut

a (u

nder

Aus

tralia

n G

over

nmen

t jur

isdi

ctio

n).

9Th

e to

tal p

rote

cted

are

a in

the

Tabl

e fo

r al

l IU

CN

Cat

egor

ies

for

2000

dis

agre

es w

ith th

e fig

ure

of 6

0,27

3,03

0ha

stat

ed o

n th

e C

APA

D 2

000

web

site

as

the

tota

lpr

otec

ted

area

for

mai

nlan

d A

ustra

lia (i

nclu

ding

Tas

man

ia);

the

disc

repa

ncy

of 5

06,8

74ha

has

not

yet

bee

n re

solv

ed.

10Fo

r ex

plan

atio

n of

neg

ativ

e va

lue

for

Tasm

ania

, see

Tab

le 2

8, p

g.48

. N

A =

not

app

licab

le

Juris

dict

ion

Tota

l lan

dIU

CNPr

otec

ted

%3

Prot

ecte

d%

3Pr

otec

ted

%3

Prot

ecte

d%

3Pr

otec

ted

%3

Chan

ge in

Chan

ge in

area

(ha)

1Ca

te-

Area

(ha)

2Ar

ea (h

a)2

Area

(ha)

2Ar

ea (h

a)2

Area

(ha)

2Ar

ea (h

a),

Area

/go

ry(3

0 Ju

ne(1

997)

(200

0)(2

002)

(200

4)19

91 -

To

tal l

and

1991

)20

04ar

ea (%

)3

Com

mon

wea

lth4

NAI -

IV2,

117,

105

NA2,

119,

278

NA2,

119,

368

NA2,

119,

368

NA2,

212,

030

NA94

,925

NAI -

VI

2,11

7,10

5NA

2,11

9,27

8NA

2,11

9,36

8NA

2,11

9,36

8NA

2,21

2,03

0NA

94,9

25NA

Aust

ralia

n Ca

pita

lTe

rrito

ry23

5,81

3I -

IV10

0,19

542

.49

122,

527

51.9

612

3,03

252

.17

128,

2125

54.3

712

9,06

154

.73

28,8

6612

.24

I - V

I10

1,49

543

.04

123,

827

52.5

112

3,03

252

.17

128,

2125

54.3

712

9,06

154

.73

27,5

6611

.69

New

Sou

th W

ales

5,6

80,1

21,2

68I -

IV3,

867,

132

4.83

4,12

1,68

65.

144,

908,

561

6.13

5,27

9,55

96.

595,

901,

806

7.37

2,03

4,67

42.

54I -

VI

3,88

8,95

04.

854,

274,

068

5.33

4,95

3,21

76.

185,

329,

996

6.65

6,12

7,97

17.

652,

239,

021

2.79

Nort

hern

Ter

ritor

y713

2,65

9,39

4I -

I V

1,94

7,04

51.

472,

775,

631

2.09

2,61

7,77

11.

974,

102,

332

3.09

4,40

4,43

93.

322,

457,

394

1.85

I - V

I2,

114,

413

1.59

2,95

4,77

92.

233,

012,

590

2.27

4,37

7,15

63.

304,

818,

869

3.63

2,70

4,45

62.

04No

rthe

rn T

errit

ory8

134,

778,

762

I - IV

4,06

0,01

13.

014,

888,

597

3.63

4,73

0,73

73.

516,

215,

298

4.61

6,51

7,40

54.

842,

457,

394

1.82

I - V

I4,

227,

379

3.14

5,06

7,74

53.

765,

125,

556

3.80

6,49

0,12

24.

826,

931,

835

5.14

2,70

4,45

62.

01Qu

eens

land

172,

973,

671

I - IV

4,13

8,78

72.

396,

320,

762

3.65

6,67

9,35

83.

866,

771,

316

3.91

7,13

6,16

74.

132,

997,

380

1.73

I - V

I4,

141,

586

2.39

6,64

5,49

43.

846,

938,

764

4.01

7,12

0,21

74.

128,

619,

427

4.98

4,47

7,84

12.

59So

uth

Aust

ralia

98,4

22,1

37I -

IV7,

516,

857

7.64

10,3

11,8

2110

.48

10,3

68,7

4110

.53

13,7

49,5

2313

.97

13,7

57,3

0613

.98

6,24

0,44

96.

34I -

VI

16,6

75,0

8016

.94

20,9

57,9

2821

.29

21,1

24,5

7421

.46

25,2

43,9

0025

.65

25,2

51,6

8025

.66

8,57

6,60

08.

71Ta

sman

ia6,

840,

133

I - IV

1,78

3,66

126

.08

1,47

9,58

021

.63

1,66

5,49

924

.35

1,71

5,37

925

.08

1,72

3,79

525

.20

-59,

866

-0.8

810

I - V

I1,

801,

554

26.3

42,

164,

861

31.6

52,

201,

962

32.1

92,

549,

914

37.2

82,

590,

444

37.8

778

8,89

011

.53

Vict

oria

22,7

54,3

64I -

IV2,

940,

115

12.9

23,

301,

034

14.5

13,

282,

660

14.4

33,

320,

247

14.5

93,

456,

046

15.1

951

5,93

12.

27I -

VI

2,94

0,36

412

.92

3,40

6,25

314

.97

3,37

7,56

814

.84

3,42

4,34

115

.05

3,74

6,08

316

.46

805,

719

3.54

Wes

tern

Aus

tral

ia25

2,70

0,80

8I -

IV15

,731

,974

6.23

15,9

27,5

196.

3015

,909

,195

6.30

16,8

28,4

206.

6617

,059

,112

6.75

1,32

7,13

80.

53I -

VI

15,7

31,9

746.

2315

,927

,519

6.30

15,9

15,0

816.

3027

,168

,847

10.7

527

,399

,534

10.8

411

,667

,560

4.62

NATI

ONAL

TOT

ALS9

768,

826,

956

I - IV

40,1

42,8

715.

2246

,479

,838

6.05

47,6

74,1

856.

2054

,014

,356

7.03

55,7

79,7

627.

2615

,636

,891

2.03

I - V

I49

,512

,521

6.44

58,5

74,0

077.

6259

,766

,156

7.77

77,4

61,9

5110

.08

80,8

95,0

9910

.52

31,3

82,5

784.

08

28

No

tes

1 H

AA

(Her

itage

Agr

eem

ent A

reas

in S

outh

Aus

tralia

. Onl

y re

porte

d si

nce

2002

. 2

This

tabl

e do

es n

ot in

clud

e in

form

atio

n on

Aus

tralia

’s e

xter

nal t

errit

orie

s

Tab

le 7

:C

hang

e in

Ext

ent

of

terr

estr

ial p

rote

cted

are

as b

y IU

CN

Pro

tect

ed A

rea

Cat

ego

ry, 1

991-

200

4.(P

erce

ntag

es a

re r

elat

ive

to t

ota

l lan

d a

rea

of

Aus

tral

ia, 7

68,8

26,9

56ha

).

IUCN

19

9119

9720

0020

0220

04Ca

tego

ry /

Year

No.

Area

(ha)

%

No.

Area

(ha)

%No

.Ar

ea (h

a)%

No.

Area

(ha)

%No

.Ar

ea (h

a)%

Ia38

984

2,16

20.

112,

030

19,4

05,6

852.

521,

973

17,9

65,8

132.

342,

006

18,1

03,2

552.

352,

090

18,2

12,6

952.

37Ia

(HAA

)10

00

0.00

00

0.00

1,19

356

4,68

20.

070

00.

00Ib

052

2,95

2,11

20.

3849

3,91

8,96

50.

5132

3,96

3,35

60.

5238

4,09

9,51

50.

53II1

475

27,0

65,1

493.

5259

623

,511

,594

3.06

600

25,1

92,4

543.

2864

128

,766

,907

3.74

644

29,6

78,1

003.

86III

1005

322,

963

0.04

847

339,

625

0.04

660

271,

657

0.04

696

390,

948

0.05

2,01

997

0,51

70.

13IV

1329

11,9

25,3

821.

551,

542

270,

822

0.04

1,39

632

5,29

60.

041,

528

2,22

5,20

80.

292,

060

2,81

8,93

50.

37I -

IV T

otal

3,19

840

,155

,656

5.22

5,06

746

,479

,838

6.05

4,67

847

,674

,185

6.20

6,09

654

,014

,356

7.03

6,85

155

,779

,762

7.26

V16

79,

321,

213

1.21

3510

0,37

90.

0115

135

5,09

50.

0517

278

8,77

90.

1013

991

9,74

60.

12VI

00

0.00

279

11,7

48,5

161.

5337

611

,720

,320

1.52

452

22,6

35,7

922.

9473

024

,195

,591

3.15

V -

VI T

otal

167

9,32

1,21

31.

2131

411

,848

,895

1.54

527

12,0

75,4

151.

5762

423

4245

713.

0586

925

1153

373.

27No

ne s

peci

fied

5448

,437

0.01

252

245,

274

0.03

3416

,556

0.00

3523

,024

0.00

00

0.00

Tota

l3,

419

49,5

25,3

066.

445,

633

58,5

74,0

077.

625,

239

59,7

66,1

567.

776,

755

77,4

61,9

5110

.08

7,72

080

,895

,099

10.5

2

Notes1 Includes Kakadu and Uluru-Kata Tjuta (under Australian Government

jurisdiction).2 For explanation of negative value for Tasmania, see Table 28, pg.48.

Rank Jurisdiction Change in Change in area/area (ha) Total land

area (%)1 SA 6,333,049 6.432 QLD 2,997,380 1.733 NT1 2,457,394 1.824 NSW 2,036,914 2.545 WA 1,327,138 0.536 VIC 515,931 2.277 ACT 28,951 12.288 TAS2 -72,651 -1.06

Note1 Includes Kakadu and Uluru-Kata Tjuta (under Australian Government

jurisdiction).


area (%)1 WA 11,667,560 4.622 SA 8,669,200 8.813 QLD 4,477,841 2.594 NT1 2,704,456 2.015 NSW 2,241,260 2.806 VIC 805,719 3.547 TAS 776,105 11.358 ACT 27,651 11.73

Table 8: Ranking by State and Territory of thechange in Extent (ha) of protected areas(Categories I-IV), 1991-2004

Table 9: Ranking by State and Territory of thechange in Extent (ha) of protected areas(Categories I-VI), 1991-2004

3.2.3 Relative Change in Extent ofProtected Areas

The relative change in protected areas for each State andTerritory over the period 1991-2004 are illustrated in Figures4(a)-4(b) (IUCN Categories I-IV) and Figures 5(a)-5(b)(IUCN Categories I-VI). The protected areas are expressed asarea relative to total area of the State/Territory; in the case ofNorthern Territory the major protected areas, Kakadu andUluru-Kata Tjuta under Australian Government jurisdictionare included.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

Pro

tect

ed a

rea

exte

nt (%

)

Year

Australian CapitalTerritoryNew South WalesNorthern Territory(incl. Comm.)

QueenslandSouth AustraliaTasmaniaVictoriaWestern Australia

Figure 4(a): Change in Extent of protected areas1991-2004 for each State/Territory:IUCN Categories I-IV (percentage arearelative to total area of the State orTerritory).

Figure 4(b): Change in Extent of protected areas 1991-2004: IUCN Categories I-IVshowing expanded axis for the fivelower ranked jurisdictions (percentagearea relative to total area of theState/Territory).

0%

3%

6%

9%

12%

15%

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

Pro

tect

ed a

rea

exte

nt (%

)

Year

New South WalesNorthern Territory(incl. Comm.)

QueenslandSouth AustraliaWestern Australia


30

Figure 5(a): Change in Extent of protected areas 1991-2004 for each State/Territory: IUCNCategories I-VI (percentage area relative tototal area of the State or Territory).

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

Pro

tect

ed a

rea

exte

nt (%

)

Year

Australian CapitalTerritoryNew South WalesNorthern Territory(incl. Comm.)

QueenslandSouth AustraliaTasmaniaVictoriaWestern Australia

Figure 5(b): Change in Extent of protected areas 1991-2004: IUCN Categories I-VI showingexpanded axis for the five lower rankedjurisdictions (percentage area relative to totalarea of the State/Territory).

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

Pro

tect

ed a

rea

exte

nt (%

)

Year

New South WalesNorthern Territory(incl. Comm.)

QueenslandVictoriaWestern Australia

© B

arrit

t an

d M

ay

The change in area in relative percentage terms added perState and Territory over the past 13 years of IUCN CategoryI-IV protected areas is shown in Table 10. In terms of therelative percentage change in area gazetted in eachjurisdiction, the Australian Capital Territory increased itsIUCN protected area Categories I-IV the most by 12.24% ofits Territory and South Australia by 6.34%.

Notes1 Includes Kakadu and Uluru-Kata Tjuta (under Commonwealth jurisdiction)2 For explanation of negative value for Tasmania, see Table 28, pg.48


area (%)1 ACT 28,866 12.242 SA 6,240,449 6.343 NSW 2,034,674 2.544 VIC 515,931 2.275 NT1 2,457,394 1.826 QLD 2,997,380 1.737 WA 1,327,138 0.538 TAS2 -59,866 -0.88

Table 10: Ranking of relative change (% ofjurisdictional area) in protected areas(Categories I-IV), 1991-2004

The other key indicator is the total percentage protected areaof each jurisdiction at 2004. These figures are shown in rankorder in Tables 12 and 13 for the Categories I-IV and I-VI,respectively. The rankings are similar for the two categories,except that South Australia performs particularly well forCategory VI because of the large Walalkara and WatarruIndigenous Protected Areas (1,980,000ha).

The smaller States and Territory’s - ACT, Tasmania, Victoria -rank highly in terms of percentage of protected area (bothcategories). Queensland, the most biodiverse Sate, ranks lowor last in both measures of relative protected area status: thechange over the period 1991-2004 and total area as of 2004.

Table 11: Ranking of relative change (% of jurisdictional area) in protectedareas (Categories I-VI), 1991-2004

Notes1 The smaller percentage increase for Categories (I-VI) for the ACT is due to

Lanyon Landscape (area 1300ha) being listed in Category V as aConservation Reserve in CAPAD 1997 but from CAPAD 2000 onwardsLanyon Landscape is no longer defined as a Conservation Reserve.

2 Includes Kakadu and Uluru-Kata Tjuta (under Australian Governmentjurisdiction).


area (%)1 ACT1 27,566 11.692 TAS 788,890 11.533 SA 8,576,600 8.714 WA 11,667,560 4.625 VIC 805,719 3.546 NSW 2,239,021 2.797 QLD 4,477,841 2.598 NT2 2,704,456 2.01

As well as lands managed by the States and Territories, anumber of significant areas are managed directly by theAustralian Government. The change in protected area Extentmanaged by the Australian Government from 1991 - 2004 isshown in Table 32. This shows that the area managed by theAustralian Government has remained relatively the same overthe period.

3.2.4 Bioregional Analysis of the Extent ofAustralia’s Protected Areas

The Extent of protected areas (2004) in terms of each IUCN protected area Category in each bioregion is shown in Table 14.

The level of reservation in bioregions as of 2002 and 2004 arethen shown as per reservation class in Table 15.

In summary, as of 2004, 33 of Australia’s bioregions have lessthan 5% reserved in Categories I-VI, 11 have 5-10%, 14 have10-15% and in 27 bioregions more than 15% is reserved, referTable 15. Table 15 also shows the change in reservationclasses across bioregions between 2002 and 2004.Significantly, there was a reduction by three bioregions with <2% reserved.

Table 12: Ranking of protected areas (Categories I-IV) as percentage of jurisdictional area at 2004

Note1 Includes Kakadu and Uluru-Kata Tjuta (under Commonwealth jurisdiction)


area (%)1 ACT 129,061 54.732 TAS 1,723,795 25.203 VIC 3,456,046 15.194 SA 13,757,306 13.985 NSW 5,901,806 7.376 WA 17,059,112 6.757 NT1 6,517,405 4.848 QLD 7,136,167 4.13

Table 13: Ranking of protected areas (Categories I-VI) as percentage of jurisdictional area at 2004

Note 1 Includes Kakadu and Uluru-Kata Tjuta (under Commonwealth jurisdiction)


area (%)1 ACT 129,061 54.732 TAS 2,590,444 37.873 SA 25,251,680 25.664 VIC 3,746,083 16.465 WA 27,399,534 10.846 NSW 6,127,971 7.657 NT1 6,931,835 5.148 QLD 8,619,427 4.98

31

Tab

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9,71

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8025

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33

3.2.5 Management Standard of theProtected Area Estate

The management of Australia’s protected areas has beenassessed by State and Territory Conservation Agency staffbased upon data collected by the Terrestrial BiodiversityAssessment (NLWRA 2002) and additional data subsequentlyprovided by Western Australia. This assessment based on thecriteria in section 2.7 has involved a large number ofexperienced field staff within conservation agencies.

This assessment has been carried out in 78 of Australia’s 85 bioregions as there is some missing data for bioregions in South Australia and not all bioregions have protected areas. In 7 bioregions (9%) the management of protected areas wasassessed to be very good, 12 (15%) was good, 44 (56%) wasfair and in 15(19%) of bioregions, the management wasassessed as poor, refer Table 5.

The median management standard of protected areas acrossbioregions in each State and the Northern Territory wasdetermined to enable allocation to a benchmark class for the Report Card, refer Table 16.

34

Table 15: Reservation levels in IBRA regions, 2002 and 20041

Table 16: Ranking of Standard of Management forprotected areas across bioregions in eachjurisdiction

Note 1 CAPAD 2002 and 2004 spatial databases

Reservation Number Number Number NumberClass of IBRA of IBRA of IBRA of IBRA

Regions Regions Regions Regions(IUCN I-IV) (IUCN I-IV) (IUCN I-VI) (IUCN I-VI)

2002 2004 2002 20041 (<2%) 23 20 19 162 (2-5%) 13 15 14 173 (5-10%) 14 15 13 114 (10-15%) 14 13 14 145 (>15%) 21 22 25 27

State/Territory RankAustralian Capital Territory Very GoodTasmania GoodVictoria GoodNorthern Territory GoodQueensland FairNew South Wales FairSouth Australia Unknown/ FairWestern Australia Fair

Wes

t M

acD

onne

ll R

ange

s, N

T ©

WW

F/C

anon

, Mar

tin H

arve

y

3.3 Funding Trends forProtected AreaEstablishment, 1993-2002

3.3.1 Funding Trends by JurisdictionThe funding for protected area establishment acrossjurisdictions for the period 1993/94 to 2002-2003 is shown in Table 17.

These figures are not directly comparable with funding figuresreported by Gilligan (2006), who focussed solely on matchingexpenditures under Natural Heritage Trust 1 and 2 NationalReserve System Programme acquisitions.

Australian Government

Allocations by the Australian Government to the NationalReserve System program for land acquisitions or covenantingactivities is shown in Table 17. It indicates a high in 2001-02 of $18.9m followed in 2002-03 by a funding drop of45% to $10.4m. Subsequent analysis by found that thisdeclining trend has continued. Australian Government fundingfor land acquisitions and NRS related covenanting fell to$3.26m in 2003/04 and $4.15m in 2004/2005. This is an orderof magnitude below the investment level needed to achievethe agreed national Comprensiveness target set out in theDirections for the National Reserve System by 2010-2015(DEH unpublished data).

New South Wales

New South Wales has made a very large and consistentfunding commitment to consolidating its protected areasystem over the past decade.

Queensland

In Queensland, year by year State funding data is notavailable. However, the substantial commitment at the start of the 1990’s to fund the development of a ComprehensiveNational Park system has not continued with the exception of special issue funding for the Sugar Coast EnvironmentalRescue Package, the Daintree rainforests and conversion ofState Forests to protected areas in South East Queensland.Table 26 shows total Australian Government and Stateexpenditure on acquisitions in Queensland.

Victoria

In Victoria, a very large component (43%) of all acquisitionfunding from 1998-2004 was for the acquisition of residential land to protect the habitat of the Little Penguin at Summerland Estate on Phillip Island. From 1998 to 2004,the total State acquisition funding totalled $10,193,246.

Western Australia

Western Australia made a substantial commitment from 1999 to 2001. In 1999/2000 a one-off capital appropriation of$9.5 million was provided by the State for the purchase ofover 3,000 hectares for part of the Wellington National Parkbetween Collie and Dardanup. Other significant funding was associated with the Gascoyne-Murchison structuraladjustment package where significant areas of pastoral landwere set aside for nature conservation.

Northern Territory, South Australia and Tasmania

Little funding has been allocated in the Northern Territory to protected area expansion over the period or in those Stateswith more extensive protected area systems.

Notes

1 The State and Territory figures exclude funding provided by the Commonwealth Government under the National Reserve System Program for acquisition.2 Data sources: Environment ACT, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, WA Department of Conservation and Land Management, Tasmanian Department

of Primary Industries, Water and Environment, South Australian Department for Environment and Heritage, Queensland Environmental Protection Agency,Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment.

3 In the ACT, there is no freehold land. Tenure for privately occupied land is leasehold. During the reporting period there has been no expenditure on landacquisition. All additions to the nature conservation estate have been from unleased Territory (Crown) Land or from short-term lease with specific provisions forlease withdrawal for a public purpose. There has been a minor expense associated with compensation for lessee-owned improvements on withdrawn or expiredshort-term leases, but most significant assets have been government-owned. However, the ACT Government has foregone substantial revenue from lostdevelopment opportunities in lands where conservation values have been recognised and reservation action for conservation purposes has been undertaken.

4 Separate State figures not available for Queensland, refer Table 26, for overall expenditure in the State, including Australian Government funds.5 Note SA figures: (i) are for the South Australian Department for Environment and Heritage, not all of Government and do not include figures where the

regional offices have purchased land (this does not occur frequently but has occurred in the past); (ii) are only available from 1998/99 financial year when theComprehensive Adequate and Representative Reserve System (CARRS) Program was put in place in SA, and (iii) includes funds for assessment, acquisitionand the establishment cost of some protected areas.

6 Tasmanian government was unable to provide data on actual expenditure on protected area acquisitions, due to current reporting arrangements. Statefunding for land purchase for the financial year is $172,907 for the Priority 1 Karst Program, though in preceding years funds spent on land purchases havegenerally been less than $10,000.

7 Separate overall State figures are not available for Victoria for the period, 1993/94 - 1997-98, refer Table 30.8 WA government funds for conservation land acquisition were provided from four sources: (i) the WA Department of Conservation and Land Management’s

annual capital allocation for conservation land acquisition; (ii) an allocation under the Gascoyne-Murchison Strategy; (iii) The Crown reserves component ofthe State Salinity Strategy; (iv) capital allocation from State Treasury (property specific).

Government 1993/94 1994/95 1995/96 1996/97 1997/98 1998/99 1999/2000 2000/2001 2001/2002 2002/03 TOTALAustralian 200,000 1,000,000 1,617,500 375,700 763,124 8,651,383 5,945,098 12,452,361 18,933,864 10,365,276 60,304,306Australian Capital Territory3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0New South Wales 1,800,000 7,350,000 8,720,000 11,270,000 5,700,000 16,500,000 5,590,000 7,540,000 14,090,000 13,100,000 91,660,000Northern TerritoryQueensland4

South Australia5 nd nd nd nd nd 190,000 370,000 110,000 110,000 92,500 Tasmania6 ~10,000 ~10,000 ~10,000 ~10,000 ~10,000 ~10,000 ~10,000 ~10,000 ~10,000 172,907 ~262,910Victoria7 1,249,085 1,501,305 397,262 2,362,776 1,655,941Western Australia8 243,700 210,160 609,076 0 342,650 1,244,041 10,520,208 3,172,930 1,440,483 1,300,000 19,083,258

Table 17: Funding Trends for Protected Area Establishment by each Jurisdiction ($) 1,2

35

3.3.2 Australian Government Allocations for the National Reserve System, 1993-2002The Australian Government funding allocations under the National Reserve System program to individual jurisdictions for landacquisition or covenanting activities is shown in Table 18. Table 18 shows that New South Wales received the highest amount of $20,533,860 followed by Western Australia with $13,545,243 and Queensland with $13,401,539.

36

1993/94 1994/95 1995/96 1996/97 1997/98 1998/99 1999/2000 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 TOTAL5

Aust. GovtNo. NRS applications received 6 8 15 3 47 91 76 57 105 70 478No. NRS applications approved 1 2 10 5 18 31 38 39 87 52 283Approved Expenditure ($) 200,000 1,000,000 1,617,500 375,700 763,124 8,651,383 5,945,098 12,452,361 18,933,864 10,365,276 60,304,306ACTNo. NRS applications received 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0No. NRS applications approved 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Total funding ($) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0NSWNo. NRS applications received 1 0 2 0 15 8 11 16 20 8 81No. NRS applications approved 0 0 2 0 8 8 5 10 15 10 58Approved Expenditure ($) 0 0 492,500 217,500 92,500 2,107,635 2,148,190 2,473,608 9,685,975 3,315,952 20,533,860Northern TerritoryNo. NRS applications received 0 1 1 0 3 1 0 1 0 0 7No. NRS applications approved 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2Approved Expenditure ($) 0 0 0 0 0 0 7,500 334,000 54,545 0 396,045QueenslandNo. NRS applications received 1 1 1 1 2 7 6 15 9 23 66No. NRS applications approved 0 1 1 1 0 5 2 11 6 5 32Approved Expenditure ($) 0 1,000,000 1,125,000 0 457,500 3,320,615 582,000 1,508,193 3,617,731 1,790,500 13,401,539South AustraliaNo. NRS applications received 1 0 2 0 6 26 3 5 7 4 54No. NRS applications approved 1 0 0 ? 1 2 4 7 3 7 4 27Approved Expenditure ($) 200,000 0 0 0 188,333 654,417 912,967 2,318,489 2,697,027 511,904 7,483,137TasmaniaNo. NRS applications received 0 0 1 0 2 1 6 1 30 3 44No. NRS applications approved 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 1 25 7 37Total funding ($) 0 0 0 4,000 0 0 0 380,034 0 573,692 957,726VictoriaNo. NRS applications received 2 3 3 1 6 20 18 4 14 13 84No. NRS applications approved 0 1 3 ? 2 1 4 7 4 13 11 40Approved Expenditure ($) 0 0 0 154,200 0 424,000 422,409 425,195 810,833 1,750,120 3,986,757Western AustraliaNo. NRS applications received 1 3 5 1 13 28 32 15 25 19 142No. NRS applications approved 0 0 3 1 6 9 15 9 21 15 79Approved Expenditure ($) 0 0 0 0 24,791 2,144,716 1,872,032 5,012,842 2,067,753 2,423,109 13,545,243

Notes1 The total approved expenditure relates only to the National Reserve System Program. Other Commonwealth programs or initiatives that provided funds

for land purchase, such as the Sugar Coast Environmental Rescue Package and Daintree Rescue Package are not included. 2 The total approved expenditure relates only to funds approved for acquisition. It excludes funding approved for planning, surveying and other

non-acquisition projects.3 The approved expenditure does not necessarily equal actual expenditure since some projects did not proceed or occur in the year of approval due to

the time to negotiate settlements.4 The approved expenditure amounts do not equal the expenditure figures included in the 1995 evaluation of the National Reserve System Cooperative

Program, due to different accounting methods.5 These totals are similar but not exactly comparable with totals reported in Gilligan (2006) for the National Reserve System Programme.

Table 18: Australian Government Allocations to Jurisdictions under the National Reserve System Programfor land acquisition or covenanting activities1,2,3,4


3.3.3 Australian Government Expenditurefor Covenanting on Private Landsunder National Reserve SystemProgram

As part of the Australian Government expenditures indicatedin Tables 17 and 18, monies were allocated for covenantingactivities under the National Reserve System program toprotect key habitats on private lands. This is not the onlyallocation for this purpose by the Australian Government asfunds are also allocated under Natural Heritage Trust andNational Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality programsas part of integrated natural resource management. Fundsallocated under the National Reserve System for this purposehowever, should be highly targeted in terms of the NationalReserve System objectives and scientific criteria agreed by alljurisdictions. The expenditure for covenanting projects isprovided in Table 19. Details of the actual projects are furtherdescribed in Appendix 2.

Table 19: Funding for covenanting projectsallocated by the Australian governmentunder the NRS program

Location $ Area covenanted (ha)NSW-Southern Mallee 1,162,000 94,570NSW- Grassy White Box Woodlands 493,860 2,400Tas. Forest Protection on Private Lands 836,000 1,250

3.3.4 Cost Sharing ArrangementsThe HORSERA enquiry (1993) Biodiversity – the role ofprotected areas, recommended a 2:1 cost sharing arrangementbetween the Australian Government and other jurisdictions foracquiring new areas in recognition of the cost to the Statesand Territories in managing protected areas.

In 2002, a review of Queensland’s 20 most significantNational Park proposals to build a representative park system(Sattler 2003) found that acquisition would cost $48 millionand initial management $16 million. These figures confirmthat a 2:1 cost sharing formula for acquisition would result in$32 million each when initial management set-up costs wereincluded. However, it does not recognize the additional andsignificant on-going management costs borne by the State.

As well as a 2:1 cost sharing arrangement for acquisition,some additional contribution by the Australian Government toset-up management costs can be justified on these figures.Further, such additional funding could encourage earlierimplementation of protected area management, rehabilitationand capital works to be undertaken.

In September 2002, however, the Australian Governmentchanged the funding formula for acquisition assistance toState and Territory governments from 2:1 to 1:1. The fundingformula for private NGOs and local governments remained at2:1. This is an unfortunate move and significantly reduces thenecessary incentive to State and Territory governments toinvest in building Australia’s protected area system or toachieve the new acquisition related targets within agreedtimeframes set out in the ‘Directions Statement’ (NRMMC2005).

38

3.4 Australia’s Protected AreaReport Card

The overall Report Card based on benchmarks forComprehensiveness, Extent and Standard of Management ineach State and Territory as of 2002 is shown in Table 20.

Table 20: Australia’s Protected Area Report Card by jurisdiction and in ranked order ofperformance.

State/Territory Comprehens- Extent Standard ofiveness Management

Australian Capital Territory A A ATasmania A A BVictoria C A BSouth Australia B1/C A C/D2

New South Wales A3/D C CWestern Australia D B CQueensland C D CNorthern Territory D D B

Notes

1 Based on broad environmental associations which may be an overestimate when State-wide vegetation mapping is complete.

2 Data deficient, unknown in a number of bioregions from NLWRA (2002) data.

3 Over-estimate influenced by coarse scale identification of ecosystems in the absence of finer scale bioregional mapping of vegetation across the State.

Lantana and other garden and agricultural weeds causesignificant changes to fire regimes, which impact on theconservation values of protected areas. Destruction of dryrainforest, Forty Mile Scrub National Park.

3.5 Overall Performance in Meeting NationalObjectives and Targets forBiodiversity Conservation,2001-2005

The National Objectives and Targets for BiodiversityConservation, 2001-2005 (Environment Australia 2001),adopted by the Australian Government and most State andTerritory jurisdictions specifically includes an objective toprotect a representative sample of Australia’s terrestrialecosystems across each bioregion, refer Table 1.

In reviewing progress to achieve the National Objectives andTargets for Biodiversity Conservation, 2001-2005, thisevaluation found that:

(i) While there has been a substantive increase in theprotected area estate, with another 3.4 million hectaresadded to the National Reserve System over 2002-2004(CAPAD 2004), governments have failed to significantlyachieve the target of a representative protected areasystem within the agreed 2005 timeframe.

(ii) The decrease in funding for the National Reserve Systemprogram is a matter of serious concern. Without asignificant increase in funding for this program by theAustralian Government and by the States and Territories,Australia’s stated objective to achieve a representativeprotected area system will not be realised within therecently agreed new 2010-2015 timeframe.


Savage R

iver National P

ark, Tasmania. ©

Joe Shem

esh

3.6 Cost Effectiveness ofProtected Areas inConserving Biodiversity

The National Reserve System is well recognised as one of themost cost-effective means to protect biodiversity.

A recent analysis of funding for acquisitions through theAustralian Government National Reserve System Programrevealed that the net cost to the Commonwealth was$10.61/ha added to the system using program funds. Costsranged widely between $1.52/ha in the Northern Territory to ahigh of $293.10/ha in Tasmania (Gilligan 2006). Neverthelessthe program was most cost-effective (less than $24/ha cost to Commonwealth) in precisely those states identified in section C as high priority for expanding the reserve system,namely NT, QLD and WA.

Significant costs are incurred to encourage landholders toenter into conservation covenants on private lands and insome cases approaches the cost of outright acquisition (Sattlerunpub.). A recent review of the cost of incentive payments tosecure private land agreements in New South Wales andVictoria found that incentives ranged from $10.31/ha to$248/ha for conservation agreements that ranged from threeyears to perpetuity (Shepherd 2006). Three covenantingprojects funded under the National Reserve System programcost between $9 and $493 per hectare (Appendix 2).

Increasingly, private protected areas have been promoted tosecure biodiversity and as an alternative to the expensiveacquisition and management costs for establishing formalreserves. These figures suggest that establishment of bothpublic and private protected areas should include a criticalanalysis of costs, security and likely managementeffectiveness for achieving biodiversity outcomes.

Protection of intact ecosystems through acquisition iscertainly much more cost effective than land repair efforts.The Directions for the National Reserve System quote a figureof seven times more cost-effective.

A recent evaluation suggests that Envirofund costs theCommonwealth on average $258 per hectare of land subjectto Envirofund projects, which are dominated by land repairefforts, but also include less costly actions like covenantingand fencing to exclude stock (calculation based on datareported by Centre of International Economics 2005). ThusEnvirofund projects are roughly 25 times more costly perhectare on average than outright acquisition under theNational Reserve System program. Again, issues of long-termsecurity of protection and sustaining conservationmanagement of lands remaining under the same tenure arise.1

A modest investment is needed to build Australia’s NationalReserve System so as to meet established and agreed targets.In 2002, an investment of $300-400m would have achieved80% protection of the full range of regional ecosystems, saved14,700 native species and resulted in collateral benefits of$2,000m (Possingham et al. 2002). Though these figures have increased in line with the cost of lands, the acquisitionof carefully targeted reserves is still one of the most cost-effective investments that governments can make tosecure the nation’s biodiversity.

1. Figures for Envirofund Rounds 1-6 only. Total of 56,240ha was reportedas treated, revegetated, protected or managed. However only 23.2% ofprojects funded had submitted reports. Thus, total area covered by fundsissued was estimated at approx. 241,832ha. Total Envirofund budgetwas $69.4m with 90% devoted to on the ground activities. Hence netcost/ha= 0.9x$69.4/0.242. No state breakdown was possible. Errors inthis estimate are unknown but likely to be large. Data from Centre forInternational Economics (2005).

40

3.7 Jurisdictional Contributionsto Developing Australia’sProtected Area System

3.7.1 Australian Capital TerritoryIn terms of Comprehensiveness, the Australian CapitalTerritory has a Comprehensive protected area estate. In theprincipal bioregion, the South Eastern Highlands, that alsoextends into New South Wales and Victoria, the protected areaestate samples 89% (IUCN I-IV) and 5% (IUCN V-VI) ofecosystems. Namadgi National Park and Tidbinbilla NatureReserve are partly within the Australian Alps bioregion thatalso extends into New South Wales and Victoria and overall,93% (IUCN I-IV) and 4% (IUCN V-VI) of ecosystems of thisbioregion are represented.

The protected area estate in the Australian Capital Territory isExtensive and as of 2004 totals 54.73% of the Territory. It consists almost entirely of IUCN protected area CategoriesI-IV with 1,300 ha in IUCN protected area Categories V-VI.The change in Extent of the protected area estate in theAustralian Capital Territory by IUCN Category since 1991 to2004 is shown in Table 21.

The Standard of Management of protected areas in theAustralian Capital Territory is Good to Very Good.Management plans are in place for all reserves, though theNamadgi Plan (90% of the estate) is currently in draft form.Monitoring regimes are in place to track changes since majorbush fires, and to populations of rabbits, kangaroos andthreatened species. Action plans for all threatened specieshave been prepared (Lane, pers.com.).

41

Tab

le 2

1:

Cha

nge

in p

rote

cted

are

a E

xten

t b

y IU

CN

Cat

ego

ry in

the

Aus

tral

ian

Cap

ital T

erri

tory

, 199

1-20

04.

IUCN

Cat

egor

y / Y

ear

1991

1997

2000

2002

2004

No.

Area

(ha)

%

No.

Area

(ha)

%

No.

Area

(ha)

%

No.

Area

(ha)

%

No.

Area

(ha)

%Ia

00

00

00

00

00

00

00

0Ia

(HAA

)0

00

00

00

0 0

0 0

00

0 0

Ib0

00

00

00

00

00

00

00

II2

99,5

0042

.19

912

2,52

751

.96

812

3,03

252

.17

912

8,21

254

.37

1012

9,06

154

.73

III1

521

0.22

00

00

00

00

00

00

IV1

174

0.07

00

00

00

00

00

00

I – IV

Tot

al10

0,19

542

.49

912

2,52

751

.96

812

3,03

252

.17

912

8,21

254

.37

1012

9,06

154

.73

V1

1,30

00.

551

1,30

00.

550(

3)0

00

00

00

0VI

00

00

00

00

00

00

00

0V

– VI

Tot

al1

1,30

00.

551

1,30

00.

550

00

00

00

00

None

spe

cifie

d0

0 0

00

00

00

0 0

0To

tal

110

1,49

5(1)

43.0

410

123,

827(

2)52

.51

812

3,03

252

.17

912

8,21

254

.37

1012

9,06

154

.73

No

tes

1 Ex

clud

es a

n ad

ditio

nal 2

2,00

0 ha

of l

and

man

aged

for

cons

erva

tion

and

com

patib

le p

ublic

use

, but

with

out s

tatu

tory

reco

gniti

on a

s a

prot

ecte

d ar

ea a

s at

30

June

199

1.2

Sev

eral

pro

tect

ed a

reas

wer

e re

clas

sifie

d fro

m 1

991

to 1

997,

for

exam

ple

Jerr

abom

berr

a W

etla

nds

was

recl

assi

fied

from

Cat

egor

y IV

to II

. Je

rrab

ombe

rra

Wet

land

s ar

e in

the

cent

re o

f Can

berr

a –

on J

erra

bom

berr

a C

reek

whe

re p

erm

antly

wet

flood

pla

ins

have

bee

n cr

eate

d by

the

flood

ing

of L

ake

Bur

ley

Grif

fin. I

t pro

vide

s ha

bita

t for

mig

rato

ry w

etla

nd b

irds

and

is re

cogn

ised

as

a na

tiona

lly s

igni

fican

t wet

land

.3

Lany

on h

omes

tead

no

long

er in

clud

ed in

the

CA

PAD

.

Building Nature’s Safety NetA Review of Australia’s Terrestrial Protected Area System, 1991 – 2004

Mulligans Flat, A

CT. ©

Environm

ent AC

T

3.7.2 New South WalesWhile it is indicated that the New South Wales protected areasystem is Comprehensive, this in part may be an artefact ofthe very coarse identification of ecosystems in the absence ofcomprehensive vegetation mapping at a scale of 1:250,000 orgreater across the whole State.

In terms of Extent, as of 2004 the New South Wales protectedarea system totals 7.65% of the State consisting of 7.37%IUCN protected area Categories I-IV and 0.28% IUCNCategories V-VI. A significant and consistent investment hasbeen made to expand the protected area system over thereview period, refer Tables 22 and 23.

The Standard of Management of protected areas across thebioregions of New South Wales is ranked as Fair.

Recent reservations in the Brigalow Belt South and Nandewarbioregions, totalling 350,000 ha, will change some prioritiesas does the very large purchase of Yanga in the Riverinabioregion.

42

Tab

le 2

2:

Cha

nge

in P

rote

cted

Are

a E

xten

t b

y IU

CN

Cat

ego

ry in

New

So

uth

Wal

es, 1

991-

2004

.

IUCN

Cat

egor

y / Y

ear

1991

1997

2000

2002

2004

No.

Area

(ha)

%

No.

Area

(ha)

%

No.

Area

(ha)

%

No.

Area

(ha)

%

No.

Area

(ha)

%

Ia29

160

4,50

00.

7525

461

2,37

80.

7623

367

4,06

90.

8430

073

5,05

60.

9227

877

4,91

10.

97Ia

(HAA

)0

00

0 0

00

0 0

0 0

00

00

Ib0

00

1354

5,38

70.

6819

1,51

2,24

01.

8920

1,54

5,50

31.

9326

1,68

1,66

22.

10II

873,

246,

994

4.05

912,

838,

063

3.54

147

2,68

0,98

03.

3516

62,

950,

308

3.68

166

3,23

2,46

14.

03III

693

70.

0015

3,13

80

852

10

852

10

94,

625

0.01

IV49

14,7

010.

0294

122,

720

0.15

9340

,751

0.05

9648

,171

0.06

7520

8,14

70.

26I –

IV T

otal

433

3,86

7,13

24.

8346

74,

121,

686

5.14

500

4,90

8,56

16.

1359

05,

279,

559

6.59

554

5,90

1,80

67.

37V

2921

,818

0.03

52,

651

07

5,31

50.

017

5,27

10.

016

3,82

90

VI0

0 0

0 0

011

22,8

140.

0310

22,1

420.

0374

222,

336

0.28

V –

VI T

otal

2921

,818

0.03

52,

651

018

28,1

290.

0417

27,4

130.

0380

226,

165

0.28

None

spe

cifie

d2(

1)0

038

149,

731

0.19

31(2

)16

,527

0.02

3523

024

0.03

0To

tal

464

3,88

8,95

04.

8551

04,

274,

068

5.33

549

4,95

3,21

76.

1864

25,

329,

996

6.65

%63

46,

127,

971

7.65

No

tes

1 31

Flo

ra R

eser

ves

liste

d si

nce

CA

PAD

97 h

ave

no IU

CN

Cat

egor

ies

allo

cate

d as

of C

APA

D 2

000.

2 B

oode

ree

(6,3

12 h

a, C

ateg

ory

II) a

nd th

e Je

rvis

Bay

Bot

anic

Gar

dens

(67

ha, C

ateg

ory

IV -

CA

PAD

200

4) u

nder

Aus

tralia

n G

over

nmen

t jur

isdi

ctio

n ar

e ex

clud

ed.


Tab

le 2

3:

Fun

din

g t

rend

s fo

r p

rote

cted

are

a es

tab

lishm

ent

in N

ew S

out

h W

ales

Land

Pur

chas

e an

d Re

serv

atio

n Pr

ogra

m19

93/9

419

94/9

519

95/9

619

96/9

719

97/9

819

98/9

919

99/2

000

2000

/01

2001

/02

2002

/03

Tota

lSp

ent (

$m)

Spen

t ($m

)Sp

ent (

$m)

Spen

t ($m

)Sp

ent (

$m)

Spen

t ($m

)Sp

ent (

$m)

Spen

t ($m

)Sp

ent (

$m)

Allo

catio

n Sp

ent

($m

)($

m)

Spec

ial c

ase

purc

hase

s (S

chey

ville

,Lak

e M

acqu

arie

,Jer

vis B

ay)

08.

110.

0610

.11

-0.0

19

0.54

18.8

1Ge

nera

l Acq

uisit

ions

1.8

3.50

3.35

0.73

0.68

3.45

3.23

1.81

32.

21.

221

.53

North

Coa

st P

ark

boun

dary

ratio

nalis

atio

ns (‘

8b’ F

und)

3.30

3.62

2.19

0.15

0.13

0.09

1.33

3.6

2.92

617

.32

Dunp

hy W

ilder

ness

land

s0.

241.

691.

211.

491

1.00

2.40

0.60

8.62

24 N

ew P

arks

Initi

ative

0.55

1.75

3.12

0.65

6.07

North

-eas

t NSW

fore

sts

- la

nd p

urch

ases

ass

ocia

ted

with

new

RFA

par

ks0.

010.

960.

794

1.46

2.72

1.50

7.44

Wes

tern

NSW

Pro

gram

1.4

1.84

25.

24So

uth-

east

NSW

fore

sts

- la

nd p

urch

ases

ass

ocia

ted

with

new

RFA

par

ks1.

21.

20Ge

nara

l par

k bo

unda

ry ra

tiona

lisat

ion

Prog

ram

(in

-hol

ding

s &

perim

eter

add

ition

s)0.

130.

620.

75NS

W T

otal

s1.

807.

358.

7211

.27

5.70

16.5

05.

597.

5414

.09

8.85

87.4

1Na

tiona

l Res

erve

Sys

tem

Pro

gram

(c

ontri

butio

ns fr

om C

omm

onw

ealth

NHT

Fun

d)0.

330.

170.

092.

110.

362.

136.

881.

5613

.62

Tota

ls (i

nclu

ding

NRS

P co

ntrib

utio

ns )

1.80

7.35

9.04

11.4

45.

7918

.61

5.95

9.68

20.9

710

.41

101.

03

Tiger quoll standing, Featherdale Wildlife P

ark, NS

W. ©

WW

F/Klein H

ubert

3.7.3 Northern TerritoryThe Northern Territory protected area system is notComprehensive and is not Extensive with a protected areaestate as of 2004 of 5.14% consisting of 4.48% IUCNprotected area Categories I-IV and 0.31% as IUCN Categories V-VI.

Table 24 shows the increase in protected area Categories over the review period. This figure also includes - Kakadu(1,980,400 ha) and Uluru-Kata Tjuta (132,566 ha) underAustralian Government jurisdiction.

The Standard of Management of the Northern Territoryprotected areas as averaged across the bioregions is ranked as Good. This includes both Australian Government andNorthern Territory Government protected areas.

44

Tab

le 2

4:

Cha

nge

in p

rote

cted

are

a E

xten

t b

y IU

CN

Cat

ego

ry in

the

No

rthe

rn T

erri

tory

, 199

1-20

04(in

clud

ing

Co

mm

onw

ealth

pro

tect

ed a

reas

).

IUCN

Cat

egor

y / Y

ear

1991

1997

2000

2002

2004

No.

Area

(ha)

%

No.

Area

(ha)

%

No.

Area

(ha)

%

No.

Area

(ha)

%

No.

Area

(ha)

%

Ia0

00

125

,890

0.02

332

,984

0.02

444

,284

0.03

444

,093

0.03

Ia (H

AA)

00

00

0 0

00

00

0 0

0 0

0Ib

00

00

0 0

00

00

0 0

00

0II

153,

905,

474

2.90

374,

821,

487

3.58

214,

690,

579

3.48

276,

163,

840

4.57

196,

203,

930

4.60

III8

4,10

40

2230

,510

0.02

67,

174

0.01

67,

174

0.01

56,

782

0.01

IV19

150,

433

0.11

610

,710

0.01

00

00

00

126

2,60

00.

19I –

IV T

otal

424,

060,

011

3.01

664,

888,

597

3.63

304,

730,

737

3.51

376,

215,

298

4.61

296,

517,

405

4.84

V48

123,

899

0.09

1595

,652

0.07

5532

5,61

60.

2456

184,

783

0.14

4318

0,68

10.

13VI

00

08

83,4

960.

067

69,2

030.

0510

90,0

410.

078

233,

750

0.17

V –

VI T

otal

4812

3899

0.09

2317

9148

0.13

6239

4,81

90.

2966

274,

824

0.20

5141

4,43

00.

31No

ne s

peci

fied

843

,469

0.03

0 0

00

00

0 0

00

Tota

l98

4,22

7,37

93.

1489

5,06

7,74

53.

7692

5,12

5,55

63.

8010

36,

490,

122

4.82

806,

931,

835

5.14

No

te

The

figur

es in

this

tabl

e in

clud

e th

e pr

otec

ted

area

s of

Kak

adu

(1,9

80,4

00 h

a) a

nd U

luru

-Kat

a Tj

uta

(132

,566

ha)

und

er A

ustra

lian

Gov

ernm

ent j

uris

dict

ion

(bot

h IU

CN

Cat

egor

y II)

.

Northern quoll. © WWF/Klein and Hubert

3.7.4 QueenslandIn Queensland, the systematic planning andcommitment from the mid 1980’s to the late 1990’s tobuild a Comprehensive protected area system isreflected by the State having a higher ranking forComprehensiveness (C) than the relative area of theprotected area system with its Extent being less than5% (D). This indicates the efficiency of taking asystematic approach to protected area consolidationbased on CAR principles. The protected area estate inQueensland as of 2004 totals 4.98% of the State inextent and consists of 4.13% IUCN Categories I-IV and 0.86% IUCN Categories V-VI.

A large increase in extent occurred between 1991 and1997 across most bioregions however, there has beenonly a limited increase thereafter. The change in extentover the review period is shown in Table 25.Considerable investment has been made on acquisitionsduring this period but increasingly, this funding wastied to key conservation issues such as the DaintreeRainforest Package, the Sugar Coast EnvironmentalRescue Package and transfer of State Forests in SouthEast Queensland, rather than building a fullyrepresentative protected area system, refer Table 26.

Significant areas of former State Forest lands in the WetTropics and South East Queensland and large areas offormer leasehold land on Cape York Peninsula were inthe process of being gazetted as protected areas in2006. These areas are expected to add another 0.5% toIUCN Categories I-IV.

Funding trends for establishment are shown in Table 30.These represent the total expenditure of State andCommonwealth funds in Queensland. They includeCommonwealth NRS funds to the State government, to private bodies for land acquisition such as theAustralian Bush Heritage Fund, the Wildlife Land Fundand to the Glen Innes Consortium. These funds alsoinclude assistance to local governments, particularly in South-East Queensland. The total funding includeCommonwealth National Reserve System funds of$15.7 million, the joint Commonwealth/QueenslandSugar Coast Environmental Rescue Package of $16 million and the Daintree Rescue Package. SeparateQueensland funding can not be identified for yearlyexpenditure.

Care must be taken in the expansion of the protectedarea system in Queensland to ensure that newacquisitions maximise Comprehensiveness and followthe accepted scientific principles as laid down by theScientific Guidelines for the National Reserve System.This means that in terms of the efficient building of arepresentative protected area system, the focus mustagain be broadened to continue provide representationof ecological communities across all bioregions ratherthan easily acquired landscapes or specific land tenures.

The Standard of Management of Queensland’sprotected areas was ranked as only Fair.

45

Tab

le 2

5:

Cha

nge

in p

rote

cted

are

a E

xten

t b

y IU

CN

Cat

ego

ry in

Que

ensl

and

, 199

1-20

04.

IUCN

Cat

egor

y / Y

ear

1991

1997

2000

2002

2004

No.

Area

(ha)

%

No.

Area

(ha)

%

No.

Area

(ha)

%

No.

Area

(ha)

%

No.

Area

(ha)

%

Ia62

63,2

630.

0432

46,5

870.

0345

48,9

400.

0351

21,1

390.

015

37,3

950.

02Ia

(HAA

)0

00

00

00

0 0

0 0

00

Ib0

00

00

00

00

00

00

00

II10

64,

001,

351

2.31

210

6,22

9,07

33.

6021

66,

587,

093

3.81

215

6,66

2,82

53.

8521

76,

971,

248

4.03

III42

064

,307

0.04

146

30,3

160.

0215

928

,539

0.02

174

34,9

400.

0217

543

,508

0.03

IV8

9,86

60.

012

14,7

860.

012

14,7

860.

019

52,4

120.

038

84,0

160.

05I –

IV T

otal

596

4,13

8,78

72.

3939

06,

320,

762

3.65

4221

6,67

9,35

83.

8644

96,

771,

316

3.91

405

7,13

6,16

74.

13V

532,

799

012

337

026

1,70

30

251,

253

00

00

VI0

00

3432

4,39

50.

1922

257,

703

0.15

3434

7,64

80.

2018

91,

483,

260

0.86

V –

VI T

otal

532,

799

046

324,

732

0.19

4825

9,40

60.

1559

348,

901

0.20

189

1,48

3,26

00.

86No

ne s

peci

fied

00

00

0 0

0 0

00

0 0

0 0

0To

tal

649

4,14

1,58

62.

3943

66,

645,

494

3.84

470

6,93

8,76

44.

0150

87,

120,

217

4.12

594

8,61

9,42

74.

98

NNoott

ee1

This

figu

re in

corre

ctly

sta

ted

as 4

21 in

CA

PAD

200

0.

Tab

le 2

6:

Fun

din

g t

rend

s fo

r p

rote

cted

are

a la

nd a

cqui

sitio

n in

Que

ensl

and

, 199

3-20

03 ($

m)1

Year

1993

-419

94-5

1995

-619

96-7

1997

-819

98-9

1999

-020

00-1

2001

-220

02-3

$m3.

410

21.2

5523

.298

10.2

073.

615

12.8

790

10.3

684.

424

9.01

8

No

te 1

Incl

udes

Sta

te G

over

nmen

t Exp

endi

ture

and

Com

mon

wea

lth E

xpen

ditu

re u

nder

the

Nat

iona

l Res

erve

Sys

tem

pro

gram

and

spec

ial p

rogr

ams:

the

Sug

ar C

oast

Env

ironm

enta

l Res

cue

Pac

kage

and

the

Dai

ntre

e R

escu

e P

acka

ge.

3.7.5 South AustraliaIt is unclear how Comprehensive South Australia’s protectedarea system is due to the dearth of mapping in the northernpart of the State. Mapping is however on-going in bioregionssuch as the Murray Darling Depression. Comprehensivenesshas been ranked as (B/C) based on the assessment that 213 of383 (56%) environmental associations are represented in theNational Park system and 294 (77%) are represented in allprotected areas. When State wide vegetation mapping iscomplete and the finer vegetation associations are derived, it is expected that these percentages will be lower (Bond, pers. com.). This has also been the experience in Queenslandwhen finer classifications became available. Consequently, a ranking of (B/C) is given as the figure for overallComprehensiveness may fall below 70% when a systematicvegetation mapping coverage is available.

In terms of Extent, South Australia achieved an ‘A’ rankingwith the protected area estate as of 2004 totalling 25.66% ofthe State and consisting of 13.98% in IUCN protected areaCategories I-IV and 11.68% in IUCN Categories V-VI. Thechange in extent of the protected area estate in South Australiasince 1991 to 2004 is shown in Table 27. This table shows aconsistent increase in large areas being added to the protectedarea estate over the past decade. The second largestIndigenous Protected Area in Australia is Watarru (1,280,000 ha) in South Australia. Walalkara and WatarruIndigenous Protected Areas in the Great Victorian Desert(700,000 ha, 1,280,000 ha) were declared in 2000 andcontribute to the large increases in Category VI for SouthAustralia.

Through the Natural Heritage Trust, the Indigenous ProtectedArea (IPA) Programme has invested over $1.8m in theestablishment and management of five IPAs in South Australiabetween 1996 and 2004. The following types of activitieshave been funded; establishment of IPAs includingdevelopment of plans of management, day to daymanagement of IPAs, threat reduction programs, training and business plans.

The IPA Programme also provides a framework that facilitatesand coordinates the delivery of third party investment in landmanagement activities. IPAs receive funds from EnviroFund,Regional NRM Groups and other elements of the NaturalHeritage Trust and non-government organisations. This hasresulted in the development of strategic partnerships and thedelivery of coordinated land management activities.

Management of Indigenous Protected Areas in South Australiais supported by funding and expertise from the SouthAustralian Department for Environment and Heritage. It hasbeen used to fund positions for rangers, land managementofficers and threatened species officers and to gatherinformation and provide advice on coast and landmanagement, biodiversity values and threatened speciesmanagement. The department advocates a landscape approachto conservation management and includes IPAs in itsprograms such as BounceBack.

All this activity has generated employment opportunities for Indigenous people and greater opportunities for localcommunities to be actively involved in the management oftheir country, resulting in positive social outcomes. In SouthAustralia, Indigenous Protected Areas conserve biodiversitythat cannot be represented in other forms of protected area.

Again the Standard of Management of protected areas in thenorthern part of the State is chiefly unknown and therefore isranked as ( D ) whereas in the southern agricultural part,management is Fair. The northern part of the State includeslarge multiple use reserves where the need for systematicecological monitoring of the impact of management regimesto enable adaptive conservation management responses is indicated.

46

Tab

le 2

7:

Cha

nge

in P

rote

cted

Are

a E

xten

t b

y IU

CN

Cat

ego

ry in

So

uth

Aus

tral

ia, 1

991-

2004

.


IUCN

Cat

egor

y / Y

ear

1991

1997

2000

2002

220

04No

.Ar

ea (h

a)%

No

.Ar

ea (h

a)%

No

.Ar

ea (h

a)%

No

.Ar

ea (h

a)%

No

.Ar

ea (h

a)%

Ia

0 0

092

6,17

5,07

56.

2794

6,24

2,99

26.

3493

6,24

7,17

26.

3589

6,24

8,24

86.

35Ia

(HAA

)10

00

00

00

00

1,19

356

4,68

20.

570

00

Ib0

00

112,

204,

675

2.24

112,

204,

675

2.24

92,

215,

803

2.25

92,

215,

803

2.25

II13

77,

480,

086

7.60

131,

761,

933

1.79

141,

763,

222

1.79

162,

645,

201

2.69

162,

643,

051

2.69

III67

3,75

2-

160

148,

890

0.15

172

148,

565

0.15

184

186,

541

0.19

1,38

975

8,29

40.

77IV

6533

,019

0.03

6621

,248

0.02

189,

287

0.01

731,

890,

124

1.92

761,

891,

910

1.92

I – IV

Tot

al26

97,

516,

857

7.64

342

10,3

11,8

2110

.48

309

10,3

68,7

4110

.53

1,56

813

,749

,523

13.9

71,

579

13,7

57,3

065

13.9

8V

229,

154,

381

9.30

0 0

00

00

2450

6,00

00.

512

506,

000

0.51

VI0

00

1010

,645

,046

310

.82

1010

,755

,804

10.9

39

10,9

88,3

7711

.16

910

,988

,374

11.1

6V

– VI

Tot

al22

9,15

4,38

19.

3010

10,6

45,0

4610

.82

1010

,755

,804

10.9

311

11,4

94,3

7711

.68

1111

,494

,374

11.6

8No

ne s

peci

fied

33,

842

-4

1,06

1-

329

-0

00

0 0

0To

tal

294

16,6

75,0

8016

.94

356

20,9

57,9

2821

.29

322

21,1

24,5

7421

.46

1,57

925

,243

,900

25.6

51,

590

25,2

51,6

805

25.6

6

No

tes

1 H

AA

refe

rs to

Her

itage

Agr

eem

ent A

reas

2 20

02 in

form

atio

n di

ffers

from

200

0 an

d ea

rlier

ver

sion

s by

incl

udin

g H

erita

ge A

gree

men

t Are

as3

A n

umbe

r of

larg

e re

gion

al re

serv

es w

ere

re-c

ateg

oris

ed fr

om V

to V

I fro

m C

APA

D 1

991

to C

APA

D 1

997

(incl

udin

g In

nam

inck

a (1

,381

,995

ha),

Nul

larb

or (2

,278

,517

ha),

Sim

pson

Des

ert (

2,96

4,20

0ha)

, Yel

labi

nna

(2,5

01,5

51ha

).4

Thes

e ar

e tw

o C

ateg

ory

V In

dige

nous

Pro

tect

ed A

reas

: Nan

taw

arrin

a (5

8,00

0ha)

dec

lare

d in

199

8 an

d Ya

lata

(448

,000

ha) d

ecla

red

in 1

999.

The

y ar

e lis

ted

in C

APA

D 2

002

but a

re a

bsen

t fro

m th

e C

APA

D 2

000

listin

gs.

5 Th

ese

figur

es e

xclu

de th

e Ta

ylor

ville

pro

tect

ed a

rea

(Tay

lorv

ille (

92,6

00ha

– C

ateg

ory

IV) u

nder

Aus

tralia

n G

over

nmen

t jur

isdi

ctio

n.

Gawler National Park, South Australia. © Bernd Stoecker

3.7.6 TasmaniaTasmania has a Comprehensive and Extensive protected areaestate though protection of ecosystems in some prioritybioregions are still to be adequately addressed, refer PART Cof this report. The extent of the protected area estate inTasmania as of 2004 totals 37.87% of the State consisting of25.20% in IUCN protected area Categories I-IV and 12.67%in IUCN Categories V-VI, refer Table 28.

The change in extent of the protected area estate by IUCNCategory in Tasmania since 1991 to 2004 is shown in Table 29. This shows a consistent increase in areas beingadded to the protected area estate over the past decade. Thereis actually a net reduction of 59,866 ha in IUCN Categories I-IV in Tasmania over the period 1991-2004, although there isan overall increase of 788,890 ha in Categories I-VI. This islargely explained by the transfer of the South-WestConservation Area (238,699 ha) from Category IV in 1991 toCategory VI in 1997: this Conservation Area is part of theTasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. This protectedarea is listed in CAPAD 2000 and 2002 with the reduced areaof 185,770 ha. In addition, over the period 1991-2002 therehave been substantial increases in several major types ofTasmanian protected areas, together totalling 698,269 ha;these types (with area increases) are National Park (71, 578 ha), Conservation Area (182,227 ha), RegionalReserve (228,654 ha), Forest Reserve (156,587 ha) and NatureRecreation Area (59,223 ha). The total increases in theseprotected areas accounts for most of the increase for IUCNCategories I-VI, but the relationship between reserve typesand the IUCN Categories is not clear cut. There has been afurther moderate increase of 40,530 ha in the total protectedarea of the State in Categories I-VI over the period 2002-2004.

The large percentage increase (11.53%) in Tasmania forCategories I-VI is clearly related to the absolute increases invarious protected area types noted above. In addition, there isan increasing number and total area of private land forestcovenants. For example, as at March 2005 (outside the timeframe of this report) the Private Forest Reserve Program hassecured a total of 189 private forest reserves with a total areaof 31,421 ha (www.privaterfa.tas.gov.au). Tasmanian figureshave been corrected to exclude Macquarie Island.

State funding levels were minimal to consolidate arepresentative reserve system though in the 2002-3 financialyear some funds were provided to access NRS funding.Substantial funding was provided by the AustralianGovernment to secure forest agreement areas.

The Standard of Management of Tasmania’s protected areasis also classed as Good, i.e. a ( B ) standard with managementin some bioregions assessed as Very Good.

48 Tab

le 2

8:

Cha

nge

in p

rote

cted

are

a E

xten

t b

y IU

CN

Cat

ego

ry in

Tas

man

ia, 1

991-

2004

.1,2

IUCN

Cat

egor

y / Y

ear

1991

1997

2000

2002

2004

No.

Area

(ha)

%

No.

Area

(ha)

%

No.

Area

(ha)

%

No.

Area

(ha)

%

No.

Area

(ha)

%

Ia0

00

2258

40.

0141

6,54

50.

1052

21,0

150.

3168

24,1

530.

35Ia

(HAA

)0

00

00

00

0 0

0 0

00

0 0

Ib0

00

00

00

0 0

0 0

00

0 0

II16

1,36

2,08

519

.91

281,

428,

174

20.8

825

1,45

0,80

121

.21

331,

502,

856

21.9

737

1,49

4,95

021

.86

III73

31,8

470.

4758

9,47

10.

1450

8,63

60.

1355

17,6

450.

2655

17,6

450.

26IV

8838

9,72

95.

7070

41,3

510.

6019

419

9,51

72.

9225

917

3,86

32.

5436

918

7,04

72.

73I –

IV T

otal

177

1,78

3,66

126

.08

178

1,47

9,58

021

.63

310

1,66

5,49

924

.35

399

1,71

5,37

925

.08

529

1,72

3,79

525

.20

V14

17,0

160.

252

439

0.01

6122

,399

0.33

7390

,677

1.33

6189

,707

1.31

VI0

0 0

5760

3,67

98.

8311

951

4,06

47.

5215

774

3,85

810

.87

170

776,

942

11.3

6V

– VI

Tot

al14

17,0

160.

2559

604,

118

8.83

180

536,

463

7.84

230

834,

535

12.2

023

186

6,64

912

.67

None

spe

cifie

d36

877

0.01

204

81,1

631.

190

0 0

0 0

00

0 0.

00%

Tota

l22

71,

801,

554

26.3

444

12,

164,

861

31.6

549

02,

201,

962

32.1

962

92,

549,

914

37.2

876

02,

590,

444

37.8

7%

No

tes

1 In

clud

es fi

ve N

atio

nal P

arks

in T

asm

ania

that

are

list

ed a

s m

ixed

Cat

egor

y Ib

/II p

rote

cted

are

as fr

om C

APA

D 2

000

onw

ards

(pre

viou

sly

as C

ateg

ory

II). T

hese

par

ksar

e C

radl

e M

ount

ain

– La

ke S

t Cla

ir, F

rank

lin-G

ordo

n W

ild R

iver

s, S

avag

e R

iver

, Sou

thw

est,

Wal

ls o

f Jer

usal

em (t

otal

are

a 1,

295,

335h

a).

2 M

acqu

arie

Isla

nd (C

ateg

ory

IV, 1

2785

ha)

is li

sted

as

a Ta

sman

ian

Nat

ure

Res

erve

in C

APA

D 1

991

and

CA

PAD

199

7, b

ut is

con

side

red

to b

e an

ext

erna

l ter

ritor

yin

CA

PAD

200

0-20

04. F

or c

ompa

rativ

e pu

rpos

es M

acqu

arie

Isla

nd h

as b

een

excl

uded

from

the

1991

and

199

7 fig

ures

.3

Rec

lass

ifica

tion

of g

ame

rese

rves

, con

serv

atio

n ar

eas

and

mut

ton

bird

rese

rves

, as

wel

l as

othe

r re

serv

es b

etw

een

1991

and

199

7 re

sulte

d in

a s

igni

fican

t dec

line

in to

tal a

rea

unde

r IU

CN

Cat

egor

y I-I

V, a

nd a

con

curre

nt in

crea

se in

the

area

und

er IU

CN

Cat

egor

y V-

VI.

49

3.7.7 VictoriaVictoria’s protected area estate is not Comprehensive due tothe early alienation and clearing in many of the agriculturallysuitable bioregions, and the protected area system beingprimarily formed by upgrading existing public lands.

Victoria ranks highly for overall Extent of protected areas andas of 2004, 16.46% was covered by Categories I-VIcomprising 15.19% within Categories I-IV and 1.27% inCategories V-VI. The percentage change in protected area forVictoria for Categories I-IV and I-VI over the period 1991-2004 are 2.27% and 3.54%. This reflects the relatively highpercentage of protected areas already established at thebaseline in 1991. Some private protected areas in Victoria likeNed’s Corner, are managed more akin to a National Park thana ‘managed landscape’and may qualify for inclusion inCategories I-IV. Similiarly, some properties purchased by theTrust for Nature are more akin to public Nature ConservationReserves.

The change in extent of the protected area estate by IUCNCategory in Victoria since 1991 to 2004 is shown in Table 29.This shows a small increase in areas being added to theprotected area estate over the past decade that has principallyresulted from public land use investigations in the Box-Ironbark and Regional Forest Agreement regions and from theestablishment of some relatively large private protected areasin recent years.

Total land acquisition funding from 1998 to 2004 is shown inTable 30 showing a significant proportion as one off fundingdirected to the protection of habitat for the Little Penguinthrough the Summerland Program.

In terms of Standard of Management, Victoria’s protectedareas were assessed as Good, i.e. a ( B ) standard.

Tab

le 2

9:C

hang

e in

pro

tect

ed a

rea

Ext

ent

by

IUC

N C

ateg

ory

in V

icto

ria

1991

-200

4.1,

2,3

IUCN

Cat

egor

y / Y

ear

1991

1997

2000

2002

2004

No.

Area

(ha)

%

No.(1

)Ar

ea (h

a)%

No

.Ar

ea (h

a)%

No

.Ar

ea (h

a)%

No

.Ar

ea (h

a)%

Ia

3617

4,39

90.

7756

8 (4

16)

214,

120

0.94

469

202,

046

0.89

377

224,

296

0.99

496

262,

598

1.15

Ia (H

AA)

00

00

0 0

0 0

00

0 0

0 0

0Ib

00

028

(3)

202,

050

0.89

1920

2,05

00.

893

202,

050

0.89

320

2,05

00.

89II

491,

926,

380

8.47

94 (5

5)2,

724,

568

11.9

762

2,76

4,92

812

.15

592,

778,

310

12.2

161

2,84

8,78

712

.52

III40

921

1,35

60.

9344

0 (4

36)

115,

296

0.51

261

67,5

780.

3026

369

,891

0.31

380

65,4

300.

29IV

262

7,98

02.

761,

297

45,0

000.

201,

076

46,0

580.

201,

075

45,7

000.

201,

512

77,1

800.

34I –

IV T

otal

496

2,94

0,11

512

.92

2,42

73,

301,

034

14.5

11,

887

3,28

2,66

014

.43

1,77

73,

320,

247

14.5

92,

452

3,45

6,04

615

.19

V0

00

00

00

0 0

00

015

138,

732

0.61

VI0

00

170

(2)

91,9

000.

4020

294

,908

0.42

198

104,

094

0.46

247

151,

305

0.66

V –

VI T

otal

00

017

091

,900

0.40

202

94,9

080.

4219

810

4,09

40.

4626

229

0,03

71.

27No

ne s

peci

fied

524

90

613

,319

0.06

0 0

00

00

00

0To

tal

501

2,94

0,36

412

.92

2,60

33,

406,

2532

14.9

72,

089

3,37

7,56

814

.84

1,97

53,

424,

341

15.0

52,

714

3,74

6,08

316

.46

No

tes

1 C

APA

D 1

997

figur

es fo

r th

e nu

mbe

r of

Vic

toria

’s p

rote

cted

are

as a

ppea

ring

in p

aren

thes

es in

dica

te th

ose

that

exc

lude

oth

er d

esig

nate

d pr

otec

ted

area

s ne

sted

insi

de th

em. T

he to

tal n

umbe

r of

nes

ted

prot

ecte

d ar

eas

are

incl

uded

in th

e ‘N

atio

nal T

otal

s’ s

ectio

n as

they

are

cat

egor

ical

ly d

istin

ct, h

owev

er, t

heir

tota

l are

a is

excl

uded

in o

rder

to a

void

dou

ble-

coun

ting.

2 Th

e fig

ure

in C

APA

D 1

997

for

tota

l pro

tect

ed a

rea

(Cre

ssw

ell &

Tho

mas

199

7, T

able

3) i

s to

o hi

gh b

y 20

0 ha

.3

The

doub

le-c

ount

ing

prob

lem

als

o oc

curs

in th

e fig

ures

for

Vict

oria

from

CA

PAD

200

0: fi

gure

s fo

r ac

tual

are

as a

re ta

ken

as q

uote

d in

CA

PAD

200

0 Vi

c Ta

bles

.

50

Table 30: Funding trends for protected area land acquisition in Victoria, 1998-2004.

Program 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-2 2002-3 2003-4 TotalActual Actual Actual Actual Actual Actual Actual

Costs ($) Costs ($) Costs ($) Costs ($) Costs ($) Costs ($) Costs ($)Conservation 693,041 715,585 255,149 1,738,367 1,812,813 2,334,591 7,549,545Summerland Program1 931,044 1,021,979 142,113 1,449,325 933,728 1,300,557 5,778,747Total Asset Cost2 1,624,085 1,737,564 397,262 3,187,693 2,746,541 3,635,148 13,328,292Funded by Victoria 1,249,085 1,501,305 397,262 2,362,776 1,655,941 3,026,878 10,193,246Funded by the Commonwealth 375,000 236,259 0 824,917 1,090,600 608,270 3,135,046Total 1,624,085 1,737,564 397,262 3,187,693 2,746,541 3,635,148 13,328,292

Notes

1 Costs for acquiring residential land to expand the habitat of Little Penguin (Summerland Estate, Phillip Island)2 Land acquisition costs include, legal, valuation costs etc but exclude staffing costs

Francois Peron National Park, Western Australia. © WA Department of CALM

513.7.8 Western AustraliaWestern Australia’s large protected area system is notComprehensive ( D ) especially across a number ofbioregions. However, the protected area system is Extensiveand as of 2004 totals 10.84% of the State consisting of 6.75%in IUCN protected area Categories I-IV and 4.09% in IUCNCategories V-VI.

The change in Extent of the protected area estate by IUCNCategory in Western Australia since 1991 to 2004 is shown inTable 31. This large increase in absolute protected area inWestern Australia in Category VI is due mainly to theestablishment of two Indigenous Protected Areas,Ngaanyatjarra Lands (9,812,900 ha, declared 2002) in theWestern Desert region and Paraku (Lake Gregory) (434,588 ha, declared 2001) in the northern Great SandyDesert. Ngaanyatjarra Lands is enormous in size and alonerepresents 3.88% of the area of Western Australia: it is by farthe largest Indigenous Protected Area in Australia.Ngaanyatjarra Lands is also by far the largest terrestrialprotected area in any category in Australia.

Though these IPAs are included in the Australian Governmentstatistics (CAPAD), the Western Australian Government doesnot consider that the Commonwealth’s IPAs meet theminimum standards of the NRS, as in Western Australia theydo not provide long term statutory protection and managementsecurity. However, the State supports the concept of IPAs andis considering the possibility of strengthening arrangements,or through joint management, to provide suitableunderpinning biodiversity protection mechanisms for suchareas. Similarly, the State has questioned whether privateprotected areas in Western Australia meet the minimum NRSstandards because of the lack of long term protectionmechanisms to guarantee security.

In Western Australia, the notional target of 15% for extent isaimed at the formal conservation reserve system, ie the publicreserve system that has the highest level of protection (underthe Conservation and Land Management Act (WA)) and meetsIUCN Management Categories I-IV. Private protected areas(inc. IPAs) are additional to this target.

Significant areas of lands were derived from the GascoyneMurchinson structural adjustment scheme where lands wereacquired as part of a review of the viability of pastoralproperties and to assist in long term sustainable rangelandmanagement.

The Standard of Management of protected areas throughoutthe State is assessed as Fair with considerable variabilityoccurring across bioregions and subregions.

Tab

le 3

1:

Cha

nge

in p

rote

cted

are

a E

xten

t b

y IU

CN

Cat

ego

ry in

Wes

tern

Aus

tral

ia, 1

991-

2004

.

IUCN

Cat

egor

y / Y

ear

1991

1997

2000

2002

2004

No.

Area

(ha)

%

No.

Area

(ha)

%

No.

Area

(ha)

%

No.

Area

(ha)

%

No.

Area

(ha)

%

Ia0

00

1,06

112

,331

,051

4.88

1,08

810

,758

,237

4.26

1,12

910

,810

,293

4.28

1,15

010

,821

,297

4.28

Ia (H

AA)

00

00

0 0

0 0

00

0 0

0 0

0Ib

00

00

0 0

00

00

00

00

0II

625,

039,

140

1.99

113

3,57

9,45

71.

4210

65,

125,

507

2.03

115

5,92

9,04

32.

3511

76,

148,

300

2.43

III21

6,13

9-

62,

004

-4

10,6

44-

674

,236

0.03

674

,233

0.03

IV1,

096

10,6

86,6

954.

237

15,0

070.

0112

14,8

070.

0115

14,8

480.

0116

15,2

830.

01I –

IV T

otal

1,17

915

,731

,974

6.23

1,18

715

,927

,519

6.30

1,21

015

,909

,195

6.30

1,26

516

,828

,420

6.66

1,28

917

,059

,112

6.75

V0

00

00

02

62-

979

5-

1279

8-

VI0

00

00

05

5,82

4-

3410

,339

,632

4.09

3310

,339

,624

4.09

V –

VI T

otal

00

00

00

75,

886

043

10,3

40,4

274.

0945

10,3

40,4

224.

09No

ne s

peci

fied

0 0

00

0 0

0 0

00

0 0

0 0

0To

tal

1,17

915

,731

,974

6.23

1,18

715

,927

,519

6.30

1,21

715

,915

,081

6.30

1,30

827

,168

,847

10.7

51,

334

27,3

99,5

3410

.84

3.7.9 Australian GovernmentThe Australian Government is responsible for five terrestrialreserves: Kakadu, Booderee and Uluru-Kata Tjuta NationalParks which are all jointly managed with traditional owners,Australian National Botanic Gardens, and Calperum/Taylorville Station. The Australian Government also hasresponsibility for a number of marine parks and parks on off-shore islands which are not the subject of this report.

The change in Extent of protected areas by IUCN Categorymanaged by the Commonwealth is shown in Table 32.

Considerable resources are applied to the Management of theprotected areas controlled by the Australian Government incomparison with most States and Territories. This assisted inthe Good ( B ) ranking for the Northern Territory as a wholewhich also included protected areas managed by the NorthernTerritory Government.

All reserves, with one exception, have current managementplans in place. The plan for Kakadu is almost complete,following a public comment period. Implementation scheduleshave been developed or are currently being developed for allparks to assist in allocating resources and priorities toidentified actions.

To assist in measuring performance of management efforts,seven Key Result Areas (KRAs) and a set of indicators toreport against the KRAs have been identified at the agencylevel. It is the responsibility of each individual Park to developa set of park-level performance indicators, which are bothrelevant to the specific Park and aligned with the agency-levelindicators. All parks are continuing to develop monitoringprograms to provide a report against these indicators eachyear. The results are published in the Director’s Annual Report(www.deh.gov.au/parks/publications/index.html#director).

Additional indicators are currently being developed to assistin monitoring.

52

Tab

le 3

2:

Cha

nge

in p

rote

cted

are

a E

xten

t b

y IU

CN

Cat

ego

ry m

anag

ed b

y th

e A

ustr

alia

n G

ove

rnm

ent,

199

1-20

04.1

,2,3

IUCN

Cat

egor

y / Y

ear

1991

1997

2000

2002

2004

No.

Area

(ha)

%

No.

Area

(ha)

%

No.

Area

(ha)

%

No.

Area

(ha)

%

No.

Area

(ha)

%

Ia Ib,

II13

2,11

7,10

5NA

32,

119,

278

NA3

2,11

9,27

8NA

32,

119,

278

NA3

2,11

9,27

8NA

III0

0NA

00

NA0

0NA

00

NA0

0NA

IV2

00

NA0

0NA

190

NA1

90NA

392

,752

NAI –

IV T

otal

32,

117,

105

NA3

2,11

9,27

8NA

42,

119,

368

NA4

2,11

9,36

8NA

62,

212,

030

NAV VI V

– VI

Tot

alNo

ne s

peci

fied

Tota

l3

2,11

7,10

5NA

32,

119,

278

NA4

2,11

9,36

8NA

42,

119,

368

NA6

2,21

2,03

0NA

No

tes

1 Th

e C

ateg

ory

II pr

otec

ted

area

s un

der

Aus

tralia

n G

over

nmen

t jur

isdi

ctio

n ar

e: K

akad

u (N

T; 1

,980

,400

ha),

Ulu

ru-K

ata

Tjut

a (N

T; 1

32,5

66ha

), B

oode

ree

(Jer

vis

Bay

)(N

SW

; 631

2ha)

. Kak

adu

and

Boo

dere

e in

clud

e m

arin

e co

mpo

nent

s, b

ut th

ese

are

excl

uded

bec

ause

the

scop

e of

this

repo

rt is

con

fined

to te

rrest

rial p

rote

cted

area

s.2

The

Cat

egor

y IV

are

as a

re: (

i) th

e A

ustra

lian

Nat

iona

l Bot

anic

Gar

dens

(AC

T; 9

0ha

- C

APA

D 2

000-

2002

), (ii)

Bot

anic

Gar

dens

at J

ervi

s B

ay (N

SW

, 67h

a -

CA

PAD

2004

) and

(iii)

Tayl

orvi

lle (S

A, 9

2,60

0ha

- C

APA

D 2

004)

.3

Exte

rnal

Aus

tralia

n te

rrito

ries

are

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3.8 Indigenous Protected AreasIndigenous Protected Areas make a large contribution to theprotected area estate. The contribution made by IndigenousProtected Areas has been reviewed by Figgis (2003) inConservation on Private Lands: the Australian Experienceand the comments below draw upon this evaluation.

Indigenous owned lands are private lands, and communitiesnot governments, are the decision-makers. Title is usuallyinalienable freehold title held by a community trust ororganisation under state, territory or Commonwealth law andunder the Commonwealth Native Title Act 1993.

The Indigenous Protected Areas Program is funded throughthe Australian Government’s Department of Environment andHeritage. The Program is a mechanism to increase therepresentativeness of the NRS through the voluntary inclusionof indigenous estates and by supporting the development ofcooperative management arrangements. By mid 2003, 17Indigenous Protected Areas have been declared overAboriginal land, covering more that 13.8 million hectares.

Indigenous Protected Areas operate in accordance with theIUCN protected areas guidelines and are managed inaccordance with a plan of management which is developedprior to declaration to protect natural and cultural features andto contribute to conserving biological diversity. The planincludes mapping the flora and fauna of the area and othersignificant values, identifying threats to biodiversity eg. feralanimals and weed infestation and determining managementzones and prescriptions for each zone. Indigenous ProtectedArea funds are allocated to implement aspects of themanagement plan.

The concept involves combining a strong respect fortraditional ecological knowledge together with the use ofmodern science and land management skills. Aboriginal landmanagement, such as patch burning and maintenance of waterholes, is increasingly understood as integral to maintainingbiodiversity. The social sustainability issues are to enhance theability of indigenous Australians to live on their country andto pass on their knowledge of the land and concepts ofresponsibilities to the next generation.

Their large scale and relative lack of disturbance enhance theecological importance of IPAs. However, remoteness alonewill not protect biodiversity from the threats of inappropriatefire regimes and the impacts of feral animals and plants.Therefore the long-term management effectiveness of theirprotected area status will depend on continuing governmentcommitment and in particular, funding, to enable indigenouspeople to use their traditional skills, develop modern landmanagement skills and have the capacity for managementwith all its challenges.

The significance of IPAs in protecting the biodiversity of anumber of bioregions where extensive Indigenous land tenureexists is shown in Figure 6.

The importance of effective integration of IPAs with Stategovernment conservation mechanisms and third partypartnerships has been alluded to in the above discussion ofWestern Australia and South Australia.

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4.0 IntroductionPart B of this report identifies ten of the outstanding protected area achievements across all governments and by a non-government organisation over the decade (1992-2002)since the formal inception of the National Reserve System.

These achievements are recognised to capture the essence ofthe tremendous amount of work that is on-going to developand manage a representative protected area system inAustralia.

This assessment adopted an expert process to identify themost outstanding protected areas from those nominated byjurisdictions. Initially an invitation was extended to allgovernments and key non-government organisations tonominate up to three important protected areas acquired intheir jurisdiction for the decade. This was received withenthusiasm, in itself an indication of the desire to showcasethe important work that is on-going.

The criteria adopted were based on the degree to which theprotected area contributed to the scientific principles of theNational Reserve System and included:

• the contribution to addressing Comprehensiveness,particularly in those IBRA regions where biodiversity ispoorly conserved.

• national significance in conserving rare , threatened or atrisk ecological communities, and centres of endemicity,refugia or areas of outstanding species richness.

Other criteria considered in selecting the final list were thedegree of threat that existed to the area and any specialmanagement responses that had been put in place. In some ofthese areas, considerable animosity to establishing protectedareas meant that intense opposition to the expansion of theprotected area system had to be overcome, e.g. ChannelCountry and Mitchell Grass Downs Bioregions.

Ten of the most outstanding protected areas established overthe decade, 1992-2002, by each jurisdiction and by a non-government organisation are described below. These havebeen creditable achievements. It is acknowledged that manyother protected areas were established over this period andthese too have made a very significant contribution to theprotection of Australia’s biodiversity.

Private individuals, such as the late Steve Irwin of AustraliaZoo, have also made a significant contribution through thepurchase of land to protect wildlife habitat. While thesevaluable contributions to protecting Australia’s biodiversityare outside the scope of this review, they are acknowledgedand encouraged.

Part B Australia’s top protected areas established by each governmentand a non-government organisation over the decade 1992-2002


The Australian Capital Territory ProtectedArea of the Decade are the Gungahlin andDunlop Grassland Reserves.Figure 7: Terrestrial protected areas of the

Australian Capital Territory and the mostsignificant area established over thedecade, 1992-2002: Gungahlin and DunlopGrassland Reserves.

Gungahlin and Dunlop Grassland Reserves occupy an area of640 ha and include a mosaic of grassland and woodlandremnants in northern lowland areas of the Australian CapitalTerritory. They are representative of the previously extensiveYellow box/Red gum grassy woodlands and natural TemperateGrassland ecosystems, which now generally exist asfragmented remnants that are poorly represented in theNational Reserve System. These reserves in the South EastHighlands Bioregion were gazetted in 1995 and 1997respectively.

The primary ecological community found on these reserves ishighly threatened natural temperate grassland, of which onlyabout 5% (1,000 hectares) remain in the Territory scattered in39 locations. Both communities are poorly represented in theNational Reserve System. Only one percent of nativegrasslands and ten percent of woodlands remain in south-eastern Australia, usually as small, disconnected remnants.

The Gungahlin Grassland Reserves contain one of the mostsignificant known populations of the nationally vulnerableStriped legless lizard, Delma impar, and are consideredimportant to the survival of this species. The DunlopGrassland Reserve contains several uncommon grasslandspecies. They also contain habitat for the critically endangeredGolden sun moth, Synemon plana, the vulnerable Perungagrasshopper, Perunga ochracea and the endangered daisy,Rutidosis leptorrhynchoides.

The Gungahlin Grassland Reserves were among the firstnatural temperate grassland reserves established in south-eastern Australia, an achievement recognised by WWFAustralia through its award of Australia’s 1995 Reserve of theYear. The award was also in recognition of the revenueforegone by the ACT Government to protect these importantsites.

4.1 Australian Capital Territory

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Gungahlin and Dunlop Grassland Reserves protect highlythreatened temperate grasslands © Department of Territory andMunicipal Services, ACT Government

Note See inside front cover for source information and acknowledgements.

The New South Wales protected area of the decade 1992-2002 is the Paroo –Darling National Park and StateConservation Area.Figure 8: Terrestrial protected areas of New South

Wales and the most significant areasestablished over the decade 1992-2002:Paroo – Darling National Park and StateConservation Area; and by the AustralianGovernment, Booderee National Park.

The Paroo-Darling National Park and State Conservation Areais the second largest protected area in western New SouthWales, and spans three bioregions. It covers 227,200 hectares.

The north-west section of the park is in the Mulga LandsBioregion and includes sandstone hills with quartzite ridges,undulating stony plains, level sand plain country as well assubstantial areas of the Paroo River overflow lakes andwetlands. The central section of the park is focused on theDarling River and the Darling Riverine Plains Bioregion, with100km of the Darling River riparian corridor protected in thepark including many channels, creeks, billabongs and adjacentlakes. The reserve also extends south east from the DarlingRiver across dunefields and sand plains of the Murray DarlingDepression Bioregion to the Bokhara Hills.

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Paroo-Darling National Park and State Conservation Areaprotect extensive semi-arid wetlands. © Rob Dick

The addition of this park has increased the area of the MulgaLands Bioregion conserved from 1.3% to 3.2%, the DarlingRiverine Plains Bioregion from 1.0% to 1.6%, and theMurray-Darling Depression Bioregion from 4.8% to 5.4% in New South Wales. This area samples a wide variety oflandscapes and ecosystems, including 37 different landsystems, the majority of which were not previously containedwithin a protected area.

WetlandsOne of the primary features of the Paroo-Darling NationalPark are Peery, Poloko, Wongalara, Poopelleo and TilpillyLakes, which are associated with the Paroo and DarlingRivers. These saline lakes comprise about 5% of the parkwhen full and are a particularly important natural resource inthe semi-arid region of north western New South Wales whererainfall events are irregular and unpredictable. Flood-producing rains can occur at any time of the year resulting ina spectacular increase in wildlife population.The ParooOverflow is recognised as a significant and representativeexample of a large terminal drainage system and habitat forwaterbirds and is listed in A Directory of Important Wetlandsin Australia. On average, major floods occur in the Paroo every five years,minor floods occur approximately every year and moderatefloods every 2-3 years. The frequency at which the Paroofloods means that highly productive wetlands are available forlonger than in other regions west of the Darling River.

Importantly, the Paroo River, which supplies water to Peeryand Poloko Lakes, has no major construction works, weirs orlevees, nor is there considerable water extraction foragricultural purposes. Consequently, the pattern of flow,particularly the extent and duration of flooding and drying ofthese rivers and associated natural drainage features, remainsas a natural regime. This is particularly important for themaintenance of wildlife habitats.

The Darling River is a semi-arid river that receives water fromthe rivers and tributaries of the Barwon-Darling Basin.Climatic variability is a feature of the catchment, with rainfalldecreasing westward across the catchment with decreasingelevation, and flow levels in the Darling River being highlyvariable. The riparian vegetation along the Darling Riverprovides an important corridor and habitat for a range of floraand fauna species. Alternating wet and dry states means thefloodplain is temporarily shared by terrestrial then aquaticspecies, thus enhancing floodplain biodiversity and makingriparian zones distinctive landscape features. The DarlingRiver floodplain contains a number of lakes that periodicallyflood and dry out. Two of these lakes, Wongalara andPopelloe Lake are in the Paroo-Darling National Park andState Conservation Area.

WaterbirdsNationally, the wetlands of the Paroo River have beenidentified as being of outstanding importance for waterbirds.Of the lakes within the Paroo Overflow, Peery Lake is one ofmost significant in terms of the number and species ofwaterbirds it can support. Fifty-five waterbird species andover 35,900 individuals have been recorded from Peery andPoloko Lakes. The lakes support a number of species subjectto the Japan and China Migratory Bird Agreements withAustralia.

These lakes provide important habitat for migratory waders.Up to about 500 small waders, 75 large waders and 500medium-sized waders have been recorded on Peery Lake andup to 450 small waders on Poloko Lake at any one time,between 1987 and 1994. Two Oriental Plovers were recordedon the northern end of Peery Lake in October 1991.

In 1984 this section of the Darling River and its floodplainsupported almost 139,000 waterbirds. It is predicted thatPoopelloe Lake could support 20,000 waterbirds andWongalara Lake could support 12,000 waterbirds.

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Mound SpringsThe Great Artesian Basin occupies about 22% of theAustralian continent and is the largest artesian system in theworld. Artesian springs occur along the margins of the Basinand are the vent for the natural discharge of artesian water. AtPeery Lake there are two distinct sets of springs alignednorth-south on the western and eastern sides of the lake, some4km apart and comprise both flowing and inactive springs.These springs are called ‘mound springs’ and arecharacterised by mounds of up to 2m in diameter formed fromaccumulated deposit of mud and evaporite. Mound springsoccupy an extremely small percentage of semi-arid Australiaand are probably the rarest landform in Australia. They arelisted as an Endangered Ecological Community in New SouthWales. The springs on Paroo-Darling National Park havesignificant conservation value because they form the largestactive spring complex in New South Wales and areuncommon in that they are the only known springs in NewSouth Wales to occur on lake beds.

CulturalThe area has historically provided a major focus forAboriginal culture in Western NSW and has a major role inthe Dreaming track system of the region. It is still of livingcultural value to Aboriginal people. The Paroo-DarlingNational Park and State Conservation Area is an increasingtourism drawcard for western New South Wales.

© N

icolas Wijeyesekera

The Northern Territory protected area ofthe decade 1992-2002 is the WestMacDonnell National Park.Figure 9: Terrestrial protected areas of the Northern

Territory and the most significant areaestablished over the decade 1992-2002:West MacDonnell National Park.

The West MacDonnell National Park includes portions of theChewings, Heavitree and MacDonnell Ranges and extendsapproximately 160 kilometres westwards from Alice Springs.

The area of the gazetted Park is 205,564 ha making it thelargest National Park in central Australia. Amalgamation ofdispersed Parks into one and a further area of approximately21,800 ha in the Alice Valley added to the Park in December2002 has allowed this National Park to qualify for theNorthern Territory protected area of the decade 1992-2002.

The scientific geological values of the Park are exceptional. Itcontains some of the oldest exposed rock on Earth and stratawhich provides a complete geological history of centralAustralia, including evidence of early fossilised life forms, apast glacial age and a time when central Australia contained avast, shallow inland sea.

Relict flora such as cycads and ferns provide evidence of atime when central Australia was much wetter.

VegetationThe vegetation types included in West MacDonnell NationalPark mostly comprise hummock grasslands and Acaciashrublands/woodlands, being two of the five broad vegetationtypes most poorly represented in the reserve system in theNorthern Territory park estate generally.

One vegetation type Acacia aneura (Mulga) tall open-shrubland with Aristida contorta or Triodia spp. open-tussock/hummock grassland understorey is represented in noother conservation reserve. A total of only four othervegetation types, contribute to more that half of the reserved area.

FloraOf the 697 species (711 taxa) of indigenous flora that havebeen recorded within the West MacDonnell National Park, 31are of national significance, 55 of Northern Territorysignificance, 18 significant within the Southern NorthernTerritory and 25 of bioregional significance.

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West MacDonnell National Park protects a complete geologicalhistory of central Australia and a rich diversity of flora and flora. © M Barritt


Five sites covering over half of the West MacDonnell NationalPark (including the Alice Valley proposed extension) havebeen identified as sites of national botanical significance.These are sites surrounding Mount Zeil, Chewings Range,Glen Helen, Simpsons Gap and part of the Ilparpa site.

Two vegetation communities are of particular interest inrelation to species of conservation significance. Occurring inonly two small areas of less that 0.01 km2 is the Melaleucaglomerata, Hemichroa diandra saline mound springscommunity. These mound springs have water with a highmineral content and form low mounds or banks composed ofsolids deposited by evaporating water and concreted organicmatter and wind blown sand. The plant species assemblage inthis community is unique with a significant number of rareplants that comprise 50% of the total species present.

FaunaThe MacDonnell Ranges are the most important series ofranges in central Australia for faunal species richness.

Fish

A total of nine species of fish are known to occur in the park.Although this number is low from an Australian perspective,regionally it is significant. One species is classified asvulnerable – the Finke river hardyhead, Craterocephaluscentralis and is only known from the Finke River system.

Reptiles and Amphibians

Eighty-three species of reptiles and seven species of frogshave been recorded in the Park. The region is one of therichest in the arid zone for herpetofauna. The Great desertskink, Egernia kintorei, is classified as vulnerable. A numberof species have not been recorded or collected in the area for many years.

Birds

One hundred and fifty two bird species have been recorded inthe area. Major creek systems and tall shrublands support therichest avifauna. Two species are classified as threatened –Thick-billed grasswren, Amytornis textilis as endangered andFreckled duck, Stictonetta naevos as vulnerable. Freckledduck are only occasional visitors to the park.

Mammals

At least 42 native mammal species are known to have onceinhabited the West MacDonnell Ranges, including 31terrestrial species and 11 bat species. Sadly, today the area isknown to contain only 19 terrestrial species and nine batspecies.

The West MacDonnell Ranges are considered to be thestronghold for several rare and threatened mammals, includingthe vulnerable Black-footed rock-wallaby, Petrogale lateralis,and the central Australian form of the Common brushtailpossum, Trichosurus vulpecula. The Black-footed rock-wallaby is considered vulnerable because of its decline inabundance in the arid zone. The central Australian form of theCommon brushtail possum is rare in the arid zone and itsnumbers appear to be diminishing. The Long-tailed dunnart,Sminthopsis longicaudata (data deficient) and the criticallyendangered Central rock-rat, Zyzomys pedunculatus, werefound in the park in the mid-1990s for the first time in almosta century.

Invertebrate Fauna

The rare land snail, Bothriembrion spenceri, was firstcollected at Finke Gorge in 1894 and later collected at ElleryCreek Big Hole and Hugh Gorge.

Cultural significanceThe Ranges are within the tribal boundaries of the WesternArrente Aboriginal people and form a significant part of theirancient and ongoing culture. The MacDonnell Ranges werenamed by the explorer John McDouall Stuart who discovereda passage (Stuart’s Pass) through the Ranges in 1860. Henamed the Ranges after the then Governor of South Australia,Richard Graves MacDonnell. Title to the park has beengranted to the traditional Aboriginal owners of the area undera negotiated land claim settlement. The management of thepark will be under a joint management agreement between theNorthern Territory Government and the area’s traditionalowners.

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Black-footed rock wallaby, West MacDonnell National Park. © WWF/Klein Hubert

The Queensland Protected Area of theDecade 1992-2002 is the Diamantina andAstrebla Downs National Park Aggregation.Figure 10: Terrestrial protected areas of Queensland

and the most significant protected areaestablished over the decade 1992-2002:Diamantina – Astrebla Downs NationalParks

These parks lie in close proximity to each other in westernQueensland between Longreach and the Queensland –Northern Territory border. Diamantina National Park straddlesthe boundary of the Channel Country and Mitchell GrassDowns Bioregions while Astrebla Downs lies just to thesouthwest of Diamantina National Park in the southernmostpart of the Mitchell Grass Downs Bioregion.

The names of both reserves reflect a major defining feature.Diamantina National Park contains an 80 kilometres longstretch of the river of the same name. It is a major stream ofthe lake Eyre Basin and has a special place in TraditionalOwner and European settler folklore. Astrebla is the genus towhich several species of Mitchell grass belong. The Mitchellgrasses are highly palatable and drought resistant nativespecies forming extensive grasslands or “downs” that havesustained sheep and cattle production in parts of arid inlandQueensland.

Diamantina National Park is 507,000 hectares. The initial areaof 407,000 hectares was gazetted on 2 July 1993 withadditions gazetted 9 February 1996.

Astrebla Downs National Park is 176,000 hectares. An initialarea of 174,000 hectares was gazetted on 9 February 1996 andexpanded on 5 March 1999.

Diamantina National Park is the only reserve in the ChannelCountry Bioregion to contain an extensive area of thelandscapes that typify the region, in particular the vast,braided floodplains of the streams of the Lake Eyre Basin.The reserve contains a total of 39 regional ecosystems, nine ofwhich are not sampled in any other reserves.

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4.4 Queensland

Astrebla Downs National Park is one of the most extensivegrassland parks in the world and protects the largest population of Bilbies in Queensland. © Paul Sattler


Astrebla Downs National Park is the only reserve in theMitchell Grass Downs Bioregion to contain extensive areas ofthe treeless Mitchell grass plains landscapes that define theregion so evocatively. The Mitchell Grass Downs occur ondeep fertile cracking clay soils derived from shales. AstreblaDowns contains a total of four regional ecosystems. Thisreserve represents one of the largest grassland parks in theworld.

Astrebla Downs National Park contains the largest knownQueensland population of the endangered Bilby, Macrotislagotis. Both parks support other arid zone fauna that, alongwith the Bilby, have suffered a decline in range andabundance including the Plains wanderer, Pedionomustorquatus and the Kowari, Dasyuroides byrnei, both of whichare listed as Vulnerable species.

Diamantina National Park protects many of the extensivelandscapes of the Channel Country. © Paul Sattler

The South Australian protected area of thedecade 1992-2002 is the Gawler RangesNational Park.Figure 11: Terrestrial Protected Areas of South

Australia and the most significantprotected area established over thedecade 1992-2002: Gawler RangesNational Park.

The Gawler Ranges are located on Eyre Peninsula north of the Eyre Highway and are emerging as a significant tourismdestination, offering alternative routes for east-west travellers(Iron Knob to Wirrilla or Wudinna) and south-north travellers(Wirilla or Wudinna to Kingoonya).

The Gawler Ranges National Park was proclaimed on 15 January 2002 and covers an area of approximately 166,300 hectares. The park fills significant gaps in the SouthAustralian reserve system and adds 1.6% of the GawlerBioregion and 1.3% of the Eyre Yorke Block Bioregion.

A number of threatened species are protected within the park,such as the Central long-eared bat, inland thorn-bill, thick-billed grass wren, yellow-footed rock-wallaby, Penatty knob-tailed gecko, Gawler Range crimson mallee, Woolly spinifexand Victoria Springs mallee. The park also forms a significantpart of a corridor of reserve land for the movement andmigration of birds and animals between other Eyre Peninsulaparks in the south, the Gawler Ranges and the Great VictoriaDesert. The area represents a transition zone between the drierpastoral regions to the north and the wetter arable districts tothe south. It is an area of overlap for many western andeastern species and arid and temperate species. Consequentlythere is high diversity in the plants (210 species) and birds(120 species).

The Gawler Ranges constitutes a spectacular part of theGawler Bioregion and includes a variety of habitats. There areno reserves that adequately protect areas of Myall woodland,chenopod shrubland or the mallee and Spinifex, Triodia sp.hills so typical of the Gawler Ranges.

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Gawler Ranges National Park protects significant biodiversityand a spectacular part of the Gawler Bioregion and Eyre YorkeBlock Bioregion. © Bernd Stoeker

The Tasmanian Protected Area of theDecade 1992-2002 is Savage River National Park.Figure 12: Terrestrial Protected Areas of Tasmania

and the most significant protected areaestablished over the decade 1992-2002:Savage River National Park.

The Savage River National Park of 17,980ha was proclaimedon 30 April 1999. It occurs in north west Tasmania in theTasmanian West (TWE) Bioregion.

The reservation of the Savage River National Park forms partof the Commonwealth and Tasmanian Regional ForestAgreement (RFA) to increase the protected status of under-reserved forest types in Tasmania. Under the RFA a numberof National Estate Values were assigned to the park. Thesevalues reflect the area’s rich primitive flora, undisturbed rivercatchments, high quality wilderness, old growth forests,geodiversity and natural landscape values. The region is also a centre for endemic flora. The park forms part of theNational Estate listing for the Savage River Region and part ofthe interim listing for the Tarkine Wilderness area.

The rainforest located on the Savage River Plateau is thelargest contiguous area of cool temperate rainforest survivingin Australia and the world. The area is an outstandingbiological resource and a major refuge in Australia for Myrtle,Nothofagus cunninghamii dominated rainforest, a type offorest with strong affinities to Gondwanan land flora. A highdiversity of rainforest communities occurs within the park.Botanically, the area is considered to be of internationalimportance.

The western portion of the park constitutes part of the mostextensive basalt plateaux in Tasmania that still retains awholly intact forest ecosystem. These basalt substratesprovide fertile soils, which support most of the tallest (over 30metres) callidendrous rainforest in the region. Basalt soils arehighly productive and are greatly sought after for agricultureand forest production. Therefore, remaining forested areas onbasalt soils at higher elevations are particularly important fornature conservation.

The park contains habitat for a diverse rainforest fauna and astronghold for a number of vertebrate species, which havesuffered population, declines elsewhere in Australia. The parksignificantly contributes to the conservation of eight plantspecies and six fauna species listed on State andCommonwealth threatened species lists.

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Savage River National Park protects rich rainforest biodiversityon fertile basalt soils. © Joe Shemesh


The Victorian protected area of the decade1992-2002 is Terrick Terrick National Park.Figure 13: Terrestrial protected areas of Victoria and

the most significant protected areaestablished over the decade 1992-2002:Terrick Terrick National Park.

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Terrick Terrick National Park protects 28 threatened plantspecies and 13 threatened animal species. © Mark Tscharke


Terrick Terrick National Park is located on the northern plainsin north-west Victoria, about 260 km from Melbourne or 70 km north of Bendigo. It occurs in the Riverina Bioregionand has an area of 3,880 hectares.

Terrick Terrick National Park comprises the granite outcropsof the Terrick Terrick Range and the surrounding plain. It protects some of the last remaining native vegetation ofVictoria’s northern plains (which have been almost entirelycleared for agricultural purposes) and important habitat for arange of significant flora and fauna.

EcosystemsThe park reserves the largest contiguous area (approximately1,200 hectares) of Northern Plains grassland and the largestand most significant area of White Cypress-pine Grassywoodland in Victoria. It also contains other communities ofconservation significance, including grassy woodland, GraniteOutcrop shrubland and Riparian woodland.

Very little of the grassland has been subject to pastureimprovement. Grassland areas such as this remnant are underincreasing threat from conversion to introduced pasture andcrops. A further six new nature conservation reservescontaining Northern Plains grasslands (totalling almost 1,500 ha) have been acquired close to the Terrick Terrickgrassland. Purchased with part funding from the NationalReserve System program, these form part of an extendednetwork of public and private conservation lands protectinggrasslands and providing habitat for Plains-wanderer andnationally threatened flora species.

FloraThe park supports 28 threatened flora at the national or Statelevel including the largest protected populations in Victoria ofthe following nationally threatened species (Myriophyllumporcatum is in the woodland section of the Terrick TerrickNational Park):

Vulnerable

Myriophyllum porcatum Ridged water-milfoil

Swainsona murrayana Murray swainson-pea

Swainsona plagiotropis Red swainson-pea

Rare

Maireana rohrlachii Rohrlach’s bluebush

Endangered

Prasophyllum aff. Plains leek orchidoccidentale D

Pterostylis despectans Lowly greenhood

FaunaSupports 13 threatened fauna at a State or national levelincluding the following nationally threatened species:

Vulnerable

Delma impar Striped legless lizard

Pedionomus torquatus Plains-wanderer

Litoria raniformis Growling grass frog

Terrick Terrick National Park is known to be one of only ahandful of conservation reserves in Australia where theStriped Legless Lizard is currently known. Twenty percent ofthe known Victorian population of the Plains-wanderer use thegrasslands in the park.

The Riverina Bioregion is a high priority bioregion for reserveconsolidation. The vegetation communities of the VictorianNorthern Plains have been severely degraded since Europeansettlement and now only small remnant areas of nativevegetation remains. For example, it has been estimated that99.75% of the Northern Plains Grassland community has beenlost. The park’s grasslands contribute significantly torepresentation of the Riverina Bioregion in the NationalReserve System.


The Western Australian protected area ofthe decade 1992-2002 is Francois PeronNational Park. Figure 14: Terrestrial protected areas of Western

Australia and the most significant protectedareas established over the decade 1992-2002: Francois Peron National Parkand Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary.

Francois Peron National Park is within the Shark Bay WorldHeritage area and is adjacent to the Shark Bay Marine Park,10 Kilometres from Denham and 410 kilometres fromGeraldton. It is 52,586 hectares in area and was gazetted on 8 January 1993.

The dominant landforms are sandplains and dune deposits,which overlay the Peron Sandstone.

It is in the Carnarvon Bioregion, a part of the State that is not well conserved.

VegetationThere are six vegetation types mapped for FPNP. Bowgadascrub extends down the eastern half of the park on redsandhills. This community is dominated by Acacia ramulosa,a spreading shrub that can attain a height of three metres.Acacia spp. and Lamarchea hakeifolia thicket is the secondmost common type in FPNP. The entire State pre-Europeanextent (17,546 hectares) of this very rare vegetation type ismapped within FPNP.

Hummock grasslands, grass steppe Spinifex, Triodiaplurinervata is also a very rare type and again the entire Statepre-European extent (421 hectares) is mapped within FPNP.

Another very rare type, shrublands of Acacia ligulata xrostellifera thicket is restricted in distribution to the CarnarvonBioregion and the largest occurrence of this type coincideswith FPNP.

Wetlands (Coastal birridas) are represented with FPNP.

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Francois Peron National Park, part of the Shark Bay WorldHeritage area and where Project Eden, an intensivemanagement program, aims to recover the native animalsoriginally found in the area. © Samille Mitchell/WA DEC


FaunaA large number of species have disappeared from arid parts ofAustralia, largely due to predation by introduced foxes andcats and competition from introduced grazing animals such asrabbits, goats and sheep. The Department of Conservation andLand Management is carrying out Project Eden, which is partof a statewide program for the control of introduced predatorsand recovery of native fauna, known as Western Shield.

The purpose of Project Eden is to reconstruct the originalfauna of Peron Peninsula as far as possible and make it ahaven for threatened native animals. As well as widespreadbaiting to remove feral cats, foxes, goats and rabbits, a 3.4 kilometre fence has been built to keep out feral animals.

Animal species such as the Red-tailed phascogale, Rufoushare-wallaby, Banded hare-wallaby, Western barred bandicootand Chuditch may soon be reintroduced. Woylies, Bilbies andMalleefowl have already been released.

At least 18 mammal species occurred on Peron Peninsulaprior to European settlement, but only eight native species arenow present – the Common dunnart, Common wallaroo(Euro), Greater long-eared bat, White striped mastiff-bat,Spinifex hopping mouse, Sandy inland mouse and the Bilbyand Woylie (which have been reintroduced).

The Park has a rich variety of birds with more than 100species having been recorded. The Yellow white-eye,Zosterops lutea is at its southern range limit on PeronPeninsula. South west species at their northern range limit arethe Mallefowl and the Southern scrub robin, Drymodesbrunneopygia.

At least 44 species of reptiles and amphibians are believed tooccur in the Park, including the threatened Woma or Ramsay’spython, Aspidities ramsayi.

Research suggests that Peron Peninsula supported a relativelyhigh proportion of Shark Bay’s Aboriginal population prior tocolonisation. Drawings, which exist from expeditions in 1901and 1903, depict semi-permanent Aboriginal camps.

Francois Peron National Park is named after the Frenchzoologist who accompanied the Nicholas Baudin scientificexpedition to southern and western Australia in 1801.


Mallee fowl. © WWF/Canon, Martin Harvey

The Australian Government’s protectedarea of the decade 1992-2002 is BoodereeNational Park, Jervis Bay, refer Figure 8.

Booderee National Park covers an area of 6,312 ha on thesouthern side of Jervis Bay, New South Wales. The Park islocated entirely within the Jervis Bay Territory on land leasedfrom the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council.

Booderee National Park was proclaimed in 1992 over landthat had been reserved previously under the Australian CapitalTerritory Public Parks Ordinance 1928. Included in the parkare the Booderee Botanic Gardens (formerly the frost-freeannexe of the Australian National Botanic Gardens), BowenIsland and the Commonwealth waters of Jervis Bay.

In 1995, title to the Jervis Bay National Park and the JervisBay Botanic Gardens was conferred on the Wreck BayAboriginal Community Council, provided these areas wereleased back to the Director of National Parks and Wildlife foruse as a National Park and Botanic Gardens. The leaseagreement provides for joint management of the areas.Booderee is one of three Commonwealth reserves managedby the Director of National Parks jointly with their Aboriginalowners.

Jervis Bay is of major biogeographic significance in Australiaand contains a variety of relatively undisturbed marine andterrestrial habitats. Booderee National Park protects asignificantly large area of species-rich heath, a diversity ofwetlands and extensive salt marshes and one of the largestPosidonia seagrass meadows along the New South Walescoast.

The vegetation communities found in the park include relictrainforest, littoral rainforest, forest, woodland, wet and dryheath, coastal scrub and grassland communities. The floristicdiversity of the park is high with more than 625 native plantspecies recorded, one of which, Syzygium paniculatum, islisted as vulnerable under the Environment Protection andBiodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).

There are 12 fauna species listed as threatened under theEPBC Act and 135 migratory or marine species.

Booderee National Park receives approximately 400,000visitors each year. Visitor activities include walking,swimming and other beach activities, fishing, camping,boating, sailing, picnicking, nature study, photography, andsnorkelling and SCUBA diving.

4.9 Australian Government

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Booderee National Park protects highly significant coastalhabitats under joint management arrangements with the WreckBay Aboriginal Community. © DEH

The non-government organisation reserveof the decade 1992-2002 is MorningtonWildlife Sanctuary, refer Figure 14.

Mornington is located in the heart of the Central KimberleyBioregion of Western Australia, approximately 100 kilometresnorth east of Fitzroy crossing. It is accessed by travelling 240 km from Derby along the Gibb River road before turningsouth (at the Mt House turn-off) and travelling another 95 km.

Mornington covers 312,000 hectares of rugged CentralKimberley wilderness. It was acquired by the AustralianWildlife Conservancy (AWC) in late 2001.

Mornington is located in the Pentacost subregion (CentralKimberley 1). Only 0.02% of the Central KimberleyBioregion is included in formal reserves. It is, accordingly,one of the highest priority bioregions in Australia in terms ofestablishing a Comprehensive, Adequate and RepresentativeNational Reserve System.

The landscape is very scenic with mesas cut by steep-sidedvalleys and gorges, broad expansive plains and a network ofrivers and streams.

Mornington includes much of the upper catchment of theFitzroy River, the magnificent Diamond and Sir John Gorgesand the King Leopold Range. A Wetland of NationalImportance (Lake Gladstone) straddles the boundary ofMornington, an area of vacant Crown land and the adjacentpastoral property.

Mornington is a hotspot for birdwatchers with nearly 200 birdspecies recorded.

Expert advice to AWC suggests up to 40 mammal speciesmay be present on Mornington. A range of species has beenincidentally recorded on the property (for example, Water rats,Short-eared rock wallabies and Northern nailtail wallabies).However, little is known about the mammal fauna of theCentral Kimberley Bioregion.

EcosystemsThe Central Kimberley Bioregion lies within the FitzgeraldBotanical District and Mornington contains five broadvegetation communities. These communities and theirrepresentation in reserves in the Central Kimberley Bioregion are:

• Savanna woodland (high grass savanna) – Very lowrepresentation

• Low savanna woodland (curly spinifex) – Not represented

• Low tree savanna (curly spinifex) – Well represented

• Low tree savanna (tall bunch grass) – Not represented

• Tree steppe scattered low trees (spinifex) – Notrepresented.

4.10 Non Government Organisation

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Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary protects rugged CentralKimberley wilderness that is poorly represented in formalreserves. © Australian Wildlife Conservancy

Additional ecosystems on Mornington include:

• Riparian vegetation along the Fitzroy River and itstributaries;

• Palm and fern forests (eg, at the base of the Lady Forrestand King Leopold Ranges); and

• Wetlands associated with Lake Gladstone.

Significance for rare and threatened speciesMornington contains habitat for a range of rare and threatenedspecies including:

• The Purple-crowned fairy-wren, Gouldian finch and Redgoshawk (each listed as nationally threatened underEPBC Act).

• Several mammal species listed as rare and threatenedunder Western Australian legislation and more that adozen species of plants listed by WA, eg. Acaciagloeotricha, Livistona victorae.

Mornington contains important refugial habitats associatedwith spring fed swamps along the base of the Lady ForrestRange. Lake Gladstone and the pools and billabongsassociated with the Fitzroy River and it tributaries.

Management and threatsAWC has staff based at Mornington dealing with propertymanagement issues and managing campers and other visitorsto the property and intends to implement a staged destockingprogram.

Field surveys for Gouldian finch and Purple-crowned fairy-wren have commenced.

Ultimately, AWC will need to secure a conservationagreement with the Western Australian Government (and/orthe amendment of legislation) to ensure the permanentcessation of all pastoral activities at Mornington.

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Habitat of the Gouldian finch, a nationally threatened species, is protected in Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary. © M Fidler

5.1 Determining Priorities5.1.1 Setting Priorities for the

Development of the National Reserve System

Considerable effort over many years has gone into thedevelopment of criteria to consolidate the National ReserveSystem in order to ensure there is a technical basis thatfocuses on ecological priorites and that the selection processis transparent. Also, a number of State processes have usedquantitative and systematic reserve selection techniques, e.g.Queensland’s Mulga Lands (the first quantatively designedreserve system to be implemented on the ground for a wholebioregion) (Purdie 1986) and the work by Pressy et al. in NewSouth Wales. These have been important developments notonly to address ecological priorities but to demonstrate,particularly to competing land uses, that there is a rigorousselection process and a developing science to selectingprotected areas to maximise nature conservation outcomes(e.g. Pressy 1999).

Three major developments have shaped the development ofthe National Reserve System (Cumming, 2006, pers. com.).

1. The Australian Guidelines for the Development of theNational Reserve System (1999)

These scientific guidelines were developed jointly by alljurisdictions and focus on:Comprehensiveness – does the area:• increase the Comprehensiveness of the NRS at a

continental scale, and to what extent?• add to the reservation of the full range of ecosystems

recognised at an appropriate scale across and within eachIBRA region, and to what extent?

Representativeness – does the area:• add to the representativeness of the NRS and to what

degree?• enable better representation of ecosystems across their

geographical or environmental range within the IBRAregion?

• include the intrinsic variability of the ecosystems itrepresents?

Adequacy - does the area:• provide long-term security for one or more ecosystems

and associated species?• increase the security provided by the protected area

system for one or more ecosystems and associatedspecies, and to what degree?

Ecological importance - does the area:• contain a high diversity or abundance of ecosystems or

species?• represent a centre of endemism, or refugia?• contain areas significant for migratory species?• contain habitat for rare or threatened species?• contain one or more areas which are a biologically

functional, self sustaining ecological unit?Also:• to what degree has the area been protected from, or not

been subject to, human induced change?• does the area capture important geographic attributes such

as biological interzones or environmental gradients?

2. Australian Government’s National Reserve SystemProgram Requirements

These are indicated by the National Reserve System Programwebsites – see below – which state that priority will be givento land purchases that:

• conserve ecosystems that are in designated high priorityIBRA bioregions or IBRA sub-regions for thedevelopment of the National Reserve System, or areinadequately represented in the current reserve system inother bioregions;

• conserve key habitats for nationally listed threatenedspecies</biodiversity/threatened/index.html> or migratory species </biodiversity/migratory/index.html> and/or Ramsar sites or wetlands of national importance</water/wetlands/links/index.html> ;

• are viable in the long term because of either their largesize or proximity to other areas managed for natureconservation, or their position in the landscape.

Part C Description of the protected area system and priorities in each bioregion by State and Territory


3. Directions for Establishing the National ReserveSystem – A Partnership Approach (NRMMC 2005)

This collaborative statement by all governments againreinforces the goal to establish a Comprehensive, Adequateand Representative system of protected areas to contribute tothe conservation of Australia’s native biodiversity.Accordingly, it states that the NRS will:

• aim to contain samples of all ecosystems identified at anappropriate regional scale;

• aim to contain areas which are refugia or centres ofspecies richness or endemicity;

• consider the ecological requirements of rare or threatenedspecies and rare or threatened ecological communities andecosystems, in particular those listed in the EnvironmentProtection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 andother State, Territory and local government legislation orpolicy instruments; and

• take account of special groups of organisms, e.g. specieswith specialised habitat requirements or wide - ranging ormigratory species, or species vulnerable to threateningprocesses that may depend on reservation for theirconservation.

5.1.2 Bioregional outlook for consolidatingthe National Reserve System

‘In parts of Australia, the opportunity to implement aComprehensive reserve system has between lost or is rapidlydiminishing. An indication of this is given by the findings of the NLWRA Landscape Health Assessment (2001) whichfound that within the intensive land use zone 57 subregions(31%) had less than 30% remnant vegetation and in 88subregions (48%), connectivity of vegetation remnants hadbroken down’ (NLWRA 2002, p123).

The diminishing opportunity for a fully Comprehensivereserve system is also indicated by the Audit’s TerrestrialBiodiversity Assessment (NLWRA 2002), which identified2,891 threatened ecological communities. Ten bioregions (16% of the 62 bioregions where comprehensive ecosystemdata was available) have more than 50% of their ecosystemsthreatened – Central Mackay Coast, South East Queensland,New South Wales North Coast, Nandewar, New EnglandTableland, Darling Riverine Plains, Victorian Volcanic plainand Murray Darling Depression. A further 14 or 23% ofbioregions have between 30% and 50% of their ecosystemsthreatened.

In total, a third of Australia’s bioregions have a significantproportion of their ecosystems that could be classed asvulnerable or endangered. This ecosystem decline has majorramifications in terms of future species loss and impacts onecological processes and ecosystem services. The bioregionalsummaries discussed in section 5.2 help summarise the statusof native ecosystems, key species values and threateningprocesses to determine further protected area requirements.

To achieve a Comprehensive protected area system, 42 orabout half of Australia’s bioregions are recognised to be ofhigh priority (priorities 1&2) for further expansion (NLWRA2002). These priorities for consolidating the protected areaestate across the bioregions of Australia are shown in Figure 15 and in Table 33. These priorities are based on theextent reserved in each bioregion and the level of remnantvegetation in each subregion based on Cummings and Hardy(2001) and then modified to a higher classification if:

• a significant threatening process existed in the bioregion

• the reserve system is highly biased and notComprehensive or Representative in terms of ecosystemrepresentation (NLWRA 2002).

The priority bioregions fall principally within the NorthernTerritory (17 bioregions), Queensland (11), Western Australia(11) and NSW (10), refer Table 34.

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These images show the loss of the Foxleigh NP proposal atMiddlemount in Queensland between 1995 and 2001. Now cleared, this proposed park could have protected asignificant area of threatened Brigalow ecosystems andprovided recreation and tourism opportunities close to themining town. © Queensland Herbarium

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Figure 15: Bioregional priorities for consolidating Australia’s protected area system (NLWRA 2002)

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Table 33: Bioregional priorities to consolidate Australia’s protected area system (NLWRA 2002)

Reservation Priority 1 Reservation Priority 2 Reservation Priority 3 Reservation Priority 4 Reservation Priority 5(Highest) (Lowest)Avon Wheatbelt (WA) Arnhem Coast (NT) Ben Lomond (Tas) Arnhem Plateau (NT) Australian Alps

(NSW,Vic,ACT)Brigalow Belt North (Qld) Central Arnhem (NT) Broken Hill Complex CapeYork Peninsula Esperance Plains (WA)

(NSW,SA) (Qld)Brigalow Belt South Carnarvon (WA) Central Mackay Coast Darwin Coastal (NT) Great Victoria Desert(Qld,NSW) (Qld) (WA,SA)Burt Plain (NT) Channel Country Coolgardie (WA) Flinders (Tas,Vic) NSW North Coast

(Qld,SA,NT,NSW)) (NSW,Qld)Central Ranges Central Kimberley (WA) Eyre Yorke Block (SA) Gibson Desert (WA) Pine Creek (NT)(WA, NT,SA)Daly Basin (NT) Cobar Peneplain (NSW) Gawler (SA) Geraldton Sandplains Sydney Basin (NSW)

(WA)Dampierland (WA) Desert Uplands (Qld) Gulf Fall and Uplands Hampton (WA,SA) South East Corner

(NT,Qld) (Vic,NSW)Darling Riverine Plains Davenport Jarrah Forest New England Tableland South Eastern Highlands(NSW,Qld) Murchison Ranges (WA) (NSW,Qld) (NSW,Vic,ACT)

(NT)Finke (NT,SA) Einasleigh Uplands (Qld) Kanmantoo (SA) Tasmanian Central Simpson Strzelecki

Highlands (Tas) Dunefields (SA,NT,NSW,Qld)Gulf Coastal (NT) Flinders Lofty Block (SA) King (Tas) Tasmanian Southern Warren (WA)

Ranges (Tas)Mitchell Grass Downs Gascoyne (WA) MacDonnell Ranges (NT) Tasmanian West (Tas)(Qld,NT)Murchison (WA) Great Sandy Desert Mallee (WA) Wet Tropics (Qld)

(WA,NT)Nandawar (NSW,Qld) Gulf Plains (Qld,NT) Northern Kimberley (WA)NSW South Western Little Sandy Desert (WA) Nullarbor (WA,SA)Slopes (NSW,Vic)Riverina (NSW,Vic, SA) Murray Darling Ord Victoria Plain

Depression (NT,WA)(Vic,NSW,SA)

Sturt Plateau (NT) Mount Isa Inlier (Qld,NT) South Eastern Queensland (Qld)

Tasmanian Northern Mulga Lands Swan Coastal Plain (WA)Midlands (Tas) (Qld,NSW)Victorian Volcanic Plain Naracoorte Coastal Plain Tasmanian Northern(Vic, SA) (SA,Vic) Slopes (Tas)

Pilbara (WA) Victoria Bonaparte(NT,WA)

South East Coastal Plain Victorian Midlands(Vic,NSW) (Vic)Stony Plains (SA,NT) Yalgoo (WA)Tanami (NT,WA)Tiwi Cobourg (NT)Tasmanian South East(Tas)

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Table 34: Bioregional priorities to consolidateAustralia’s protected area system byjurisdiction

State No. No. Total NationalTerritory Priority 1 Priority 2 Rank

Bioregions Bioregions [for furtheraction]

NT 7 10 17 1Qld 5 6 11 2WA 4 7 11 3NSW 5 5 10 4SA 4 5 9 5Vic 3 3 6 6Tas 1 1 2 7ACT 0 0 0 8

Note Bioregions overlapping State and Territory borders are counted in eachjurisdiction for the purposes of this table.

5.2 Bioregional Priorities for the Protected Area Systemin each State and Territory

A summary description of each bioregion (EnvironmentAustralia 2000) together with the ecosystem and protectedarea requirements for each (Australian Natural ResourcesAtlas 2002) is presented below. Because the NLWRA (2002)was the first attempt to identify ecosystem priorities on abioregional basis nationally, it is apparent that a degree ofvariation in reporting exists across the continent. However,these summary descriptions provide a basis for developmentof an information base to guide protected area expansiondecisions nationally.

The summary description of bioregional protected areapriorities can be further informed by reference to theAustralian Natural Resources Atlas(www.environment.gov.au/atlas).

The Atlas provides a listing of 1,500 broad ecosystems thatare not reserved or only inadequately reserved acrossAustralia. Only broad ecosystems and not all ecologicalcommunities, were identified in the NLWRA assessment asthe lack of detailed vegetation mapping in parts of Australiaprevents a full identification of the priorities for protected areaconsolidation.

5.2.1 New South WalesThe information presented below can now be complementedby the detailed analysis by Benson et al. (2006) of theclassification and assessment of status of the ecosystemswithin the Western Plains bioregions of New South Wales.

Priority 1 BioregionsBrigalow Belt South (BBS)

See Queensland Section 5.2.3

Darling Riverine Plains (DRP)

Alluvial fans and plains; summer/winter rainfall incatchments, including occasional cyclonic influence; greyclays; woodlands and open woodlands dominated byEucalyptus spp.

The Darling Riverine Plain has only 1.2% of its entire areareserved in IUCN I-IV reserves and a further 2.1% in IUCN V-VI reserves. In this bioregion there is only limitedopportunity for consolidation of reserves.

The Darling Riverine Plains bioregion has been given thehighest priority rank for further reservation of lands. Whilemany ecosystems are degraded in the subregion the threatfrom potential clearing makes reservation of lands a priority.Land, particularly along the Darling River has potential torecover but the regulated river system remains a concern forbiodiversity outcomes.

Nandewar (NAN)

Hills on Palaeozoic sediments; lithosols and earths;Eucalyptus albens woodlands; summer rainfall. Ecosystempriorities for reservation include:

• Ben Halls Gap National Park Sphagnum moss cooltemperateEndangered, severely depleted and highly inadequatelyreserved

• Grassy White box woodlandsEndangered, severely depleted and highly inadequatelyreserved

• Grey boxEndangered, severely depleted, highly inadequatelyreserved

• Mugga ironbarkVulnerable, severely depleted, poorly reserved

• Northern Smoothbarked appleVulnerable, poorly reserved

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• Open Tumbledown gum - Black cypress - Orange gumSeverely depleted, high inadequately reserved

• Orange gum - IronbarkSeverely depleted, highly inadequately reserved

• Orange gum - New England Blackbutt - TumbledowngumVulnerable, highly inadequately reserved

• PeppermintInadequately reserved

• River She oak - River Red gumVulnerable, severely depleted, poorly reserved

• Semi-evergreen vine thickets in the Brigalow BeltEndangered, severely depleted and highly inadequatelyreserved

• Silverleaved Ironbark - Grey BoxRare, severely depleted, highly inadequately reserved

• Silverleaved Ironbark - CypressHighly inadequately reserved

• Silvertop stringybarkVulnerable, severely depleted, highly inadequatelyreserved

• Snow gum -Mountain/Manna gumVulnerable, severely depleted, poorly reserved

• Tumbledown gum - Black cypress pineSeverely depleted, poorly reserved

• White box - Roughbarked appleVulnerable, severely depleted

• White box - Silverleaved ironbarkVulnerable, severely depleted, poorly reserved

• White box - Silverleaved ironbark - White cypress pineVulnerable, severely depleted, poorly reserved

• White cypress pine -Tumbledown gumSeverely depleted, poorly reserved

• Yellow box - Blakely’s red gumEndangered, severely depleted and highly inadequatelyreserved

• Yellow box - Grey box - Red gumVulnerable, severely depleted, highly inadequatelyreserved

• Youmans stringybark relativesEndangered, severely depleted, highly inadequatelyreserved

NSW South Western Slopes (NSS)

An extensive area of foothills and isolated ranges comprisingthe lower inland slopes of the Great Dividing Range extendingthrough southern New South Wales to western Victoria.Vegetation consists of wet/damp sclerophyll forests,Peppermint forests and Box - Ironbark woodlands.Extensively cleared for agriculture.

Less than 2% of the bioregion is reserved. The South WesternSlopes of NSW are some of the most highly cleared andaltered lands in the State, with most of the remaining areas of native vegetation in the more heavily fragmented areasremaining only in small, isolated patches.

As a result of habitat loss resulting from clearing, majordeclines and collapse of faunal groups are occurring,including ground mammals, aquatic assemblages (particularlyfrogs) and woodland birds. Concomitant with direct loss ofbiodiversity values, there has also been significant loss ofecosystem services, including breakdown of soil structure anddeclining water quality. Dryland salinity now affectssignificant areas in the bioregion and at current rates ispredicted to increase dramatically over the next two decadesaffecting up to a quarter of the NSW South Western SlopesBioregion.

Within Victoria, the Warby Range State Park, Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park, Terrick Terrick National Park,Burrowa-Pine Mountain National Park and Mount Granya areamongst the largest protected areas. Land purchase in theregion aims to consolidate previously fragmented protectedareas.

Unfortunately, very little opportunity exists for reserveconsolidation in the South Western Slopes. The priority areasfor conservation are in the areas of landholder stewardshippractices and conversion of various crown reserves, such astravelling stock routes, into conservation oriented reserves. To encourage these landholder stewardship agreements,legislation and other incentives are required to ensure thatacceptable conservation outcomes are met.

Riverina (RIV)

An ancient riverine plain and alluvial fans composed ofunconsolidated sediments with evidence of former streamchannels. The Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers and theirmajor tributaries, the Lachlan and Goulburn Rivers flowwestwards across this plain. Vegetation consists of River redgum and Black box forests, Box woodlands, Saltbushshrublands, extensive grasslands and swamp communities.

Reserves are highly fragmented. Threatening processes fromoutside the reserve (edge effects, including pest species,predation, and changes in species composition) have a highimpact despite management of the reserve itself. There is littleopportunity for consolidation of existing reserves. However,the creation of new reserve areas is of the highest priority asland in the bioregion is threatened by clearing and land usepractices.

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Over 60% of the bioregion has been cleared for agricultureand grazing on native pastures is the dominant land use in thearea. Logging of the extensive River red gum forests has beenongoing over the last century. Clearing and fragmentation ofhabitat and intensive land use are other threats to thelandscape. Although moderate areas of native vegetationremain, including most of the subregional ecosystems,connectivity in native vegetation is low and relatively little ofthe native vegetation is conservatively managed

Within Victoria, reserves protecting riverine corridors includeBarmah State Park and part of the Murray-Sunset NationalPark, while the Terrick Terrick National Park and numeroussmaller land purchases have increased the representation ofgrassy ecosystems (see Fitzsimons & Ashe 2003, Fitzsimons et al. 2004, 2006).

Protection of the extensive riverine corridors in the bioregionshould been seen as a priority.

Priority 2 BioregionsChannel Country (CHC)


Cobar Peneplain (CP)

Undulating plains and low hills on Palaeozoic rocks; earths,lithosols; E. populnea and E. intertexta woodlands withMulga, Acacia aneura in the more arid areas. Semi-aridclimate.

Approximately 2.4% of land in the bioregion is reserved, with two large and many small reserves spread across allsubregions. Further reservation in this bioregion is a highpriority (2) compared to other bioregions in the state, due tothe low reservation level and the level of threateningprocesses, particularly in the eastern sections. While someareas of the Cobar Peneplain are heavily degraded and containvery little native forest, there are relatively intact land systemsthat should be reserved or specifically managed forbiodiversity outcomes. The Canbelego Downs and Nymagee -Rankins Springs Subregions contain the most intact areas ofnative vegetation.

Murray Darling Depression (MDD)

See Victoria Section 5.2.6

Mulga Lands


South East Coastal Plain (SEC)


Priority 3 BioregionsBroken Hill Complex (BHC)

Hills and colluvial fans on Proterozoic rocks; desert loamsand red clays, lithosols and calcareous red earths; supportingchenopod shrublands Maireana spp. - Atriplex spp.shrublands, and Mulga, Acacia aneura open shrublands.

Only 1.44% of land in the Broken Hill Complex Bioregion isreserved, with a small portion within South Australia in theBarrier Range Outwash Fans and Plains Subregion and theremainder in New South Wales in the Mootwingee DownsSubregion.

Little of the vegetation in this bioregion has been cleared,however the area has been subject to grazing, mining andwood collection for over one hundred years, causing a changein the structure of the vegetation, with a deceased understoreyin most places. Grazing continues to be the greatest threat tobiodiversity and needs to be reduced through extendedspelling and the adoption of sustainable stocking rates as wellas the protection of extensive areas in conservative tenures.

Relative to the other bioregions, reservation of land is only amedium priority for the Broken Hill Complex. While the landuse in the area does constrain conservation actions in thebioregion, landholder stewardship for conservation is a highpriority to encourage through the use of VoluntaryConservation Agreements, Wildlife Refuges, Covenants andother planning mechanisms.

Priority 4 BioregionsNew England Tableland (NET)

Elevated plateau of hills and plains on Palaeozoic sediments,granites and basalts; dominated by Stringy bark/Peppermint/Box species, including E. caliginosa, E. nova-anglica, E. melliodora and E. blakleyi.

For a comprehensive listing of priority ecosystems forreservation similar to that set out for Nandewar above, refer to the Australian Natural Resources Atlas.

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Priority 5 Bioregions Australian Alps (AA)

A series of high elevation plateaux capping the South EasternHighlands Bioregion (SEH) and the southern tablelands inNSW. The geology consists largely of granitic and basalticrocks. Vegetation is dominated by alpine herbfields, and othertreeless communities, Snow gum woodlands and montaneforests dominated by Alpine ash. The Victorian Alpscomponent of the region is essentially above the 1,200 metrecontour.

The majority (89%) of the NSW subregion is contained withinthe Kosciusko National Park and further consolidation ofreserves is a low priority. Management of the current reservesystem requires intensive effort due to the high visitation ratesand visitor impacts. The majority of the Victorian Alps arealso reserved in National Parks (58%).

NSW North Coast (NNC)

Humid; hills, coastal plains and sand dunes; Eucalyptus -Lophostemon confertus tall open forests, Eucalyptus openforests and woodlands, sub-tropical rainforest often withAraucaria cunninghamii (complex notophyll and microphyllvine forest), Melaleuca quinquenervia wetlands, and heaths.

Refer Australian Natural Resources Atlas for listing of priorityecosystems for reservation similar to that set out forNandewar above.

Sydney Basin (SB)

Mesozoic sandstones and shales; dissected plateaus; forests,woodlands and heaths; skeletal soils, sands and podzolics.

Over 35% of the bioregion is reserved in reserves classifiedbetween IUCN I and IV so on an entire bioregion basis thelevel of reservation is a low priority. There are somesubregions that are very poorly reserved and require furtherrepresentation in the reserve system of the Sydney Basin. TheCumberland Plain is the most pressing concern as it has lessthan 1.5% reserved and is highly altered with severe pressurefrom the growth of the greater Sydney metropolitan area.Little opportunity exists for additions to the current reservesystem and many ecosystems within the subregion are notfound anywhere else in the bioregion.

Protection of remnants within the most heavily disturbed areasthrough a variety of mechanisms is a conservationmanagement priority. Strategic restoration of areas will berequired to ensure long term viability of many of theecosystems in the most heavily cleared areas.

South East Corner (SEC)


South Eastern Highlands (SEH)

Steep dissected and rugged ranges extending across southernand eastern Victoria and southern NSW. Geologypredominantly Palaeozoic rocks and Mesozoic rocks.Vegetation predominantly wet and dry sclerophyll forests,woodland, minor cool temperate rainforest and minorgrassland and herbaceous communities. Large areas,particularly in the Box-Ironbark forests, were felled for fueland timber for the mines during the gold rushes in Victoria.Large areas have also been cleared in NSW for grazing orplantations.

Reserves are highly fragmented. Threatening processesoutside of reserves (edge effects, including pest species,predation, changes in species composition) have a high impactdespite management of the reserves themselves. There is littleopportunity for consolidation of reserves.

The majority of subregions have grazing as their primary useand have been and are still being highly altered. Mostsubregions have been cleared, leaving only smallerfragmented portions of natural vegetation for reservation. As a result of habitat loss resulting from clearing, majordeclines and collapse of faunal groups are occurring,including ground mammals, aquatic assemblages (particularlyfrogs) and woodland birds. Concomitant with direct loss ofbiodiversity values, there has also been significant loss ofecosystem services, including breakdown of soil structure anddeclining water quality. Dryland salinity now affectssignificant areas in the western sections of the bioregion andat current rates is predicted to increase dramatically over thenext two decades.

Threat abatement planning is a high priority for the bioregionto allow development of management priorities and practices.Because of the large amount of cleared land in the majority ofthe bioregion, incentives to individual land holders for on-farm conservation is needed

Simpson Strzeleki Dunefields (SSD)

See South Australia Section 5.2.4

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5.2.2 Northern TerritoryPriority 1 BioregionsBurt Plain (BRT)

Plains and low rocky ranges of Pre-Cambrian granites withMulga and other Acacia woodlands on red earths.

The bioregion is currently very poorly reserved (one reservecomprising 0.3% of the bioregional area), with especially poorrepresentation of the dominant Mulga woodlands. Acquisitionof at least one large pastoral property would make asubstantial progression towards greater comprehensivenessand adequacy.

Central Ranges (CR)

See Western Australia Section 5.2.7

Daly Basin (DAB)

Gently undulating plains and scattered low plateau remnantson Palaeozoic sandstones, siltstones and limestones; neutralloamy and sandy red earths; Darwin stringybark and Darwinwoollybutt open forest with perennial and annual grassunderstorey.

The Daly Basin Bioregion includes a portion of the largeLitchfield National Park and several smaller reserves.

A conservation plan for this bioregion has recently beencompleted. The conservation plan for the Daly Basin proposesthree additional conservation reserves in order to achieve aCAR system for this bioregion. These reserves will ensure theretention of adequate samples of those environments mostlikely to be cleared for horticultural development. Therealisation of these proposed additional reserves will dependupon the provision of specific acquisition funding andresources for ongoing management.

The plan also proposes a series of off-reserve conservationmanagement actions, including retention of riparian corridorsand bushland remnants on horticultural properties. Anotherpriority is improvement in the integration across tenures of themanagement of weeds, feral animals and fire.

Finke (FIN)

Arid sandplains, dissected uplands and valleys formed fromPre-Cambrian volcanics with Spinifex hummock grasslandsand Acacia shrublands on red earths and shallow sands.

There are no major reserves in the bioregion. The existingsmall reserves fall well short of a comprehensive, adequateand representative system. Most vegetation types in thebioregion are unreserved, and the few reserved vegetationtypes are protected to only a very small extent. The mainpriorities are for increased reservation of Chenopodshrublands (NT vegetation types 108, 109, 110 and 111),Coolibah, Eucalyptus microtheca woodlands (NT vegetationtype 27), and Acacia shrublands and woodlands.

In addition, integrated management (across all tenures) ofweeds, feral animals and fire, and implementation of someoff-reserve conservation agreements and actions on pastorallands is required to protect biodiversity. Such managementactions will require additional resources and some capacitybuilding, especially among Aboriginal landholder groups.

Gulf Coastal (GUC)

Gently undulating plains with scattered rugged areas onProterozoic sandstones and Tertiary sediments; sandy redearths and shallow gravelly, sandy soils; Darwin stringybarkwoodland with Spinifex understorey.

This bioregion includes two large reserves - Barranyi (NorthPellew Island) and the Limmen Gate National Park. Together,these provide reasonably good representation of thebioregion’s environmental variation. However, many localisedconservation attributes (significant seabird breeding colonies,occurrences of the highly localised endangered Carpentarianrock-rat) are unreserved, and warrant some formal protection.The Carpentarian rock-rat distribution falls entirely within onepastoral holding (Wollogorang-Wentworth), which alsocontains the highest density and diversity of monsoonrainforest patches in the bioregion.

The conservation priorities for this bioregion include a mix ofadditional reservation (particularly in the Wollogorang-Wentworth area) and including possible Indigenous ProtectedAreas or other collaborative agreements on islands of thePellew group (additional to North Island), and enhancedbroad-scale management of key threatening processes (feralanimals, weeds and changed fire regimes). Management ofthese threats requires additional resources, support forcapacity-building among land-holders, and better integrationof actions across tenures and jurisdictions.

Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD)


Sturt Plateau (STU)

Gently undulating plains on lateritised Cretaceous sandstones;neutral sandy red and yellow earths; variable-barkedBloodwood woodland with Spinifex understorey.

The Sturt Plateau Bioregion includes the most extensive areasof the distinctive Lancewood-Bullwaddy vegetationassociations, with associated fauna including Spectacled hare-wallaby. There are a range of small wetlands associated with sinkholesand minor depressions in the generally flat landscape.

Notwithstanding the recent establishment of a conservationreserve selected to include Lancewood-Bullwaddyassociations, the existing reserve system is neitherComprehensive nor Adequate, and appreciable enhancementis needed. It does not include representation of the range ofenvironments within the bioregion.

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At least as important is the enhancement of integratedmanagement of weeds, feral animals, and fire. The bioregion is targeted for intensification of development, includingsubdivision of existing pastoral properties, horticulturaldevelopment and more widespread planting of exotic pasturegrasses. The biodiversity costs of such intensification need tobe balanced by increased reservation of undeveloped areasand conservation management planning on pastoral lands.

Priority 2 BioregionsArnhem Coast (ARC)

Coastal strip extending from just east of Cobourg Peninsula tojust north of the mouth of the Rose River in southeasternArnhem Land, and including many offshore islands, mostnotably Groote Eylandt (and its satellites), the EnglishCompany and Wessel group, and the Crocodile Islands.Coastal vegetation includes well developed heathlands,mangroves and saline flats, with some floodplain and wetlandareas, most notably the extensive paperbark forest andsedgelands of the Arafura Swamp. Coastal dune systems areunusually well developed on sections of Groote Eylandt andCape Arnhem Peninsula. Rugged Cretaceous sandstone areasoccur on Groote Eylandt and islands of the Wessel group.Tertiary laterites are extensive on the Gove Peninsula. Inlandfrom the coast, the dominant vegetation type is eucalypt tallopen forest, typically dominated by Darwin woollybutt,Eucalyptus miniata and Darwin stringybark, E. tetrodonta,with smaller areas of monsoon rainforest and eucalyptwoodlands.

There are no National Parks in this bioregion, however anIndigenous Protected Area has recently been declaredcovering a small part of the north-east Arnhem Land Coast.There is scope for additional cooperatively managedconservation reserves or Indigenous Protected Areas centredon sites with high conservation values, such as the WesselIslands, parts of Groote Eylandt, and the Arafura Swamp. At least equally important, is the requirement for resourcesand capacity building to encourage and allow Aboriginalowners to more effectively undertake conservationmanagement (especially control of ferals and weeds andreinstatement of beneficial fire regimes) on their lands.

Central Arnhem (CA)

Gently sloping terrain and low hills on Cretaceous sandstonesand siltstones and lateritised Tertiary material; yellow earthysands and shallow stony sands; Darwin woollybutt andDarwin stringybark open forest to woodland with grassunderstorey.

The lack of existing reserves in this bioregion, and theintactness of native vegetation across almost the entire regionensures that there is great flexibility in selecting candidateareas for possible inclusion in a bioregional reserve system.

However, almost all lands in this bioregion is underinalienable Aboriginal ownership, so any reserve selection isentirely contingent upon the establishment of either acooperative management agreement or through thedevelopment of Indigenous Protected Areas. Assuming thatsuch development includes a contribution of resourcing,employment and capacity building, there is a reasonablechance of such collaboration occurring.

Equally important is the need for the imposition of improvedmanagement across the entire bioregion. This can only comeabout through the provision of resources and capacity buildingfor Aboriginal owners, to encourage and allow them tocombat the threatening processes affecting their lands.

Channel Country (CHC)


Davenport Murchison Ranges (DMR)

Low but rugged rocky hills, formed from folded volcanics andsandstone, siltstone and conglomerates, which contrast starklywith the generally flat sandplain surrounds of the TanamiBioregion. Vegetation includes hummock grasslands and lowopen woodlands dominated by eucalypt and Acacia species.

The moderately large Davenport Range National Park andsmall Devil’s Marbles National Park provide reasonablerepresentation of the range environments and least fertileareas, but do not sample the flood-out areas and valley floors,which are largely included within pastoral land use. A morecomprehensive reserve system for the bioregion would requirethat this be augmented by representation of the more fertilelowland communities.

In addition to enhanced reservation, priorities for managementare the broad-scale mitigation of fire, feral animals and weedimpacts and the establishment of some conservationagreements on pastoral lands.

Great Sandy Desert (GSD)


Gulf Plains (GUP)


Mount Isa Inlier (MII)


Stoney Plains (STP)


Tanami (TAN)

Mainly red Quaternary sandplains overlying Permian andProterozoic strata which are exposed locally as hills andranges. The sandplains support mixed shrub steppes of Hakeasuberea, Desert bloodwoods, acacias and grevilleas overTriodia pungens hummock grasslands. Wattle scrub overT. pungens hummock grass communities occur on the ranges.

Alluvial and lacustrine calcareous deposits occur throughout.In the north they are associated with Sturt Creek drainage, andsupport Crysopogon and Iseilema short-grasslands often assavannas with River gum. Arid tropical with summer rain.

Notwithstanding the important recent establishment of anIndigenous Protected Area around Lake Gregory, the existingreserve system in this bioregion is meagre and far fromcomprehensive. Enhancement of this system is a priority,especially in the far eastern part (subregion 3) and in thecentral Tanami Desert itself.

In addition, there are three main priorities for natural resourcemanagement in the Tanami:

(1) remedial actions (e.g. exclosure fencing) in some pastorallands largely on the periphery of the region (most notablyin the wetland system of Sturt Creek);

(2) resources and capacity building for Aboriginal landowners to become more effective managers of fire, weedsand feral animal problems over extensive areas ofAboriginal lands; and

(3) development and ongoing support for IndigenousProtected Areas or other co-operatively managedconservation areas.

Tiwi Cobourg (TIW)

This coastal region includes Australia’s second and fifthlargest islands (Melville and Bathurst Island in the Tiwi Islandgroup), Croker Island and the adjacent Cobourg Peninsula.Coastal vegetation includes some mangroves and saline flats,although this bioregion lacks the large rivers which influencevegetation patterning in other coastal regions. Most of thisbioregion is covered by tall eucalypt open forests, typicallydominated by Darwin woollybutt, Eucalyptus miniata, Darwinstringybark, E. tetrodonta and Melville Island bloodwood, E. nesophila, but often with Northern cypress-pine, Callitrisintratropica and the tall palm, Gronophyllum ramsayico-dominant. The Tiwi Islands support a relatively highdensity and total area of monsoon rainforest patches, withdistinctive species composition. There are also substantialareas there of a distinctive ‘treeless plain’ vegetation. Thisbioregion is of low relief, with laterite and Cretaceoussandstone the dominant substrates. The Tiwi Islands supportabout 20 endemic plant and vertebrate animal taxa. Thebioregions contains some important marine turtle breedingsites, and a Ramsar wetland on the Cobourg Peninsula. The bioregion is entirely Aboriginal land.

A single large reserve, Garig Gunak Barlu National Park(formerly Gurig National Park and Cobourg Marine Park),includes a high proportion of this bioregion, but does notprovide especially good comprehensiveness for the bioregionas a whole. The reserve has substantial problems with themanagement of feral animals, and with some competinginterests between conservation and the maintenance of an

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abundance of feral animals to support safari hunting asrevenue for the reserve owners. If proposed, large plantationdevelopment proceeds on Melville Island, there is a need forgreater conservation security for rainforest patches andtreeless plains, and for retention of large areas of the dominanteucalypt tall open forests on the Tiwi Islands.

Conservation priorities for this bioregion are the linked issuesof capacity building (and resource provision) for Aboriginallandholders and broad-scale management of feral animals,weeds and fire. Currently, the resources available for thismanagement are very limited: inadequate to prevent ongoingdegradation, and insufficient to attract the engagement of mostlandholders. There is currently no conservation security formost of the region’s important colonial seabird rookeries andnesting sites for marine turtles. These should be betterprotected, at least through management agreements with their Aboriginal landowners.

Priority 3 BioregionsGulf Fall and Uplands (GFU)

Undulating terrain with scattered low, steep hills onProterozoic and Palaeozoic sedimentary rocks, often overlainby lateritised Tertiary material; skeletal soils and shallowsands; Darwin boxwood and Variable-barked bloodwoodwoodland to low open woodland with Spinifex understorey.

This bioregion includes Lawn Hill, the recently establishedLimmen Gate and parts of Elsey National Park. While theseprovide reasonable representation of the range of thebioregion’s environments, they do not represent well thelimited areas of more fertile lowlands.

At least as important as enhancing the reserve system is theneed for increased management actions to combat thepervasive threatening processes of feral animals, weeds andaltered fire regimes.

There is some scope for increasing reservation, especially toinclude the very few localities of the most endangered species,the Carpentarian rock-rat. These all fall within one pastoralholding (Wollogorang-Wentworth), which also includes someof the best developed and richest monsoon rainforest patchesin the bioregion.

MacDonald Ranges (MAC)

High relief ranges and foothills covered with spinifexhummock grassland, sparse acacia shrublands and woodlandsalong watercourses.

This bioregion is relatively well reserved, with particularlygood representation of the rugged mountain and hillenvironments. There is some scope for enhancement of theComprehensiveness of the protected area system throughaddition of some areas in the more fertile lowlands. Thesystem could be enhanced by more equitable representation of the valley areas.

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Ord Victoria Plain (OVP)

Level to gently undulating plains with scattered hills onCambrian volcanics and Proterozoic sedimentary rocks;vertosols on plains and predominantly skeletal soils on hills;grassland with scattered Bloodwood and Snappy gum withSpinifex and annual grasses. Dry hot tropical, semi-aridsummer rainfall. The lithological mosaic has three maincomponents:

(1) Abrupt Proterozoic and Phanerozoic ranges and scatteredhills mantled by shallow sand and loam soils supportingTriodia hummock grasslands with sparse low trees.

(2) Cambrian volcanics and limestones form extensive plainswith short grass, Enneapogon spp. on dry calcareous soilsand medium-height grassland communities, Astrebla spp.and Dichanthium on cracking clays. Riparian forests ofRiver gums fringe drainage lines.

(3) In the south-west, Phanerozoic strata expressed as oftenlateritised upland sandplains with sparse trees. Thiscomponent recurs as the Sturt Plateau Region in centralNorthern Territory.

The bioregion contains some large and important reserves(notably Purnululu and part of Gregory National Parks),which include good representation of the area’s more ruggedupland elements. The overall regional reserve system isheavily biased, with little representation of the more fertilelowland plains. Enhancement of this system is needed toachieve a regional CAR network. Given the pastoral quality ofthe more of the fertile plains, such addition may be difficult to achieve.

However, probably more effective for the management of thisbioregion’s conservation values, is the continuation andenhancement of integrated (cross-tenure and cross-jurisdiction) control measures for feral animals, weeds andfire.

There is also some scope for enhancement of conservationactions on pastoral lands, notably stock exclosure for riparianareas and wetlands, and the retention of some water-remotelightly-grazed areas in environments favoured by livestock.

Victoria Bonaparte (VB)

Phanerozoic strata of the Bonaparte Basin in the north-western part are mantled by Quaternary marine sedimentssupporting Samphire - Sporobolus grasslands and mangal, andby red earth plains and black soil plains with an open savannaof high grasses. Outcrops of Devonian limestone karst in thewest support tree steppe and vine thicket. Plateaux and abruptranges of Proterozoic sandstone, known as the VictoriaPlateau, occur in the south and east, and are partially mantledby skeletal sandy soils with low tree savannas and hummockgrasslands. In the south east are limited areas of gentlyundulating terrain on a variety of sedimentary rockssupporting low Snappy gum over hummock grasslands andalso of gently sloping floodplains supporting Melaleucaminutifolia low woodland over annual sorghums. Dry hottropical, semi-arid summer rainfall.

The existing reserve system is limited and biased towardsmore rugged areas. Partly associated with proposals forincreased horticultural developments, some large areas havebeen added to, or foreshadowed for, the reserve system. Thesewould contribute substantially to improving thecomprehensiveness of the existing network, although therepresentation of lowland fertile areas is still limited.

There are two other management priorities - the extensiveintegrated management of feral animals, fire and weeds acrossthe less developed bulk of the bioregion, and theestablishment of sustainable land-use practices in thosesections of the bioregion (to be) used for intensivehorticulture.

Priority 4 BioregionsArnhem Plateau (ARP)

The extensive and highly dissected Proterozoic sandstonemassif of western Arnhem Land, which forms the headwatersof many of the major river systems of the Top End. It supportsan unusually diverse biota, including very many relictual andendemic plant and animal species. The major vegetation typesinclude sandstone heathlands, rainforests (characteristicallydominated by the endemic tree Allosyncarpia ternata),hummock grasslands and eucalypt open woodlands (with arange of dominants including Eucalyptus phoenicea, E. kombolgiensis, E. miniata and E. dichromophloia. Most of the bioregion is Aboriginal land, including a major part ofKakadu National Park.

This bioregion includes part of the large Kakadu NationalPark and a small section of the adjacent Nitmiluk (KatherineGorge) National Park. Together these provide a reasonablycomprehensive representation of the bioregion’s range ofenvironments. Notwithstanding the relatively large proportionof reserved area in this bioregion, there is a compellingbiodiversity conservation case to enhance the existingreservation extent, in order to include the entire westernArnhem Land massif.

The major management priority is to defend the conservationattributes against ongoing landscape-wide threateningprocesses (weeds, feral animals and altered fire regimes). To some extent, these processes are under some managementcontrol within the large reserved portion of this bioregion(Kakadu National Park), but this needs to be complementedwith comparable and integrated management in theunreserved eastern portion of the bioregion. Such extension isrendered especially difficult by its relative inaccessibility.

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Darwin Coastal (DAC)

Gently undulating plains on lateritised Cretaceous sandstonesand siltstones; sandy and loamy red and yellow earths andsiliceous sands from near the mouth of the Victoria River tojust west of Cobourg Peninsula. The most notable vegetationfeature is the extensive and diverse floodplain environmentassociated with the lower reaches of the many large riversystems. There are also substantial areas of mangroves, andrainforest and other riparian vegetation fringing the rivers.Inland from the coast, the dominant vegetation type iseucalypt tall open forest, typically dominated by Darwinwoollybutt, Eucalyptus miniata and Darwin stringybark, E. tetrodonta. Large waterbird colonies are a majorconservation value of the bioregion.

The bioregion includes significant portions of several majorconservation reserves, most notably including LitchfieldNational Park, Mary River National Park and KakaduNational Park, which together (and with other smallerreserves) provide a reasonably good representation of theregion’s environmental variation. There is some priority forlimited enhancement of the formal reserve system aroundDarwin to provide better representation of the narrowlyendemic and threatened seasonally damp sandsheetenvironments, and some desirability for increasing thegeographic representation of the bioregion’s reserve system,by including additional areas in the Moyle-lower Daly systemsouth-west of Darwin.

Although not necessarily forming part of the formal reservesystem, there is a need to retain more bushland fragments andcorridors within the burgeoning horticultural and rural landsaround and to the east of Darwin. There is a current localgovernment regulation to maintain 50% of native vegetation in Litchfield Shire, which encompasses most of this horticultural area.

An integrated catchment plan and recently completedconservation plan for the Mary River catchment provides agood basis for the broad-scale management of weeds, feralanimals and fire for this large segment of this bioregion. It also provides management guidelines for mitigation ofsaltwater intrusion, and for a range of other issues includingtourism, recreational fishing and pastoralism.

There are far fewer resources or planning mechanismsdirected at the south-western part of this bioregion, whichincludes a high proportion of Aboriginal lands. However,many of the threatening processes are the same as forelsewhere in the bioregion, so the management issue is largelyabout access to management resources and capacity building.

Priority 5 BioregionsPine Creek (PCK)

Foothill environments below and to the west of the westernArnhem Land sandstone massif. Its main defining feature isthe highly mineraliferous Pine Creek Geosyncline, comprisingArchaean granite and gneiss overlain by Palaeoprotozoicsediments. The major vegetation types are eucalypt tall openforests, typically dominated by Darwin woollybutt,Eucalyptus miniata and Darwin stringybark, E. tetrodonta,and woodlands dominated by a range of species including E. grandifolia, E. latifolia, E. tintinnans, E. confertiflora andE. tectifica, with smaller areas of monsoon rainforest patches,Melaleuca woodlands, riparian vegetation and tussockgrasslands. Characteristic species include the granivorousbirds Gouldian finch, Erythrura goudlii, Hooded parrot,Psephotus dissimilis and Partridge pigeon, Geophaps smithii.

The bioregion includes large areas of several major reserves,most notably including Kakadu, Nitmiluk, Litchfield, andMary River National Parks. Combined, this reserve system is unusually extensive and comprehensive, however there issome bias away from the more fertile lowland areas. There isalso a case for more formal protection of some of the manysmall isolated rainforest patches scattered widely across thebioregion. There is scope for enhancing the reserve system to make it more Comprehensive but this may be expensiveand difficult to achieve.

All main reserves in the bioregion have established plans ofmanagement, and are generally relatively well resourced.There are extensive programs established in most conservationreserves in the region, to monitor the response of vegetation to fire, and to map the occurrence of fires.

Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD)


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5.2.3 QueenslandPriority 1 BioregionsBrigalow Belt North (BBN)

Permian volcanics and Permian-Triassic sediments of theBowen and Galilee Basins, Carboniferous and Devoniansediments and volcanics of the Drummond Basin and coastalblocks, Cambrian and Ordovician rocks of the Anakie inlierand associated Tertiary deposits. Subhumid to semiarid.Woodlands of Ironbarks, E. melanophloia, E. crebra, Poplarbox and Reid River box, E. populnea, E. brownii andBrigalow, Acacia harpophylla, Blackwood, A. argyrodendronand Gidgee, A. cambagei. Region reaches the coast in the drycoastal corridor around Townsville.

The bioregion has 1.18% of the total area under conservationtenure, including 27 National Parks, 18 Conservation Parksand four Resource Reserves. Fifty-two per cent of theecosystems present within the bioregion are represented. A total of 61 (58%) threatened ecosystems are represented.Reflecting the development history of the bioregion, protectedareas are dominated by ecosystems located on ranges andhills. A relatively small number of alluvial systems areprotected. The bioregion contains four National ParksScientific that have been established specifically for theprotection of endangered species, such as the Northern hairynosed wombat and the Bridled nail-tail wallaby.

The major reservation priorities consist of ecosystemsdominated by vine scrubs, bluegrass ecosystems, poplarbox/brigalow and blackwood and gidgee ecosystems. Theseare endangered ecosystems with no or very low representationin the reserve system. The priority ecosystems includeR.E.11.9.8 (Bonewood thicket on Cainozoic fine-grainedsedimentary rocks on lowlands), 11.11.17 - (QueenslandBluegrass grassland on sedimentary rocks with varyingdegrees of metamorphism and folding on lowlands), 11.12.21(Brigalow open forest on igneous rocks on colluvial lowerslopes), 11.3.21 - (Queensland Bluegrass and/or Astrebla spp.grassland on alluvial plains with cracking clay soils) and11.4.7 - (open forest of Poplar box with Brigalow orBrigalow/Belah on Cainozoic clay plains), refer NLWRAAtlas for complete list of priority ecosystems.

The priority subregions for reserve consolidation are theIsaac-Comet (BBN 11) and the Belyando Downs (BBN7)subregions. The main constraints to expanding reserves in thebioregion are the fragmented landscapes and the higheconomic values of lands.

Brigalow Belt North is regarded as being equal to BrigalowBelt South in having the highest priority for increasingreservation. This is due to the increasing fragmentation of the landscape, the low level of reservation and the number ofendangered and vulnerable ecosystems that were oncewidespread. Fortunately a few, large intact areas remain andthese are high priority park proposals.

Brigalow Belt South (BBS)

Predominantly Jurassic and younger deposits of the GreatArtesian Basin and Tertiary deposits with elevated basaltflows. Subhumid. Eucalypt woodlands and open forests ofironbarks, Poplar box, Spotted gum, E. maculata, Cypresspine, Callitris glaucophylla, Bloodwoods eg. E. trachyphloia,E. hendersonii ms, Brigalow-Belah forests, A. harpophylla,Casuarina cristata and Semi-evergreen vine thicket.

Whilst 7.1% of the bioregion is under conservation tenureonly 27% of the ecosystems present are represented inprotected areas.

The major reservation priorities consist of ecosystemsdominated by vine scrubs, Bluegrass, Poplar box/Brigalowand Brigalow communities. In addition a number of riverinecommunities should be included as reservation priorities. The priority communities include 11.11.17 - Bluegrass,Dichanthium sericeum grassland on old sedimentary rockswith varying degrees of metamorphism and folding onlowlands, 11.12.21 - Brigalow, Acacia harpophylla openforest on igneous rocks on colluvial lower slopes, 11.4.1 -Semi-evergreen vine thicket / Belah, Casuarina cristata onCainozoic clay plains, 11.4.4 - Bluegrass, Dichanthium spp.,Mitchell grass (Astrebla spp.) grassland on Cainozoic clayplains, 11.8.13 - Semi-evergreen vine thicket and Microphyllvine forest on Cainozoic igneous rocks in lowlands situations,11.9.6 - Acacia melvillei - Brigalow, A. harpophylla openforest on Cainozoic fine-grained sedimentary rocks, 11.3.21 -Bluegrass, Dichanthium sericeum and/or Mitchell grass,Astrebla spp. grassland on alluvial plains with cracking claysoils, 11.3.11 - Semi-evergreen vine thicket on alluvial plainsand 11.3.28 - Belah, Casuarina cristata - Coolibah,Eucalyptus coolabah open woodland on alluvial plains), referNLWRA Atlas for complete list of priority ecosystems.

The main constraint to expanding reserves in the bioregion isthe highly fragmented nature of remnant vegetation on themore fertile lands.

The Brigalow Belt South Bioregion is regarded as being equalto Brigalow Belt North as having the highest priority forincreased reservation areas in Queensland. All subregions inthis bioregion in New South Wales are considered to be of thehighest priority for reserve consolidation.

Darling Riverine Plains (DRP)

See NSW Section 5.2.1

Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD)

Undulating downs on shales and limestones; Astrebla spp.grasslands and Acacia low woodlands. Grey and browncracking clays.

The Mitchell Grass Downs has 1.1% of the total area of thebioregion under reserve tenure in Queensland and theNorthern Territory. Approximately 36% of all regionalecosystems are included in the reserve estate. Protected areasare dominated by ecosystems located on undulating plains andalluvial areas.

The major reservation priorities consist of fringing alluvialecosystems of Coolibah, River red gum and Bluebush.Gidgee, Brigalow, mound springs and Acacia peucecommunities are also a priority. The priority communitiesinclude 4.3.11 - Coolibah / River red gum on alluvium,billabongs and permanent waterholes, 4.3.21 -Acacia peuceon alluvium, 4.3.2 - River red gum / Coolibah on drainagelines, 4.3.1 - River red gum / Melaleuca spp. on drainagelines, 4.3.13 - Eragrostis setifolia and Marsilea drummondii /Chenopodium auricomum in drainage depressions, 4.9.11 -gidgee with scattered shrubs such as False sandalwood andWilga on fresh Cretaceous sediments, 4.9.15 - Brigalow andscattered emergent Whitewood / Eucalyptus spp. and 4.9.7 -Astrebla spp. with A. tephrina on Cretaceous sediments, and4.3.2 - River red gum / Coolibah on drainage lines).

Priority ecosystems identified by the Northern Territoryinclude Gidyea, A. georginae low open-woodland with open-grassland understorey, Bluebush, Chenopodium auricomumlow open-shrubland with ephemeral grassland understorey,Barley mitchell grass, Astrebla pectinata grassland, seasonalgrassland with Lignum, Muehlenbeckia cunninghamii lowsparse-shrubland overstorey, Coolibah, E. microtheca lowopen-woodland with Bluebush, Chenopodium auricomumsparse-shrubland understorey, Coolibah, E. microtheca low-open woodland with Silky browntop, Eulalia aurea, Mitchellgrass, Astrebla grassland understorey.

The Mitchell Grass Downs are a priority for increasedreservation as the representation of ecosystems across theirrange is low. The main threat to these ecosystems is grazingpressure. However, the biodiversity values in this bioregionmay be able to be sustained for a greater period under existingconditions compared to bioregions with other threats such asbroad scale tree clearing.

The priority subregions for increased reservation includeSouthern Wooded Downs (where the main threat is broadscale tree clearing) and Georgina Limestone.

Nandewar (NAN)



Low hills on Cretaceous sediments; forbfields and Mitchellgrass downs, and intervening braided river systems ofcoolibah, E.coolabah woodlands and lignum/saltbushMuehlenbeckia sp./Chenopodium sp. shrublands. Includessmall areas of sand plains.

About 6.8% of the total area of the bioregion is underconservation tenure, represented by reserves in three of thefour States in which the bioregion occurs. Over half of theecosystems present within the bioregion occur in the parkestate. Represented are ecosystems associated with mesas and tablelands capped with duricrusts. A number of alluvialsystems are represented in protected areas along the Barcoo,Thomson and Diamantina systems.

The major reservation priorities consist of ecosystems ofAcacia aneura and Acacia calcicola communities. Ripariancommunities, including Mound Springs, dominate theremainder of the priority communities. The prioritycommunities include 5.5.1 - Mulga on Quaternary deposits,5.6.3 - Acacia calcicola between sand dunes, 5.3.22 - Sparseherbland on claypans, 5.3.23 - Mound springs, 5.3.2 - Riverred gum / Coolibah on levees and banks of drainage lines,5.3.20 - Coolibah / River red gum fringing billabongs andpermanent waterholes, 5.3.5 - Coolibah / River red gum /Lysiphyllum gilvum on major drainage lines, 5.3.21 - Atriplexspp., Sclerolaena spp., species of Asteraceae and/or shortgrasses on alluvium and 5.3.18 - Short grasses / forbs onbraided channel systems.

South Australian priorities include freshwater wetlands egTriglochin procerum herblands and Mulga low woodlands on sand plains.

The priority subregions for reserve consolidation includeBulloo, Noccundra slopes and Diamantina-Eyre. The mainconstraint to expanding reserves in the bioregion is theconflict with large grazing operations.

Desert Uplands (DEU)

Ranges and plains on dissected Tertiary surface and Triassicsandstones; woodlands of E. whitei, E. similis andE.trachyphloia.

About 2.3% of the total area of the bioregion is underconservation tenure, represented by five National Parks andtwo reserves. Only about 27% of the ecosystems present inthe bioregion are represented within the park estate. Theregional ecosystems represented on parks include those onsandstone on the Alice Tableland and within the Prairie-Torrens Creek Subregion.

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The major reservation priorities include Lake Buchanan andthe spring complexes, ecosystems of mixed arid Acacia andeucalypt woodlands and ecosystems within the alluvialsystems. Priority ecosystems include: Acacia torulosashrubland and Triodia longiceps hummock grassland onweathered sand dunes; Gidgee woodland and the Lawrenciabuchananensis low shrubland on lakeside dunes; Silver-leavedironbark and Corymbia brachycarpa on calcareoussandstones; Ironwood, Wilga and Western bloodwood lowopen woodland on sandy earths and deep sandy texturecontrast soils; Terminalia oblongata and Red bauhinia lowopen woodland on clay downs and Dawson River gum, E. cambageana open woodlands.

Einasleigh Uplands (EIU)

High plateau of Palaeozoic sediments, granites, and basalts;dominated by Ironbark (Eucalyptus spp.) woodlands.

The Einasleigh Uplands has 2.42% of the total area underreserve tenure and includes 10 National Parks, twoConservation Parks and three Resource Reserves. Thesereserves include 35% of regional ecosystems present in thebioregion, and incorporate 16 of the 24 threatenedecosystems. A number of alluvial ecosystems exist withinreserved areas but the majority of protected ecosystems occuron hills and ranges.

The major reservation priorities consist of Gidgee, areas ofserpentinite, dry rainforest, Reid River box (Eucalyptusbrownii) and fringing lake communities. The priority regionalecosystems include R.E. 9.3.9 - Gidgee on alluvial clayplains, 9.11.10 - eucalypt woodlands on serpentinites andother restricted habitats, 9.5.2 - dry vine forest on deep redearths on Tertiary sandstone plateaus, 9.3.5 - Reid River boxon texture contrast soils on plains, 9.3.7 - Lakes on Tertiarysand plains, 9.11.6 - Reid River box on texture contrast soilsof lowlands, 9.8.2 - Bloodwood and Molloy red box on redsoil plains, 9.5.1 - Yellow jacket on deep red earths on plainsand 9.3.11 - lakes and seasonally flooded depressions onbasalts.

The Einasleigh Uplands is a priority bioregion for furtherreservation. The priority subregions are the Broken River andGeorgetown - Croydon.

Gulf Plains (GUP)

The Gulf Plains Bioregion extends around the southern andeastern shores of the Gulf of Carpenteria, from the NorthernTerritory to the Mitchell River. Marine and terrestrial depositsof the Carpentaria and Karumba Basins; plains, plateau andoutwash plains; woodlands and grasslands. Climate includes a winter dry season and a monsoonal wet season.

The region contains four protected areas greater than 1,000ha,Mitchell-Alice Rivers National Park, Staaten River NationalPark, small portion of Lawn Hill (Widdallion) ResourcesReserve and part of Bulleringa National Park. In addition,Finucane Island National Park was gazetted on 31.10.2003.The protected area system is not Comprehensive with lessthan 20% of regional ecosystems represented.

Major deficiencies include the extensive Gulf wetlands suchas occurring south of the Nassau River that are highlysignificant for water birds and include breeding areas for themigratory Saras crane, Grus antigone. Another significantNational Park proposal extends across the Northern Territoryborder and covers the prograded sand dunes of the Gulf’sshoreline, the extensive Karumba and Doomadgee Plains andextends into the Gulf Fall Uplands. This bioregion is a priorityfor further reservation.

Mt Isa Inlier (MII) [North West Highlands – NWH]

Rugged hills and outwash, primarily associated withProterozoic rocks; skeletal soils; low open eucalyptwoodlands dominated by Eucalyptus leucophloia andE.pruinosa, with a Triodia pungens understorey. Semi-aridclimate.

The Mount Isa Inlier Bioregion has 2.6 % of the total area ofbioregion under reserve tenure. The reserved areas includetwo National Parks. These reserves include 18% ofecosystems present within the bioregion. Six of the 18identified threatened ecosystems are represented within thesetwo National Parks. Those communities associated withundulating landscapes derived from find grained sedimentarymaterial dominate the ecosystems represented within theparks. Within the Thorntonia Subregion, all of the regionalecosystems are reserved.

The main reservation priorities consist of fringing ecosystemsalong the river systems of the bioregion. Others include thoseecosystems associated with valley floors. The priority regionalecosystems include: R.E.1.3.7 - River red gum, Eucalyptuscamaldulensis on channels and levees (south), 1.5.4 -Cloncurry box, Eucalyptus leucophylla on red earths invalleys, 1.3.6 - Ghost gum, Corymbia apparrerinja,Bloodwood, Corymbia terminalis open woodland on sandyterraces, 1.3.5 - mixed eucalypt open woodland on sandyalluvial terraces, 1.3.4 - Gidgee, Acacia cambagei on earths invalleys, 1.5.6 - Whitewood, Atalaya hemiglauca, Vine tree,Ventilago viminalis, Beefwood, Grevillea striata on red earthplains, 1.3.2 -Coolibah, Eucalyptus microtheca on alluvialfloodplains and channels, 1.7.2 - Silver-leaved box,Eucalyptus ruinose on calcareous red/brown earths on smallalluvial fans, 1.5.1 - Woollybutt, Eucalyptus miniata on redearths on laterised plateau and 1.3.3 - Georgina gidgee,Acacia georginae on clay plains .

The Mount Isa Inlier is of medium priority for increasedreservation with the Southwestern Plateaus and Floodouts andMount Isa Inlier Subregions being the two priority areas ofthe bioregion. Mineralized areas may constrain reservation insome areas.

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Mulga Lands (MUL)

Undulating plains and low hills on Cainozoic sediments; redearths and lithosols; Acacia aneura shrublands and lowwoodlands.

The Mulga Lands Bioregion has 2.6% of the total area underconservation tenure either as a reserve or National Park. These protected areas include approximately 56% of theecosystems found in the Mulga Lands and incorporate 50% of the threatened ecosystems, some of which are outliers fromother bioregions.

The major reservation priorities include communities onalluvials, clay plains and undulating lowlands. The priorityecosystems include R.E. 6.3.16 - Cypress pine, Acaciaexcelsa, Wilga / Mulga on alluvial dunes, 6.7.2 - Acaciamicrosperma on upper and footslopes, 6.9.2 - Acacia tephrina/ A. cambagei on undulating plains over Cretaceoussediments, 6.6.2 - Triodia mitchellii / T. marginata withEucalyptus melanophloia / Eucalyptus sp. and Acacia sp. onlow dunes and 6.5.9 – Mulga / Poplar box / Silver-leavedironbark on Quaternary sediments.

Priority 3 BioregionsCentral Mackay Coast (CMC)

Humid tropical coastal ranges and plains. Rainforests(Complex evergreen and Semi-deciduous notophyll vineforest), eucalypt open forests and woodlands, Melaleuca spp.wetlands.

The bioregion has 10% of the total area under reservationtenure. The reserves include 23 National Parks, 7 Conservation Parks and one Resource Reserve. Thesereserves include 70% of the regional ecosystems present inthe bioregion, and incorporate 40 (77%) of the threatenedecosystems.

The main ecosystems represented include ecosystems foundon ranges and hills with a number of marine and coastalsystems also represented. Riparian and alluvial ecosystemshave low representation. The main reservation priorityecosystems within the Central Mackay Coast are theMelaleuca spp. woodland to forest ecosystems on the alluvialplains. Other priorities include eucalypt woodlands on alluvialareas. Priority ecosystems include R.E. 8.11.4 - Eucalyptusdrepanophylla and Eucalyptus platyphylla open woodland onmetamorphosed sediments, 8.3.11 - Melaleuca viridifloraclosed forest on alluvial plains, 8.12.21 - Eucalyptusdrepanophylla and E. exserta woodland on pediments and8.3.13 - Melaleuca dominated ecosystems in close vicinity to mangroves.

The Central Mackay Coast Bioregion is a lower priority forreservation due to the high representation already achieved.However, representation of ecosystems is heavily weightedtoward uplands areas. The Proserpine-Sarina lowlands remaina high priority for reservation.

Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU)

See Northern Territory Section 5.2.2

South East Queensland (SEQ)

Metamorphic and acid to basic volcanic hills and ranges(Beenleigh, D’Aguilar, Gympie, Yarraman Blocks) sedimentsof the Moreton, Nambour and Maryborough Basins, extensivealluvial valleys and Quaternary coastal deposits includinghigh dunes on the sand islands such as Fraser Island. Humid.Eucalyptus-Lophostemon-Syncarpia tall open forests,Eucalyptus open forests and woodlands, sub-tropicalrainforests often with Araucaria cunninghamii emergents andsmall areas of cool temperate rainforest dominated byNothofagus moorei and Semi-evergreen vine thickets,Melaleuca quinquenervia wetlands and Banksia lowwoodlands, heaths and mangrove/saltmarsh communities.

South East Queensland has 6.2% of the total area of thebioregion in reserve tenure. A further 12% is being convertedfrom State Forest to conservation tenure. The reserved areasinclude 48 National Parks, 81 conservation Parks and 6Resource Reserves. Protected areas encompass a broad rangeof ecosystems on marine and coastal and alluvial deposits,sand sheets, volcanics, sedimentary rocks and ranges and hills.Eighty-five per cent of the regional ecosystems present in thebioregion are represented in the reserve network,incorporating 96 of the 119 threatened ecosystems. However,a number of the National Parks are comprised of small areasoften separated by urban development, for example Noosa and Tamborine National Parks.

The major reservation priorities consist of eucalyptcommunities on sedimentary rocks, Brigalow/Vine thickets,Microphyll rainforests and Serpentinite communities. Thepriority regional ecosystems include R.E.12.3.10 - Poplar boxwoodland on alluvial plains and associated lower slopes, 12.9-10.12 - Eucalyptus seeana, Corymbia intermedia, Angophoraleiocarpa woodland on sedimentary rocks, 12.9-10.8 - Silver-leaved ironbark and Narrow-leaved ironbark woodland onsedimentary rocks, 12.8.23 - Brigalow open forest onCainozoic igneous rocks, 12.5.11 - Syncarpia glomuliferaopen forest on complex of remnant Tertiary surface andTertiary sedimentary rocks, 12.9-10.1 - tall mixed open foreston sedimentary rocks in coastal situations, 12.12.18 - Semi-evergreen vine thicket on Mesozoic to Proterozoic igneousrocks; north of bioregion and 12.11.15 - woodland withXanthorrhoea sp. on serpentinite.

The protected areas within the South Eastern QueenslandBioregion have a high representation of regional ecosystems,however it is still a priority area due to the threats posed to theecology of the bioregion by rapid urban expansion andassociated threats.

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Priority 4 BioregionsCape York Peninsula (CYP)

Complex geology dominated by the Torres Strait Volcanics inthe north, the metamorphic rocks and acid intrusive rocks ofvarious ages of the Coen-Yambo Inlier which runs north-south along the eastern margin of the region and encompassesthe high-altitude/high-rainfall areas of Iron Range andMcIlwraith Range. The deeply dissected sandstone plateausand ranges of the Battle Camp Sandstones lie in the south ofthe region adjacent to the undulating Laura Lowlandscomposed of residual weathered sands and flat plains ofcolluvial and alluvial clays, silts and sands. The west of theregion is dominated in the south by the extensive Tertiary sandsheet dissected by intricate drainage systems of the HolroydPlain, the Tertiary laterite of the undulating Weipa Plateau, thelow rises of Mesozoic sandstones, with the northern extensionof the Weipa Plateau and extensive coastal plains adjoiningthe Gulf of Carpentaria. Extensive aeolian dunefields lie in theeast associated with Cape Bedford/Cape Flattery in the southand the Olive and Jardine Rivers.

Cape York Peninsula has 11.68% of its total area underreserve tenure, with 11 National Parks and 3 ResourceReserves. These reserves include 80% of the regionalecosystems present in the bioregion, and incorporate 56 of the87 threatened ecosystems. Protected areas consist of a rangeof ecosystem types varying from those occurring on marinedeposits to hills and ranges.

The major reservation priorities consist of vine forests, heathand Melaleuca communities. The priority regional ecosystemsinclude R.E. 3.8.1 - Complex mesophyll vine forest occurringon basalt lowlands, 3.2.19 - Leucopogon yorkensis /Asteromyrtus brassii open heath on old beach ridges, 3.8.3 –eucalypt and Bloodwood woodlands on basalt flows, 3.3.11 -Melaleuca leucadendra / Eucalyptus tereticornis open foreston alluvium, 3.5.3 - Semi-deciduous notophyll vine forestrestricted to lateritic Carnegie Tablelands and 3.3.62 -Grassland/sedgeland with Pandanus spp. confined to TorresStrait Islands and lowland grasslands.

The Cape York Peninsula is a lower priority bioregion forfurther reservation due the current reasonable level ofrepresentation and fewer threatening processes whencompared to other bioregions.

New England Tableland


Wet Tropics (WET)

The bioregion is dominated by rugged rainforested mountains,including the highest in Queensland Mt Bartle Frere(1,622m). It also includes extensive plateau areas along itswestern margin, as well as low lying coastal plains. The mostextensive lowlands are in the south, associated with thefloodplains of the Tully and Herbert Rivers. Most of thebioregion drains to the Coral Sea from small coastalcatchments, but higher western areas drain in the south intothe Burdekin River, and in the north into tributaries of theMitchell River. The region contains extensive areas of tropicalrainforest, plus beach scrub, tall open forest, open forest,mangrove and Melaleuca woodland communities.

The Wet Tropics Bioregion has 376,204 ha under reservetenure. This represents 19% of the total area of bioregion andincludes 20 National Parks and five Conservation Parks.These reserves include 73% of the regional ecosystemspresent within the bioregion, and incorporate 31 of the 51threatened ecosystems identified within the Wet Tropics.

The main reservation priorities are lowland vine forest andsedgeland communities. The priority communities includeR.E. 7.11.8 - Notophyll vine forest with Acacia spp.emergents on moist metamorphic lowlands and foothills, 7.3.2- sedgeland and grassland freshwater swamps of seasonallyinundated tableland volcanic craters and alluvial depressions,7.8.3 - Complex notophyll vine forest on moist basaltlowlands, foothills and uplands, 7.11.2 - Mesophyll fan palm,Licuala ramsayi Swamp vine forest on very wet poorlydrained metamorphic foothills and tablelands, 7.12.12 -Notophyll vine forest with Acacia spp. emergents on moistgranite lowlands and foothills, 7.3.13 -Melville IslandBloodwood, Corymbia nesophila woodland on dry welldrained lowland gravelly alluvial soils, 7.2.2 - Notophyll vineforest with acacia emergents of moist to wet coastal lowlandson beach sands and 7.3.25 - Weeping tea-tree, Melaleucafluviatilis, Melaleuca leucadendra, Moreton Bay ash,Corymbia tessellaris open forest with Notophyll riparian vineforest on levees.

The Wet Tropics Bioregion is of lower priority for furtherreservation. However, the lowland subregions including vineforest communities are a priority within the bioregion and arehighly threatened.

Priority 5 BioregionsNSW North Coast (NNC)

See New South Wales Section 5.2.1



5.2.4 South AustraliaPriority 1 BioregionsCentral Ranges (CR)


Finke (FIN)


Riverina (RIV)


Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP)

See Victorian Section 5.2.6



Flinders Lofty Block (FLB)

Temperate to arid Proterozoic ranges, alluvial fans and plains,and some outcropping volcanics, with the semi arid to aridnorth supporting Native cypress, Black oak (Belah) andMallee open woodlands, Eremophila and Acacia shrublands,and Bluebush/Saltbush chenopod shrublands on shallow, well-drained loams and moderately-deep, well-drained red duplexsoils. The increase in rainfall to the south corresponds with anincrease in low open woodlands of Eucalyptus obliqua and E. baxteri on deep lateritic soils, and E. fasciculosa andE. cosmophylla on shallower or sandy soils.

There are several major reserves within the bioregion:

Gammon Ranges National Park conserves a portion of therugged northern Flinders Ranges. Landscapes include chasms,gorges, bluffs, and plateaux in the ranges as well as rollinghills and the outwash plain of the Balcanoona Creek.

Flinders Ranges National Park contains a variety oflandforms, including Wilpena Pound, and habitat types.Vegetation communities include chenopod shrublands, Triodiahummock grasslands, Callitris woodlands, mallee shrublands,heaths and riverine woodlands.

Mount Remarkable National Park conserves a series of ruggedranges with high, quartzite ridges covered by eucalyptwoodlands. Low woodlands of Callitris and Acacia occur onthe footslopes.

Mokota Conservation Park protects one of the most extensiveand floristically significant Lomandra tussock grasslandsremaining in South Australia.

Cleland Conservation Park conserves some of the largestremaining areas of bushland in the Mount Lofty Ranges. It contains a diversity of habitats, including the First Creekcatchment, wet gullies with sphagnum bogs and king ferns,Stringy bark forest, Blue gum and Manna gum woodland andstands of Candlebark.

Onkaparinga River National Park conserves a stretch ofriparian gorge habitat associated with the second largestpermanent river in the State.

The major priorities for ecosystem reservation in thebioregion are tussock grasslands, grassy woodlands,Candlebark, Eucalyptus rubida ssp. rubida woodlands,aquatic herblands and swamp heaths. Both the Broughton andOlary Spur subregions are the highest priorities for reserveconsolidation as each has less than 0.1% of area in NPWSAreserves. NPWSA reserve coverage is also inadequate in theother subregions - Mount Lofty Ranges (3.5% of area, andmany small parks), Southern Flinders (5.4% of area, and onelarge park) and Northern Flinders (7.2% of area, and one large park).

The main constraints in the Mount Lofty Ranges andBroughton subregions are the highly fragmented and modifiednature of native vegetation remnants, while in the northernsubregions it is the competing land use of pastoralism.

Murray Darling Depression

See Victorian Section 5.2.6

Narcoorte Coastal Plain (NCP)

A broad coastal plain of Tertiary and Quaternary sedimentswith a regular series of calcareous sand ridges separated byinter-dune swales closed limestone depressions and youngvolcanoes at Mount Gambier. Vegetation is dominated byheathy woodlands and mallee shrublands with wet heaths inthe inter-dune swales. Extensively cleared for agriculture.

There are several major reserves within the South Australianpart of the bioregion:

Canunda National Park is a linear coastal strip comprisingcoastal cliffs and beaches backed by stable and unstable dunesin the north, and a mainly unstable coastal dune system in thesouth. The dunes where vegetated, have a diverse range ofcoastal associations. The park contains a number of soaks andpeat swamps.

Coorong National Park conserves ocean beaches backed by adune succession on a peninsula formed by the CoorongLagoon, and fringed by ephemeral salt lakes with samphireand Tea tree associations that grade into mallee ecosystems on a limestone landscape.

Messent Conservation Park is mostly composed of dunes withlimestone outcrops supporting a number of malleecommunities and infrequent ephemeral swamps. The southernportion of the park contains low lying flats with sedgelandssubject to partial flooding during the wet season.

Gum Lagoon Conservation Park conserves extensive areas of low lying wet heath land in the eastern portion with risingdune country surrounding a chain of lagoons in the westernand northern sections of the park.

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Mount Rescue Conservation Park conserves a consolidatedaeolian landscape with mallee and heath communities.

Eucalypt and Sheoak ecosystems with grassy understoreys areinsufficiently conserved in the reserve system of theNaracoorte Coastal Plain Bioregion, as are Silky tea-tree,Leptospermum lanigerum and Cutting grass, Gahnia spp.ecosystems. These ecosystems are a priority for reserveconsolidation, but are constrained by the lack of uncleared orungrazed examples and the small size of remnants.

Within Victoria, the Lower Glenelg National Park, DiscoveryBay Coastal Park and Dergholm State Park protect a varietyof ecosystems, from lowland forest to coastal dune scrub toheathy woodlands, important for the endangered southeasternRed-tailed black-cockatoo.

Stony Plains (SP)

Arid stony silcrete tablelands and gibber and gypsum plainswith sparse low chenopod shrublands on duplex soils andcalcareous earths, dissected by large arid drainage systemswith Coolibah and Red gum on cracking clays alongriverbanks of numerous creeks and rivers.


Witjira National Park protects mound springs of the DalhousieComplex and a wide range of desert habitats including gibberplains, stony tableland, sand dunes and floodplains on thewestern margin of the Simpson Desert.

Wabma Kadarbu Mound Springs Conservation Park is a smallreserve that protects the mound springs of Blanche CupSprings, the Bubbler and Coward Springs.

The only additional reserves in the bioregion are very smallsections of Lake Eyre and Gammon Ranges National Parksand two small Heritage Agreements at Coward Springs andEvelyn Downs.

Protection of further mound springs is required as these highlysignificant landforms are insufficiently represented in theexisting reserves. Priority landscapes for reservation include:-

Moon Plain near Coober Pedy, an area of ephemeral sub-shrublands and herblands on cracking clay with little water;breakaway country of the Arckaringa Hills; and Davenportand Peake Denison Ranges, which contain a number ofrestricted habitats and population isolates.

Priority subregions for reserve consolidation are Peake-Denison Inlier (currently unreserved), Oodnadatta (0.1%protected) and Murnpeowie (0.6% protected). The mainconstraints are availability and cost of suitable areas, and thecompeting land use of pastoralism.

Priority 3 BioregionsBroken Hill South (BHC)


Eyre Yorke Block (EYB)

Archaean basement rocks and Proterozoic sandstones overlainby undulating to occasionally hilly calcarenite and calcreteplains and areas of aeolian quartz sands, with malleewoodlands, shrublands and heaths on calcareous earths,duplex soils and calcareous to shallow sands, now largelycleared for agriculture.


Lincoln National Park conserves a varied landscape of ruggedocean beaches and cliffs, sheltered bays and extensive malleeshrublands.

Coffin Bay National Park protects a narrow peninsulacontaining mobile dunes, coastal mallee, sandy beaches,several small islands an estuary system.

Innes National Park contains spectacular coastal cliffs, rockyheadlands, wave cut platforms, sandy beaches, and anextensive coastal dune system with heath and coastal mallee.

Hincks Conservation Park and Hambidge Conservation Parkeach conserve extensive areas of mallee on parallel dunes.

Bascombe Well Conservation Park conserves a large area ofmallee and dryland Tea-tree low woodlands on a low reliefplain on hard limestone.

Pinkawillinie Conservation Park protects an extensive systemof parallel dunes covered with open mallee scrub and areas ofTriodia and Broombush, Melalueca uncinata.

Venus Bay Conservation Park conserves a coastal landscapeof sea cliffs, small islands and a sheltered bay. Coastal heathand mallee dominate the vegetation.

Coastal dune environments and mallee ecosystems arecurrently well represented in the protected area system, while Sugar gum, Eucalyptus cladocalyx ecosystems, grassyecosystems, She oak woodlands and heath plains areinsufficiently reserved. These ecosystems are priorities forreserve consolidation.

The priority subregions for reserve consolidation are StVincent (currently only 0.6% of area in reserves) andSouthern Yorke (6.5% of area in reserves). The mainconstraint to further reserve consolidation is the degradednature of priority ecosystems.

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Gawler (GAW)

Semi arid to arid climate, flat topped to broadly rounded hillsof the Gawler Range Volcanics and Proterozoic sediments,low plateaux on sandstone and quartzite with an undulatingsurface of aeolian sand or gibbers and rocky quartzite hillswith colluvial footslopes, erosional and depositional plainsand salt encrusted lake beds, with Black oak (Belah) andMyall low open woodlands, Open mallee scrub,Bluebush/Saltbush open chenopod shrublands and tall Mulgashrublands on shallow loams, calcareous earths and hard redduplex soils.


Lake Torrens National Park and Lake Gairdner National Parkconserve large playa lakes of a tectonic depression.Vegetation of the lake margins and the large islands of thelakebeds include low samphire shrublands and tall shrublandsover chenopods.

Gawler Ranges National Park preserves a portion of theranges previously held as a pastoral lease. The park containsa range of vegetation communities including Acacia aneura,Acacia papyrocarpa and Casuarina pauper low woodlands,mallee communities, Triodia irritans (spinifex) hummockgrasslands and chenopod shrublands.

Winninowie Conservation Park conserves excellent examplesof several coastal and marine systems in a temperate climate,including significant stands of the Avicennia marina var.resinifera (Grey mangrove) and samphire salt marshcommunities.

Lake Gilles Conservation Park and Lake Gilles ConservationReserve are located in the transitional zone between pastoraland agricultural lands. They contain several major habitatsincluding salt pans, low sandy rises, gypsum dunes,undulating plains and isolated stony hills.

Key priority ecosystems for inclusion in future reserves are:Acacia aneura low woodland on sand plains; Alectryonoleifolius ssp. canescens tall shrubland on alluvial soils ofplains and Acacia calcicola low woodland on calcareous soilsof breakaway tablelands.

Priority subregions are Arcoona Plateau (0.6% protected) andKingoonya (3.0% protected). While the Gawler Lakessubregion appears well conserved at 37.6%, it is only thelarge salt lakes that are in parks and many ecosystems areunder-represented.

The main constraints are availability and cost of land and thesubsequent management requirements. Over 80% of thebioregion is pastoral lease and reserve consolidation wouldrequire loss of pastoral productivity. It is also an area ofconsiderable mineral exploration interest and mineralextraction is expected to be an increasing land use.

Kanmantoo (KAN)

Temperate, well defined uplands of Cambrian and LateProterozoic marine sediments, and a lateritized surfacebecoming increasingly dissected northwards, with eucalyptopen forests and woodlands and heaths on mottled yellow andironstone gravelly duplex soils in the wetter areas. Eucalyptusodorata and Drooping sheoak on shallow rocky soils in drierareas. Extensively cleared for agriculture.


Flinders Chase National Park and Ravine des CasoarsWilderness Protection Area. These combined reserves protecta large wilderness area featuring mallee communities on thecoastal sands and lateritic plateau, eucalypt woodlands onflats and in river valleys, pristine river systems and plateauswamps.

Cape Gantheaume Wilderness Protection Area is another largewilderness area with an extensive area of coastal mallee and alarge wetland.

Kelly Hill Conservation Park and Cape Bouguer WildernessProtection Area is a consolidated area of coastal mallee thatincludes an extensive limestone cave system and a significantcoastal lagoon.

Seal Bay Conservation Park protects one of the few breedingsites for Australian sea-lion, Neophoca cinerea in SouthAustralia and provides tourists the opportunity to view theseanimals in their natural habitat.

Deep Creek Conservation Park conserves the largestremaining block of native vegetation on the FleurieuPeninsula and is an important refuge for several species ofconservation significance.

The major reservation priorities for the bioregion areEucalyptus cneorifolia ecosystems, the nationally threatenedplants of the Amberley Environmental Association onKangaroo Island and the freshwater swamps, eucalyptus forestand Scented mat rush, Lomandra effusa tussock grasslandecosystems of the Fleurieu subregion. With only 2.1% of itsarea in NPWSA reserves the Fleurieu is the priority subregionfor reserve consolidation.

Inclusion of these priorities in future reserves is constrainedprincipally by the highly fragmented nature of remnantvegetation in the bioregion. Most remaining blocks of nativevegetation exist as small isolated remnants.

Nullarbor (NUL)

See Western Australian Section 5.2.7

Priority 4 BioregionsHampton (HAM)


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Priority 5 BioregionsGreat Victorian Desert (GVD)



Arid dunefields and sandplains with sparse shrubland andspinifex hummock grassland, and cane grass on deep sandsalong dune crests. Large salt lakes, notably Lake Eyre andmany clay pans are dispersed amongst the dunes. Severalsignificant arid rivers terminate at Lake Eyre, Cooper Creekand Warburton River. They are fringed with Coolibah and Red gum woodlands.


Lake Eyre National Park (SA) conserves the large playa ofLake Eyre (the largest lake in Australia and the fifth largestterminus lake in the world) and a section of the Tirari Desert,an extensive dunefield with numerous claypans. When floodsinundate the lake it becomes a breeding ground for vastnumbers of waterbirds.

Simpson Desert Conservation Park, Simpson Desert RegionalReserve (SA) and Simpson Desert National Park (Qld)conserve much of the southern and eastern Simpson Desert,an extensive sandy desert in the driest part of the continentcharacterised by long, straight and parallel sand ridges and anextensive network of playas in the interdune corridors.

Strzelecki Regional Reserve (SA) contains a large area of theStrzelecki Desert, an extensive dunefield east of Lake Eyre,and the large playa of Lake Blanche.

The major priorities for conservation are those ecosystemsassociated with mound springs or major arid drainage lines,and acacia woodlands. The key subregions requiring furtherconservation are Simpson-Strzelecki Dunefields P1, which hasno reserves and Warriner, which is only 2.3% protected.

Pastoralism is the main land use with many large pastoralproperties within the bioregion. These properties are onlyrarely available for purchase and are expensive. Theconservation priorities are associated with the most productive country.

5.2.5 TasmaniaPriority 1 BioregionsTasmanian Northern Midlands (TNM)

Dry subhumid cool inland lowland plain underlain by Tertiarybasalts, Jurassic dolerite, Permo-Triassic sandstones, andrecent alluvium lying in the Tamar. Vegetation comprisesgrasslands and grassy woodlands on deep loams and alluviumand dry sclerophyll forest and woodland on Tertiary surfaces.Grasslands and woodlands have been reduced to remnants.Land use is primarily agriculture (grazing) with some forestry.The area is extensively cleared for agriculture.

Major reserves in the Northern Midlands are Avoca, CastleCary and Dog Kennels Regional Reserves and Great WesternTiers and Tamar River Conservation Areas. These capturelandscapes from the foothills of Ben Lomond and theTasmanian Central Highlands, and the estuarine margins ofthe Tamar River.

The region is of very high priority for reserve consolidation:comprehensiveness and representativeness are low andadequacy is very low (less than 2%), with many unreservedthreatened ecosystems.

Unreserved threatened ecosystems in the Northern Midlandsare Cabbage gum-White gum woodland, Black gum-whitegum shrubby forest on flats, White gum wet sclerophyllforest, Native olive/Blanket leaf shrubberies and Silvertussock lowland grassland. Other regional priorities arewetland ecosystems and the large number ofunreserved/poorly reserved threatened plants, forest associatedplants and forest epacrids, refer NLWRA Atlas for completelist of priority ecosystems.

Major constraints to reserve consolidation are competing landuses and the rarity of many priority ecosystems. Land tenurein the region is almost entirely private, which makesexpansion of the reserve system expensive.

Regional scale threats include destructive agriculturalpractices, changes in catchment hydrology and salinity. Valuesand management issues for the few reserves in the region arewell understood, however, the ability to manage biodiversityissues in protected areas is limited by lack of resources in this bioregion.

Priority 2 BioregionsTasmanian South East (TSE)

Subhumid cool to subhumid warm coastal plains on a highlyindented coastline, bordered inland by low mountain rangesformed from Jurassic dolerite and Permo-Triassic sediments.Soils are predominantly clay to sandy loams. Vegetation ispredominantly dry sclerophyll forest, with patches of wetsclerophyll forest, relict rainforest, coastal heath and dryconiferous forest. Extensive areas have been converted toimproved pasture and cropland. Land use is primarilyagriculture (grazing) and forestry.

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Major reserves in the Tasmanian South East are Freycinet,Maria Island, Tasman and Douglas-Apsley National Parks andthe Wye River State Reserve. These reserve predominantlyrugged coastal landscapes and inland ranges on dolerite.

Unreserved threatened ecosystems in the region are Brooker’sgum wet forests, Black peppermint forests on gravels andSilver peppermint forest on sediments. Other priorities are gapsin non-forest ecosystem reservation ecosystems and thenumerous regional threatened species. Economic constraintsand competing land uses are substantial barriers to reserveconsolidation in the region, and in common with the NorthernMidlands much of the region is privately owned. For manythreatened ecosystems there are few remaining opportunitiesfor reserve consolidation.

The Tasmanian South East is of high priority for reserveconsolidation. Representativeness overall is moderate, but lowfor coastal, estuarine and wetland ecosystems. Threateningprocesses such as urban/residential development, changes incatchment hydrology and increasing salinity, operate on anearly regional scale.

Freycinet, Maria Island and Tasman National Parks and coastalreserves in the Tasmanian South East are managed to a highstandard. In contrast, new inland Nature Reserves andConservation Areas suffer from limited understanding ofbiodiversity values, limited resourcing and lack of effectivemanagement of such practices such as firewood collection andrubbish dumping.

Priority 3 BioregionsBen Lomond (BEL)

Humid cool/cold mountain ranges situated in Tasmania’s inlandnorth-east. The mountains are capped by Jurassic dolerite withshallow gradational soils. Silurian-Devonian siltstones andmudstones covered with gradational soils constitute asubstantial part of the lower hills. Lowland vegetationcomprising mainly open sclerophyll woodlands and heath whilethe upper slopes consist of wet sclerophyll forests, somerainforest and alpine vegetation in the highest regions. Land useis forestry, mining and agriculture (grazing).

Major reserves are Ben Lomond National Park, Mt. Victoria,Mt Maurice and Avenue River Forest Reserves and Castle Caryand Cameron Regional Reserves. These capture a range oflandscapes from alpine mountains and plateaux through slopeswith wet forest and rainforest to coastal and near coastal plainswith eucalypt forests and woodlands.

Ben Lomond has a number of unreserved threatenedecosystems. Alpine and sub-alpine vegetation is wellrepresented in reserves, but lowland forest and woodlandecosystems are not. Unreserved ecosystems in Ben Lomond areBrooker’s gum wet forests, Black peppermint woodland ongravels, Black peppermint woodland on sandstone, Black gumheathy woodland and Kangaroo grass/Silver tussock lowlandgrasslands. There are also important reservation needs for wetforest fauna. Species conservation priorities for Ben Lomondinclude wet forest invertebrates, which are adversely affectedby habitat loss due to conversion of old growth forest toregrowth and forestry plantations.

Priority management issues for the region include themaintenance of water quality, which is affected by agricultureand forestry, and the loss of natural vegetation and habitats toforestry, forestry plantations and agriculture. Economicconstraints hinder reservation of commercially valuable wetforest, and competing land use is an issue in the reservation ofmost ecosystems. There are limited opportunities to meetCAR criteria for many priority ecosystems.

Reserve management in the Ben Lomond bioregion as awhole is good. Well managed Forest Reserves are a significantcomponent of protected areas. Reserves around the lowlandmargins of the region, notably Cameron Regional Reservehave a lower management standard.

King (KIN)

Perhumid warm coastal plains and low hills comprising KingIsland and the north-western tip of Tasmania. It is a region ofsubdued topography and low relief. Precambrian metamorphicrocks are overlain by diverse soils, including recent marinedeposits covered by deep sandy profiles that support extensiveEucalyptus obliqua open forest and Nothofagus cunninghamiiclosed forest. Acacia melanoxylon closed forest andMelaleuca ericifolia closed forest occur on poorly drainedlow-lying sites. The vegetation of King Island has beensubstantially degraded by clearing and burning followingEuropean settlement.

Major reserves are the Arthur-Pieman Conservation Area, DipRange Regional Reserve, Lavinia State Reserve, Rocky CapeNational Park, and Three Hummock and Hunter Islands StateReserves. These are predominantly lowland reserves withcoastal and heath vegetation.

Whereas forests on mainland Tasmania are reasonably wellrepresented, forests on King and other islands and non-forestecosystems on mainland Tasmania are not. Unreservedthreatened ecosystems in King are King Island bluegum/Brooker’s gum forest and woodland, Silver tussocklowland grassland and Native olive/Blanket leaf shrublands.Further reservation of swamp forest and wet forests in theregion would benefit a range of fauna.

Other conservation priorities are birds (there is a high level ofendemism on King Island), wet forest species on the mainland(Grey goshawk, Giant freshwater lobster, Astacopsis gouldi),Orange-bellied parrot, Neophema chrysogaster habitat onKing Island and the mainland and migratory birds and habitatin Boullanger Bay - Robbins Passage and the Montagu,Welcome and Harcus River estuaries. Paperbark swamps (e.g. Dismal and Welcome swamps), heath and grasslandecosystems in the coastal zone are other vegetation prioritiesfor conservation.

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Competing land uses operate strongly against the reservationof commercially valuable wet forests and vegetation on landsuitable for dairy. Many of the priority ecosystems for theregion have a limited extent, and opportunities to meet targetareas for reservation on public land may be limited.

On the Arthur-Pieman Conservation Area, past poormanagement of cattle grazing and off-road vehiclescontributes to continued degradation. On King Islandinappropriate fire regimes threaten the Lavinia State Reserve.In common with Flinders, Phytophthora cinnamomi is a threatto coastal vegetation and habitats. Good management regimesfor small island reserves in the region have been developedbut on ground management resources are limited.

Tasmanian Northern Slopes (TNS)

Humid warm coastal plains and deeply dissected lowland hillsrising from Tasmania’s central north coast to the foot of theCentral Highlands in a rolling hilly plateau. This is ageologically diverse region comprising complexes ofCambrian and Pre Cambrian metasediments, basic-intermediate volcanics, and post-Carboniferous sedimentswith soils ranging from deep basaltic loams to acid sandycoastal soils. Vegetation is wet and dry sclerophyll forest withcoastal heaths and some rainforest which progressivelyreplaces the sclerophyll forest in the west. Native vegetationhas been replaced by improved pasture and croplandthroughout the lowlands. Land use is primarily forestry andagriculture (cropping).

Major reserves are the Arthur River, Dial Range and ReedyMarsh Forest Reserves, Mount Roland Regional Reserve andSavage River National Park. Undulating and hilly topography,including bigger ranges occurs in these reserves.

Reserves are deficient for coastal vegetation types andvegetation on basalt soils. Unreserved threatened ecosystemsare Brooker’s gum wet forests, Black peppermint woodlandon gravels, Black peppermint woodland on sandstone, Blackgum heathy woodland, Midlands woodland complex, Grassywhite gum/Blue gum coastal forests on sands, tall wind-pruned coastal scrub/heath complex and graminoid saltmarsh.Other priorities identified for the Northern Slopes are heathecosystems in the Dial and Dazzler Ranges, forest ecosystems(particularly white gum wet sclerophyll forest) and habitat forwet forest fauna which is negatively impacted by forestry.

Species conservation priorities for the Northern Slopes arethreatened raptors, the Giant freshwater lobster, Astacopsisgouldi, Burrowing crayfish, Engaeus spp., and ultramaficendemic plant species in the Dazzler Range. Vegetationconservation priorities in the region include White gum,Eucalyptus viminalis wet sclerophyll forest, damp sclerophyllforests, Black gum, E. ovata forests and woodlands andremnant vegetation on broad floodplain areas.

Constraints to reserve consolidation in the region arecompeting land use (particularly for wetter forest types), andlimited opportunity to meet CAR criteria.

Reserve management in the Tasmanian Northern Slopes isgenerally good, although the region represents a substantialgap in the knowledge of biodiversity values for Tasmania.Mole Creek Karst National Park is effectively managed, as isthe Liffey Falls State Reserve. Mt Roland Regional Reserve issubject to some informal management, but continues to beaffected by inappropriate fire regimes.

Priority 4 BioregionsFlinders (FLI)

Moist and dry subhumid warm coastal plains and graniticisland chain comprised of the Furneaux islands and coastalnorth-eastern Tasmania. Devonian granites dominate theelevated areas of the subregion forming low rugged ranges.These are overlain by shallow stony/gravelly gradational orduplex soils carrying Eucalyptus amygdalina open forest andwoodland with Eucalyptus nitida open heath on higher peaks.Quaternary/Tertiary materials overlain by deep sandy soilstypify extensive lowland plains, coastal deposits and dunes.Coastal plains have been heavily modified by agriculture(grazing).

Major reserves are Mount William, Strzelecki and WilsonsPromontory National Parks, Cameron Regional Reserve,North Scottsdale Forest Reserve, Wingaroo Nature Reserveand Waterhouse Conservation Area. These cover a range oflandscapes including rugged granite ranges, the Ben Lomondfoothills, coastal plains and dune systems.

Forests are well represented on mainland Tasmania, butrepresentation of many non-forest and some forest ecosystemson the Furneaux Group is poor. Unreserved threatenedecosystems in the Flinders are inland Black peppermint forestand woodland on gravels and Cabbage gum - White gumwoodland. Woodland and forest ecosystems in the FurneauxGroup with Blue gum, E. globulus, Black gum E. ovata andWhite gum, E. viminalis as dominants are reservationpriorities. Economic constraints and competing land uses areobstacles to reservation for almost all types.

Other conservation priorities for Flinders are wetlands (fortheir importance as amphibian, bird and fish habitat),migratory birds and migratory bird habitat, coastal birds andheath ecosystems. Heath ecosystems in this bioregion are theprimary habitat in Tasmania for the endangered New Hollandmouse, Pseudomys novaehollandiae.

Difficult management problems contribute to the degradationof much of the reserved land in the Flinders Bioregion. Feralpigs are identified as a threat on some Flinders Islandreserves, and the fungus Phytophthora cinnamomi, and coastalweed Euphorbia paralias cause extensive impacts onvegetation through much of the region’s protected areas. On mainland Tasmania conflicts between conservation andcoastal camping are a recurrent problem. There is goodknowledge of biodiversity issues and planning for majorreserves on Flinders Island and many small Furneaux islands.The recent discovery of foxes in the Tasmanian part of thebioregion is a major management issue.

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Tasmanian Central Highlands (TCH)

Perhumid cool to cold high plateau surface and ruggedmountain ranges to the west formed by Jurassic dolerite andTertiary basalts, with skeletal soils to alluvium in valleys, andhumid cool to cold lower plateau surface underlain by Jurassicdolerite, Permo-Triassic sediments and Tertiary basalts, withsandy to clay loam soils. Vegetation ranging from drysclerophyll woodlands and wet sclerophyll forest on the lowerplateau to alpine complexes and coniferous forest patches infertile, fire protected situations on the higher plateau. Landuse is a combination of conservation, forestry, agriculture(grazing) and water catchment.

Major reserves are Cradle Mountain-Lake St. Clair and Wallsof Jerusalem National Parks and the Central PlateauConservation Area, all of which strongly feature alpinelandscapes developed by glacial processes.

Threatened ecosystems as currently mapped appear to beadequately reserved in the region. Ecosystems withEucalyptus gunnii and grassland communities on the lowerplateau surface are less well represented.

This bioregion is most important for the protection of thePtunarra brown butterfly, Oreixenica ptunarra. Otherconservation priorities for the Central Highlands are alpineecosystems (particularly those associated with the Mt. Readvolcanics), threatened Galaxias and Paragalaxias species andGreat Lake aquatic fauna. Opportunities to address CARcriteria and issues of irreplacibility will be determined uponthe completion of regional vegetation mapping and analysis ofecosystem reservation status.

Much of the reserved land is contained within the TasmanianWilderness World Heritage Area, for which ecologicalmonitoring and management planning is well developed. Inthe east of the region, recreation, particularly the use of off-road vehicles in reserves has had some impact.

Tasmanian Southern Ranges (TSR)

Humid cool mountainous tract of central southern Tasmania.Permo-Triassic sediments and Jurassic dolerite, mantled withsandy to clay loams. Heavily forested, grading from mixedforest, wet sclerophyll forest and patches of rainforest in theuplands to dry sclerophyll forest on the coastal lowlands.Land use primarily forestry and agriculture (grazing andcropping).

Major reserves in the region are Hartz Mountains, Mt. Fieldand Southwest National Parks, Snug Tiers Nature RecreationArea and Wellington Park. With the exception of the large anddiverse Southwest National Park, these reserves focus onupland slopes, dolerite mountain ranges and plateaux.

Of the mapped threatened ecosystems in the Southern Ranges,four are not reserved: Cabbage gum-white gum woodland,White gum wet sclerophyll forest and Silver tussock lowlandgrassland.

Other reservation priorities are unreserved or poorly reservedthreatened species, particularly the Forty-spotted pardalote,Pardalotus quadragintus and its habitat. Conservationpriorities for the region are coastal vegetation, vegetation onalluvial flats and forests (excluding Brown-top stringybark,Eucalyptus obliqua) on sedimentary rocks.

Much of the reserved area of the Tasmanian Southern Rangeslies within the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area orMount Field National Park. Knowledge of biodiversity issuesand their effective management in these reserves is excellent.Southport Lagoon Conservation Area is a major exception inthe Tasmanian Southern Ranges region: conflicts existbetween recreational use, private ownership of surroundingland and the preservation of biodiversity values in this area.

Tasmanian West (TWE)

Perhumid cold lowlands, low hills and low ranges, comprisingmost of coastal and inland western Tasmania. Folding andsubsequent erosion has resulted in rugged dissected inlandranges dominated by Precambrian and Cambrian rockssupporting oligotrophic acid peat soils or shallow organichorizons over deep mineral profiles. From 300 metreselevation, a discontinuous coastal plain slopes westward to theocean. Vegetation is a complex mosaic of rainforest(Nothofagus), Buttongrass, Gymnoschoenus sphaerocephalusmoorlands and Eucalyptus nitida scrub. Principal land usesare conservation, mining and forestry.

Major reserves in the West are the Franklin-Gordon WildRivers and Southwest National Parks, Arthur-Pieman andSouthwest Conservation Areas and the Dundas and MeredithRange Regional Reserves. The sheer size of the reservesystem in this region means that a large array of landscapesare captured ranging from rocky coastal systems to inlandplains and rugged, dissected mountain and river valleyterrains.

Remaining unreserved Lagarostrobos franklinii and Athrotaxisselaginoides communities and the Eucalyptus globuluswestern provenance should be considered as reservationpriorities. Other conservation priorities for the West includethe Orange-bellied parrot, Neophema chrysogaster, Blue gum,Eucalyptus globulus/White gum, E. viminalis/Black gum, E.ovata forests near Strahan and Zeehan, and alpine and fire-sensitive vegetation.

The Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers and Southwest NationalParks are managed as part of the Tasmanian Wilderness WorldHeritage Area (WHA). Ecological monitoring programs are inplace in the WHA and planning and management for thesereserves addresses key biodiversity issues. In the north of theregion reserve management standard ranges from fair to good.High visitor impacts in the coastal zone contribute to resourcedegradation, as does less severe access to and recreational useof the Southwest Conservation Area immediately south ofMacquarie Harbour.

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5.2.6 VictoriaPriority 1 BioregionsNSW South Western Slopes


Riverina (RIV)


Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP)

An extensive undulating basaltic plain in south-westernVictoria, stretching from Melbourne west to Portland, south toColac and north to Beaufort. It is characterised by vast openareas of grasslands, small patches of open woodland, stonyrises denoting old lava flows, the low peaks of long extinctvolcanoes dotting the landscape and numerous scattered largeshallow lakes with extensive wetlands.

The total area in parks and conservation reserves represents1.2% of the bioregion. At least twenty-five percent of regionalecosystems are included in parks and reserves. (Theidentification of regional ecosystem reservation for thisbioregion was not complete at the time of the NLWRAanalysis in 2002).

Major reserves include: Mount Eccles National Park, OrganPipes National Park, and Mount Napier State Park that aresignificant for geological and geomorphological features andAboriginal significance; Cobra Killuc Wildlife Reserve,Derrimut Grassland, Blacks Creek, Mount Mercer,Boonderoo, Craigieburn Grasslands Nature ConservationReserve and Inverleigh Flora Reserve which are all significantfor the Western (Basalt) Plains Community; LakeCorangamite Lake Reserve is a large naturally saline lake,which has international significance for waterbirds; and TowerHill Wildlife Reserve, which is significant for threatenedspecies and geological formations.

Priority for increased protection has been assessed (based onFitzsimons (1999)) at the level of Broad Vegetation Typeswithin IBRA Version 4 bioregional boundaries. The followinghave been listed as a high priority: Plains Grassy WoodlandComplexes, Grassland Complexes, Herb-rich WoodlandComplexes and Lowland Forest Complexes, refer NLWRAAtlas for complete list of priority ecosystems.

Land acquisition through the National Reserve SystemProgram has increased the reservation level of Grassland andPlains Grassy Woodland in the bioregion (see Fitzsimons &Ashe 2003, Fitzsimons et al 2004, 2006). A comprehensiveinvestigation of all known unreserved high priority vegetationremnants has been carried out and identifies priorities forfurther protection and reserve acquisition, where appropriate.

The West Victoria Regional Forest Agreement addressed theprotection of some priority ecosystems, such as LowlandForest, through Special Protection Zones. Opportunities forincreasing reservation are limited by the extreme depletion ofsome ecosystems and private land ownership.

Priority 2 BioregionsMurray Darling Depression (MDD)

An extensive gently undulating sand and clay plain of Tertiaryand Quaternary age frequently overlain by aeolian dunes.Vegetation consists of semi-arid woodlands of Black oak /Belah, Bullock bush/ Rosewood and Acacia spp., malleeshrublands and heathlands and savanna woodlands.

Murray Darling Depression is less than 15% reserved underIUCN Categories I to VI. Reservation in this bioregion is amoderate priority compared to other bioregions owing to thelower comparative levels of threatening processes. There arefew areas remaining in the Murray Darling Depression thatcan be reserved under any formal reserves. Many areassurrounding existing reserves have been highly altered foragriculture and are unlikely to provide for further significantreservation.

Nonetheless, the bioregion comprises a number of largereserves from the Big Desert Wilderness Park, Murray-Sunset,Little Desert and Wyperfeld National Parks in Victoria, to theNgarkat and Danggali Conservation Parks in South Australiato the Mungo National Park and Tarawi Nature Reserve. A number of large private protected areas also occur in thebioregion – Gluepot Reserve owned by Birds Australia, NedsCorner owned by the Trust for Nature and Scotia Sanctuaryowned by Australian Wildlife Conservancy.

Relative to the other bioregions, reservation of land is amedium to high priority for the Murray Darling Depression.While land use practices in the area constrain conservationactions, landholder stewardship for conservation is a highpriority to encourage through the use of VoluntaryConservation Agreements, Wildlife Refuges, Covenants andother planning mechanisms.

The Murray Darling Depression is generally considered inpoor condition and deteriorating further as a result of currentland use practices. Salinity is an increasing problem for landthroughout the region and is largely attributable to overclearing and inappropriate land use practices by landholders.This includes unsustainable water extraction from rivers andinappropriate irrigation regimes for soils that are prone tosalinity.

Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP)

See South Australian Section 5.2.4

South East Coastal Plain (SEC)

Undulating Tertiary and Quaternary coastal plains andhinterlands occur in several distinct segments (WarrnamboolPlain, Otway Plain and Gippsland Plain) rise up to 200 metresin altitude and extend from Tyrendarra in the west to LakesEntrance in the east and including Geelong, easternMelbourne and the Mornington Peninsula. The area has atemperate climate with rainfall varying from about 500 to1100 mm, typically with higher rainfall in winter. Adjacentareas of higher altitude (e.g. the Otway and StrzeleckiRanges) produce rain-shadow effects in some parts of the area.

The Warrnambool Plain is dominated by nutrient deficientsoils over low calcareous dune formations and the distinctivecliffed coastline. Much of the limestone has been overlain bymore recent sediments, and between the limestone dunes,areas of swamplands are characterised by highly fertile peatsand seasonal inundation. The area east of Warrnambool ischaracterised by deeper soils of volcanic origins overlyinglimestone, which are dissected by streams. The Otway Plainincludes coastal plains, river valleys and foothills from theBellarine Peninsula west to Princetown. A small isolatedcomponent at Werribee, on the western shore of Port PhillipBay, is included. The Gippsland Plain includes lowlandcoastal and alluvial plains characterised by generally flat togently undulating terrain. The coastline is varied and includessandy beaches backed by dunes and cliffs, and shallow inletswith extensive mud and sand flats.

The vegetation includes lowland forests, open forests withshrubby or heathy understoreys, grasslands and grassywoodlands, heathlands, shrublands, freshwater and coastalwetlands, mangrove scrubs, saltmarshes, dune scrubs andcoastal tussock grasslands. Extensively cleared for agriculture.

The total area in parks and conservation reserves represents6.5% of the bioregion. At least seventy-one percent ofregional ecosystems are included in parks and reserves. (Notethat the identification of regional ecosystem reservation forthis bioregion was not complete at the time of the NLWRAanalysis).

Priority for increased protection has been assessed at the levelof Broad Vegetation Types within IBRA Version 4 bioregionalboundaries (Fitzsimons 1999). The following have been listedas a high priority: Plains Grassy Woodland Complexes,Grassland Complexes, Montane Dry Woodland Complexes,Riverine Grassy Woodland Complexes, Heath Complexes,Coastal Scrubs & Grassy Woodland Complexes, CoastalGrassy Woodland Complexes, Swamp Scrub Complexes,Riparian Forest Complexes and Lowland Forest Complexes.Land acquisition by DSE and the Trust for Nature under theNational Reserve System Program has increased reservationlevels of Plains Grassy Woodland. Opportunities for furtherprotection and reservation continue to be identified but arelimited by depletion of priority vegetation types and high landprices.

The extensive depletion and fragmentation of many of theecosystems across the Victorian Coastal Plain means thatremaining areas of native vegetation and habitat are highlysignificant for biodiversity conservation. Protection andrestoration of remnant native vegetation and wetlands,improvement of water quality for the lake systems and othersmaller wetlands, particularly relating to nutrient levels, isessential. In the heathlands, which include major blocks ofvegetation on public land, and in the management of nowsmall and isolated grassy woodland and grassland habitats,maintaining appropriate fire regimes presents a challenge.Grazing, principally by cattle, continues to impact on remnantvegetation on private land and particularly on riparianremnants and water quality.

Given the large proportion of private land in the South EastCoastal Plain and the scattered small conservation reserves,biodiversity conservation will rely heavily on the owners andmanagers of private land and the network of road and railreserves and other small blocks of public land. The emphasiswill be on working with landowners and managers to identifyand protect these remnants and the threatened species,communities and critical habitats of the region through arange of incentive and support schemes.

Priority 3 BioregionsVictorian Midlands (VM)

An extensive area of foothills and isolated ranges comprisingthe lower inland slopes of the Great Dividing Range extendingfrom North-eastern Victoria to Casterton in Western Victoria.

Large areas of the region were cleared during the gold rushesof the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries so today itis characterised by patches of woodland and forestinterspersed with a rural landscape with modified pastures andsome cropping. Vegetation includes most of the Box IronbarkWoodland in Victoria, as well as substantial areas of eucalyptforests and woodlands with a grassy ground layer.

The flatter and more fertile areas of the Victorian Midlandshave been substantially cleared for agriculture, principallysheep and beef cattle grazing. Timber harvesting remains animportant land use in the Victorian Midlands. Much of theforests were extensively cut for timber to meet the demands of the gold mining industry of last century. In the less fertileparts of the Victorian Midlands, substantial areas of nativevegetation remain today in good condition, for example, theGrampians National Park.

The total area in parks and conservation reserves represents7.8% of the bioregion. At least sixty-two percent of regionalecosystems are included in parks and reserves.

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Major reserves include: the Grampians National Park andBlack Range State Park which are known as significant refugiafor flora and fauna, and contain important geological featuresand Aboriginal cultural sites; Brisbane Ranges National Park,Dergholm State Park, Enfield State Park, Kooyoora State Park,Langi Ghiran State Park, Lerderderg State Park, MountBuangor State Park, which have diverse and rich flora andfauna and significant geological features; Greater BendigoNational Park which is recognised for its Grey Box openforest, whipstick mallee and Box-Ironbark forests; Heathcote-Graytown National Park; Deep Lead Nature ConservationReserve, St Arnaud Range National Park, Paddys Ranges StatePark; and and Lake Eildon National Park which have a highdiversity of flora and fauna.

Priority for increased protection has been assessed (based onFitzsimons (1999)) at the level of Broad Vegetation Typeswithin IBRA Version 4 bioregional boundaries. The followinghave been listed as a high priority: Grassland Complexes,Plains Grassy Woodland Complexes, Riverine GrassyWoodland Complexes, Box Ironbark Forest Complexes, Herb-rich Woodland Complexes, and Valley Grassy ForestComplexes.

The recent establishment of a series of new parks and reserveshas significantly increased reservation levels across a large partof the bioregion. The West Victoria Regional Forest Agreementaddresses protection of some priority ecosystems such asPlains Grassy Woodland in the Dundas Tablelands subregion.Land acquisition under the National Reserve System Programhas increased reservation of Plains Grassy Woodland aroundthe Grampians (see Fitzsimons & Ashe, Fitzsimons et al. 2004,2006). Opportunities for increasing reservation are limited bythe extreme depletion of some ecosystems and private landownership.

Priority 4 BioregionsFlinders (FLI)

See Tasmania Section 5.2.5

Priority 5 BioregionsAustralian Alps (AA)


South East Corner (SEC)

The South East Corner Bioregion comprises a series of deeplydissected near coastal ranges composed of Devonian granitesand Palaeozoic sediments, inland of a series of gentlyundulating terraces (piedmont downs) composed of Tertiarysediments and flanked by Quaternary coastal plains, dunefieldsand inlets. The regional climate is strongly influenced by theTasman Sea and the close proximity of the coast to the GreatDividing Range. Vegetation consists of high elevationwoodlands, wet and damp sclerophyll forests interspersed withrain-shadow woodlands in the Snowy River Valley. Lowlandand coastal sclerophyll forests, woodlands, warm temperaterainforest and coastal communities occur in the lower areas.

The total area in parks and conservation reserves represents26.7% of the Victorian part of the bioregion. At least seventy-one percent of regional ecosystems in the Victorian part of thebioregion are included in parks and reserves. Within NSW,approximately 20% of the area is reserved and much of theremaining areas are managed for forestry.

Major reserves in Victorian part of the bioregion include:Coopracambra National Park, the site of the Genoa RiverGorge which is an internationally significant site as it has ahigh species diversity, many threatened flora and faunaspecies and relatively undisturbed stream catchments;Errinundra National Park which is recognised for its forestcommunities including the Cool Temperate Rainforest;Croajingolong National Park is notable for its coastalgeomorphology, lowland and coastal heath vegetation and hasa high number of species endemic to Victoria occurring in thepark; Cape Conran Coastal Park, significant for coastalgeomorphology and vegetation and providing habitat forSmoky mouse, Ground parrot and the Glossy black-cockatoo;the Snowy River National Park, known for itsgeomorphological significance including spectacular deepgorges and some caves, has a high diversity of flora and faunaand vegetation types supporting numerous threatened speciesand the Mitchell River National Park which is significant forits geological features, caves and rainforests.

NSW National Parks include Kosciuszko, Deua, Morton andSouth East Forest National Parks. These, and other areascontain six wilderness areas - the Nadgee, Genoa, Brogo,Deua, Budawang and Kosciuszko Wilderness Areas.

Priority for increased protection in Victoria has been assessedat the level of Broad Vegetation Types within IBRA Version 4bioregional boundaries. The following have been listed as ahigh priority: Plains Grassy Woodland Complex and RiverineGrassy Woodland Complex.

Special Protection Zones under the Regional ForestAgreement have increased the protection of some of thesevegetation types. Recent purchases under the NationalReserve System Program has also increased the representationof depleted montane grassy ecosystems (Fitzsimons & Ashe2003). Opportunities for increasing reservation are limited bythe extensive depletion of some ecosystems with a highproportion of remnants on private land.

No assessment of ecosystem reservation priority is availablefor the NSW section of the bioregion as ecosystem mapping isnot yet complete.

South East Highlands (SEH)


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5.2.7 Western AustraliaPriority 1 BioregionsAvon Wheatbelt (AW)

The Avon Wheatbelt is an area of active drainage dissecting a Tertiary plateau in Yilgarn Craton. Gently undulatinglandscape of low relief. Proteaceous scrub-heaths, rich inendemics, on residual lateritic uplands and derived sandplains;mixed eucalypt, Allocasuarina huegeliana and Jam-York gumwoodlands on Quaternary alluvials and eluvials. Semi-arid(Dry) Warm Mediterranean. The south eastern boundary hasbeen modified incorporating a small portion into the Malleeregion. Extensively cleared for agriculture.

There are 468 Nature Reserves, and one Conservation Park inthe bioregion. They range in size from less than one hectare toover 10,000 hectares, with an average area of 452ha in theAW1 subregion and 214ha in AW2. Most reserves are smalland isolated by wheatfields. They are dominated by sandplain,pavement and breakaway surfaces high in the landscape, theuppermost reaches of valleys, and saline drainage floorsurfaces.

Fifteen of 159 regional ecosystems at risk are not yet reservedbut have high reservation priority. These are: Sheoak, Yorkgum, Jam, Dodonaea scrub, Allocasuarina campestris scrub,Mallee and Broombush over Samphire, medium woodlandsand Saltbush over Samphire, medium valley floor woodlands,saline seeps, Morilla Swamp, Melaleuca thicket on valleyfloors, and canegrass on perched clay wetlands, refer NLWRAAtlas for complete list of priority ecosystems.

Most are woodlands and shrubland communities on the fertileQuaternary soils of valley slopes and valley floors that havebeen extensively cleared to provide land for agriculture andgrazing or are salt affected. Constraints on reserve acquisitioninclude:

• Some ecosystems have already been cleared below CARthresholds (generally below 10%).

• Most remaining areas of lowland ecosystems will be lostto salinity.

• Insufficient resources to acquire and manage an increasedconservation estate.

• More than 1,000 reserves, mostly as tiny fragments.

• There is competition with other government agencies andlocal government for remaining fragments.

Both subregions are IBRA Reservation Priority 1 as clearinghas been extensive, and rising saline groundwater threatens upto 30% of the landscape. The reserve management standard ispoor: salinization is not managed (except at Toolabin). Foxbaiting occurs on 9.7% of the conservation reserve estate.Fires are infrequent. Weed control is minimal.

Central Ranges (CR)

High proportion of Proterozoic ranges and derived soil plains,interspersed with red Quaternary sandplains. The sandplainssupport low open woodlands of either Desert oak or Mulgaover Triodia basedowii hummock grasslands. Low openwoodlands of Ironwood, Acacia estrophiolata andCorkwoods, Hakea spp. over tussock and hummock grassesoften fringe ranges. The ranges support mixed wattle scrub orCallitris glaucophylla woodlands over hummock and tussockgrasslands. Arid, with summer and winter rain. Recommendedpriorities not available.

Dampierland (DL)

The bioregion consists of:

• Quaternary sandplain overlying Jurassic and Mesozoicsandstones with Pindan hummock grasslands on hills;

• Quaternary marine deposits on coastal plains, withmangal, samphire - Sporobolus grasslands, Melaleucaacacioides low forests, and Spinifex - Crotalaria strandcommunities;

• Quaternary alluvial plains associated with the Permianand Mesozoic sediments of Fitzroy Trough support treesavannas of Crysopogon - Dichanthium grasses withscattered Eucalyptus microtheca - Lysiphyllumcunninghamii. Riparian forests of River gum andCadjeput fringe drainages;

• Devonian reef limestones in the north and east supportsparse tree steppe over Triodia intermedia and T. wiseanahummock grasses and vine thicket elements.

Dry hot tropical, semi-arid summer rainfall.

Regional conservation lands include three small NationalParks (Windjana Gorge, Geikie Gorge and Tunnel Creek), onelarge and one small conservation park (Devonian Reef andBrooking Gorge) and one small nature reserve (PointCoulomb). These reserves comprise 1 % of the bioregion andinclude examples of only 17 of the region’s 86 vegetationassociations. The reserve system is highly biased withsignificant gaps. Additionally, many ecosystems of both theFitzroy Trough and Pindanland are not represented in thesystem.

Fifty-two of the unreserved vegetation associations, 12partially-reserves associations, and 13 of the ‘at risk’ecosystems have a high priority for acquisition. They includegrasslands, grasslands with associated woodlands, hummockgrasslands, shrublands, woodlands, mosaic communities, bareareas, succulent steppe and mangroves.

Constraints on reserve acquisition are mainly pastoral land-use and the cost of purchasing pastoral leases. Improvedcontrol of fire, feral herbivores and weeds are the otherpriorities.

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Murchison (MUR)

Mulga low woodlands, often rich in ephemerals, on outcrophardpan washplains and fine-textured Quaternary alluvial andeluvial surfaces mantling granitic and greenstone strata of thenorthern part of the Yilgarn Craton. Surfaces associated withthe occluded drainage occur throughout with hummockgrasslands on Quaternary sandplains, Saltbush shrublands oncalcareous soils and Halosarcia low shrublands on salinealluvia. Areas of red sandplains with mallee-Mulga parklandover hummock grasslands occur in the east.

Six Nature Reserves, one National Park, one Timber Reserveand 5 areas of Unallocated Crown Land form CALM’sconservation estate. The Murchison has only 1.39% of area inIUCN I-IV reserves. Existing conservation lands cover a widearray of surfaces at all levels in the landscape.

There are 60 ecosystems or vegetation associations that arehigh priority to reserve but are not currently represented inCALM estate (of any kind). Constraints on reserveacquisition, include: competing land uses (pastoralism andmining), cost of land and subsequent management, difficultiesin identifying biodiversity values (lack of detailed biodiversitypattern data) and significant degradation due to pastoralpractices and feral herbivores. The most important issuerelating to reserve management is that of control of feralanimals.

Priority 2 BioregionsCarnarvon (CAR)

Quaternary alluvial, aeolian and marine sediments overlyingCretaceous strata. A mosaic of saline alluvial plains withsamphire and saltbush low shrublands, Bowgada lowwoodland on sandy ridges and plains, Snakewood scrubs onclay flats, and tree to shrub steppe over hummock grasslandson and between red sand dune fields. Limestone strata withAcacia startii / bivenosa shrublands outcrop in the north,where extensive tidal flats in sheltered embayments supportmangal. Arid climate.

Regional conservation lands include three National Parks(Cape Range, Francois Peron and Kennedy Ranges NationalParks), one Marine Park (Ningaloo), two Conservation Parks(Bundegi and Jurabi), four large Nature Reserves (Toolonga,Bernier Island, Dorre Island and Barrow Island) and manysmaller island Nature Reserves (Gulf islands, Muiron Island,and Lowendal, Barrow and Montebellos groups). The 762,866hectares of conservation estate occupies 8.3% of the bioregionwith 46 of the 100 vegetation types reserved.

Fifty-nine vegetation units, including 17 ‘at risk’ communities,have a high priority for acquisition. They include: mosaicgrassland, sedgeland with low trees, hummock grasslands,hummock grasslands with shrubs and low trees, shrublands,mosaic shrublands, woodlands, succulent steppe, mangrovesand bare areas

There are constraints in terms of the cost of land and in termsof implementing management. Competing land uses includeprospective mining interests (limestone and oil) over karst,and pastoral production. Inappropriate recreationdevelopments (marina resorts) are also proposed.

The coverage of the reserve system needs to be improved.Feral animal, fire and weed control is a priority across alllands. Management of pastoral lands needs to be re-emphasised towards protecting biodiversity values, includingsoil profile conservation.

Central Kimberley (CK)

Hilly to mountainous country with parallel siliceous ranges ofProterozoic sedimentary rocks with skeletal sandy soilssupporting Plectrachne pungens hummock grasses withscattered trees, and with earths on Proterozoic volcanics invalleys supporting Ribbon grass with scattered trees. Openforests of River gum and Pandanus occur along drainage lines.Dry hot tropical, sub-humid to semi-arid, summer rainfall.

The only gazetted conservation reserve within the bioregion ispart of the large King Leopold Range Conservation Park. This reserve comprises 4.4 % of the bioregion, and includesexamples of only 12 of the region’s 82 vegetationassociations.

Seventy-seven of the region’s 82 vegetation associations andfour ‘at risk’ ecosystems have a high priority for reservation.The associations include grassland, grassland with associatedwoodland, hummock grasslands, various mosaic communities,shrublands, woodlands, mangroves and bare areas. The ‘atrisk’ ecosystems include rainforests, riparian zones, swampsand paperbark forests.

Constraints include competing land-uses such as pastoralproduction, land purchase costs and the poor resolution ofavailable data on biodiversity patterns.

Change in current fire management, feral animal and stockcontrol practices across the entire landscape, includingconservation reserves is a management priority. A formalregion-wide assessment of species and ecosystem status andof the impact of fire, grazing and weeds is essential.Substantial reservation effort is required to fill gaps in thereserve system.

A recent significant acquisition by the Australian WildlifeConservancy has made a major contribution to the overallprotected area estate in the Central Kimberley Bioregion – seenon-government park of the decade in Part B Section 4.10.

Gascoyne (GAS)

Rugged low Proterozoic sedimentary and granite rangesdivided by broad flat valleys. Open Mulga woodlands occuron shallow earthy loams over hardpan on the plains, withMulga scrub and Eremophila shrublands on the shallow stonyloams of the ranges. The Carnegie Salient, in the east, ischaracterised by extensive salt lake features supportingsucculent steppes. Arid climate.

Regional conservation lands comprise one large NatureReserve (Barlee Range), two large National Parks (MountAugustus and Collier Range) and two recently purchasedareas of pastoral lease (Earaheedy and Lorna Glen). In total,2.1 million hectares (21 of the regions 80 vegetationassociations) are in this conservation estate, 10.4% of theregion’s area. The reserves cover large tracts of country, butare dominated by ranges country, uplands and sandy plainsunsuitable for pastoral use. The recently purchased leases arelowland areas, but on the margin of the desert.

Twenty-five vegetation associations, and 13 of the ‘at risk’communities discussed above have high priority foracquisition and are not on reserves. The associations include:woodlands of Coolibah, River gum and Waterwood, low openAcacia woodlands, shrublands of various Acacia, Eremophilaand Cassia species, hummock grasslands with scattered tree,mallees and shrubs, sedgeland, and succulent steppes ofsamphire and Saltbush. The ‘at risk’ communities comprisethree river pools, Eremophila shrublands on Robinson Rangeand Landor Station, two chenopod plains, stygofauna of acalcrete aquifer, a claypan, geological intersections, alluvialplains and Erong Springs. Overall, riparian river pool,claypan, spring, and alluvial plains with tree, shrub and acaciacommunities, have the highest priority. Main constraints arecost of land and its subsequent management. More than 70%of region is pastoral lease and gaps in reserve system are oftenproductive mosaics of high value, or geologically prospectivefor mining.

Only 1.92% of region is in strict conservation reserve (IUCNI-VI) though 10.4% is under some form of conservationtenure because of land purchases in GAS2 subregion.Priorities for acquisition are now in GAS1 (2.88% in IUCN I-IV) and GAS3 (2.5% in IUCN I-IV). There is strong bias inthe Comprehensiveness at the regional level.

Great Sandy Desert (GSD)

Mainly tree steppe grading to shrub steppe in south;comprising open hummock grassland of Triodia pungens andPlectrachne schinzii with scattered trees of Owenia reticulataand Bloodwoods, and shrubs of Acacia spp., Grevilleawickhamii and G. refracta, on Quaternary red longitudinalsand dune fields overlying Jurassic and Cretaceous sandstonesof the Canning, Centralian, Arunta and Armadeus Basins.Desert oak, Casuarina decaisneana occurs in the far east ofthe region.

Gently undulating lateritised uplands support shrub steppesuch as Acacia pachycarpa shrublands over Triodia pungenshummock grass. Calcrete and evaporite surfaces areassociated with occluded palaeo-drainage systems thattraverse the desert; these include extensive salt lake chainswith samphire low shrublands, and Melaleuca glomerata - M.lasiandra shrublands. Monsoonal influences are apparent inthe north-western sector of this region. Arid tropical withsummer rain.

There are 20 vegetation types which are not currently reservedwithin the bioregion and which have a high priority foracquisition. They include, bunch-grass savanna, sedgelands,samphire, Coolibah, Melaleuca spp., shrublands or hummockgrasslands including Triodia pungens, T. basedowii, T. intermedia, T. wiseana, T. bitextura, Owenia reticulata,E.brevifolia, E. setosa, E. dicromophloia, Acacia aneura, A. pyrifolia, A. delibrata, A. pachycarpa, Acacia coriacea,Grevillea refracta, Hakea spp., Allocasuarina decaisneana,and Plectrachne schinzii. They include communities on redsand, laterite, alluvial foot-slopes and plains, saltflats, clayplains and claypans, The primary constraint to acquiring thesevegetation units into CALM reserves is competing land uses.Many areas are now subject to native title claims.

Major reserves in the region include the northern part of theRudall River National Park and reserves in the NorthernTerritory. The Great Sandy Desert bioregion has twosubregions with inadequate and biased reserve systems.Reserve management within the Western Australian part of thebioregion is ranked as ‘poor’.

Little Sandy Desert (LSD)

Red Quaternary dune fields with abrupt Proterozoic sandstoneranges of Bangemall Basin. Shrub steppe of acacias,Thryptomene and grevilleas over Plectrachne schinzii onsandy surfaces. Sparse shrub-steppe over Triodia basedowiion stony hills, with River gum communities and bunchgrasslands on alluvial deposits in and associated with ranges.Arid with summer rainfall.

The 558,448 hectares in conservation estate comprise 4.6% ofthe bioregion and encompassing seven out of its 32 vegetationassociations. The reserve system comprises part of one largeNational Park (Rudall River).

Twenty of the unreserved vegetation associations have a high priority for acquisition. The level of reservation of the‘ecosystems at risk’ is unknown. A further six vegetationassociations, whilst reserved to some small extent, have a high priority for further acquisition. The associations includehummock grasslands, shrublands, woodlands, samphiresucculents at times with scrub, bare areas and salt lakes.

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Constraints on acquiring reserves include competing land-uses, mining interests, and limited knowledge ofbiodiversity values. Reservation of the Carnarvon Ranges was proposed to Government nearly 30 years ago.

Management standard is ranked as ‘poor’ as it has nomanagement plan and is rarely visited by staff despite havinghigh tourist visitation.

Pilbara (PIL)

There are four major components to the Pilbara Craton:

• Hammersley. Mountainous area of Proterozoicsedimentary ranges and plateaux with Mulga lowwoodland over bunch grasses on fine textured soils andSnappy gum over Triodia brizoides on skeletal sandysoils of the ranges;

• The Fortescue Plains. Alluvial plains and river frontages.Salt marsh, Mulga-Bunch grass, and short grasscommunities on alluvial plains. River gum woodlandsfringe the drainage lines. This is the northern limit ofMulga, Acacia aneura;

• Chichester. Archaean granite and basalt plains supportingshrub steppe characterised by Acacia pyrifolia overTriodia pungens hummock grasses. Snappy gum treesteppes occur on ranges;

• Roebourne. Quaternary alluvial plains with a grasssavanna of mixed bunch and hummock grasses, and dwarfshrub steppe of Acacia translucens over Triodia pungens.Samphire, Sporobolus and Mangal occur on marinealluvial flats. Arid tropical with summer rain.

There are two major National Parks: Karijini (in subregionPIL 3) and Millstream-Chichester (in PIL 1 and PIL 2). TheMungaroona Ranges ( in PIL1) and many coastal islands (inPIL 4) are Nature Reserves. Meentheena (in PIL 1) and CaneRiver-Mount Minnie (in PIL 3) are Conservation Parks.

Conservation lands are dominated by uplands and rangescountry dominated by hummock grass communities onskeletal soils of uplands and on scree-slopes. Upper slope andmulga communities are also present. Networks of gorges,ephemeral watercourses with riparian woodland communities,freshwater springs and riverine communities are prominentfeatures. A total of 1.7 million hectares (with examples of 42of the region’s 88 vegetation associations) is in thisconservation estate, 8.7% of the region’s area.

Forty-five vegetation associations are listed as having a highpriority for reservation, they comprise various Snakewood,Cassia, Acacia and Eremophila shrublands, Desert bloodwoodor mallee/hummock grass, Mulga/tussock grass, Acacia andEucalyptus woodland, Teatree, mangrove, grass plain,sedgeland, River gum, Coolibah, Samphire and Pindancommunities. Various fresh-water swamps, claypans, inlandsalt marshes, mangrove stands and ‘valley floor mulgawoodlands’ specifically identified among the thirty-four ‘atrisk’ communities identified earlier are also unreserved.Overall, riverine systems and wetlands have the highestpriority. Priorities include some of the most productive partsof pastoral leases, others are coastal and island sites importantfor industrial development or prospective for minerals.Aboriginal lands may not be available for reservation.

Bioregional priority is Class 2 because of its inherent bias.Subregional priority is PIL2 with only 0.8% in reserves. Nextis PIL 1, with 3.9% in reserves but a further 2.7% of its arearecently purchased by CALM. Reserve systems in PIL 1, PIL2 and PIL 4 are highly biased.

Invasive weeds, wildfires and eradication of feral mammals isan issue on all reserves, even those with resident staff; somereserves are seldom even visited by management staff, andaccess to Mungaroona Nature Reserve is difficult.

Tanami (TAN)


Priority 3 BioregionsCoolgardie (COO)

Granite strata of Yilgarn Craton with Archaean Greenstoneintrusions in parallel belts. Drainage is occluded. Mallees andscrubs on sandplains associated with lateritised uplands,playas and granite outcrops. Diverse woodlands rich inendemic eucalypts, on low greenstone hills, valley alluvialsand broad plains of calcareous earths. In the west, the scrubsare rich in endemic Proteaceae, in the east they are rich inendemic acacias. Arid to Semi-arid Warm Mediterraneanclimate.

The reserve system comprises 44 reserves, including some ofthe largest in Western Australia, with three levels of protection(A-class: three National Parks, 11 Nature Reserves, oneConservation Park and one State Forest. B-class: one NatureReserve. C-class: 14 Nature Reserves, one Conservation Park,‘8 Five-G’ and 4 Timber Reserves). In addition, two pastoralleases were recently acquired for conservation. A total of 1.8million hectares (56 of the regions 106 vegetationassociations) is in this conservation estate, 13.7% of theregion’s area. In general, reserves are biased towardssandplains, gravel surfaces, granite outcrops and erosionalsurfaces high in the landscapes underlain by granitic basementof Yilgarn Craton, although saltlake systems and calcareousplains are represented in eastern areas. Vegetation includescrubs, mallees, mallets, a variety of eucalypt woodlands,samphire and communities with a Greybush understorey.

Twenty-eight vegetation associations, and many of the ‘atrisk’ communities described above, are not on reserves andhave a high priority for acquisition. Gaps include:

• Ephemeral wetland communities (saline, brackish andfresh-water);

• Succulent steppe (Bluebush, Saltbush, samphire)communities on calcareous plains and broad valley floors;

• Granite outcrops, including apron woodlands, herbfields,moss sheet communities, Jam-Sheoak thickets, ephemeralpool aquatics;

• Flora complexes of banded ironstone, greenstone andother isolated ranges, including various Allocasuarinacristata, Blackbutt, Gimlet and Salmon gum woodlands,and a variety of shrubland complexes;

• Valley-floor and lower-slope woodlands of species suchas York and Salmon gum, Gimlet and Morrel;

• Melaleuca scrubs and mallee communities on dunesperipheral to salt lakes; and

• Red mallee and Acacia shrublands.

The main constraints on filling gaps in the reserve system onthe ironstone and greenstone ranges are mining tenements orexploration leases, and the succulent steppes and wetlands arehighly productive for stock.

Overall, ephemeral fresh water wetland communities,succulent steppe, ironstone and greenstone range and valley-floor woodland communities have priority, especially inCOO3 with only 4.35% of its area in reserves and a strongbias in the comprehensiveness of its reserve system.

Reserve management standard is ranked as ‘fair’ because thereare no feral predator programs are in place yet; wildfiremanagement facilities are limited by resources. Even so, firebreaks and fire-access tracks are installed and maintained,mining activities (exploration) are supervised (except for oldexploration drill holes which often remain open), and feralherbivore grazing activities now minimal (e.g. rabbit-Callicivirus, goats are few). In addition, vegetation and soilsare probably stable or regenerating from grazing (now light)and from timber removal early in the 20th century.

Jarrah Forest (JK)

Duricrusted plateau of Yilgarn Craton characterised by Jarrah-Marri forest on laterite gravels and, in the eastern part, byMarri-Wandoo woodlands on clayey soils. Eluvial and alluvialdeposits support Agonis shrublands. In areas of Mesozoicsediments, Jarrah forests occur in a mosaic with a variety ofspecies-rich shrublands. Warm Mediterranean climate.

The Jarrah Bioregion contains 149 Nature Reserves, 13National Parks and 9 Conservation Parks. There aregovernment proposals for an additional 35 National Parkswhich are in the early stages of implementation butinformation on these parks has not been included here. The reserve system includes examples of most vegetation inthe bioregion, and is dominated by Jarrah and Wandoocommunities, granite outcrops and, on the south coast, by coastal shrublands and heaths..

There are two vegetation units that are not reserved anywherewithin JF1 and 4 within JF2 which are considered highpriority include in the reserve system. Nine other vegetationunits have less than 10% of their total area held in reserve andare also considered of high reservation priority in JF2. Allwoodland or low forests containing species of Marri, Wandoo,Jarrah, Banksia, Yate, Paperbark, Mallet and River gum. Mostare low in the landscape and threatened in some way.

The Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) reserverecommendations are already in process of beingimplemented, and this process overlaps with and maysupersede the above reserve consolidation priorities.Nevertheless, large areas of the bioregion have already beencleared for agriculture, and remaining areas of certainecosystems already fall below CAR thresholds.

Major components of the landscape are covered by mines,mining tenements or exploration leases. In particular, thecentral-eastern and northern portions of the bioregion (belowthe 600mm - 700mm isohyet) are poorly represented inconservation reserves. This is the "woolbelt" and "wheatbelt"portions of the subregion which have had extensive clearingfor agriculture. The 500 – 800mm rainfall zone is exhibitingrapid rises in ground water levels up to 1m per year which isimpacting on riparian vegetation and contributing toaccelerated die back impacts.

The management standard for most nature reserves andconservation parks is fair whereas it is good for most nationalparks. Even so, targeted ecological monitoring programs onthe National Parks are either absent or inadequate. The smallsize (<500 ha) and remnant vegetation function for mostreserves has lead to significant weed invasion, especially bypasture grasses. Reserves containing drainage lines and watercourses are increasingly impacted by salinity and/or risingwater tables. Feral animals (foxes, rabbits and increasingly inthe western sections, pigs) in all but the largest reserves arenot controlled. In the southern parts of the region,Phytophthora is degrading vegetation. This is compounded by the rising water tables. In the east, understorey speciescomposition on reserves is often depauperate and in adegraded state resulting from grass weed invasion, grazingimpacts, salinity and/or extended fire frequencies. Fireregimes based on biodiversity outcomes area absent.

Mallee (MAL)

Extends between Lake Hope, Forrestiana and Mount Hollandand comprises Salmon Gum and Morrell woodlands ongreenstone with smaller areas of mallee and Acacia /Casuarina thicket on sandplains. The south-eastern part ofYilgarn Craton is gently undulating, with partially occludeddrainage and mainly mallee over myrtaceous-proteaceousheaths on duplex (sand over clay) soils.

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Melaleuca shrublands characterise alluvia and Halosarcia lowshrublands occur on saline alluvium. A mosaic of mixedeucalypt woodlands and mallee occur on calcareous earthplains and sandplains overlying Eocene limestone strata in theeast. Semi-arid (Dry) Warm Mediterranean climate.

Extensively cleared for agriculture.

The conservation estate comprises 40 reserves, 38 NatureReserves and 2 National Parks. It is biased towardsecosystems found high in the landscape (e.g. Dragon Rocksand Bendering Nature Reserves), and those on poor soilsaround salt lake systems at the bottom (Lake Grace-Chinocup), although the Lake Magenta Nature Reserveincludes an entire landscape profile. The reserve system in thewestern subregion (MAL2) is biased and fragmented.Eighteen ecosystems are not reserved and have high priorityfor acquisition: woodlands of Wandoo, Salmon gum, Corelgum, Morrel, Yate and York gum on fine textured soils, jam-sheoak woodland, fresh water lakes, sedgelands, Myall-Greybush and Salmon gum-Saltbush on calcareous plains,woodland and samphire communities around salt lakes, and ascrub-heath. Unreserved Threatened Ecological Communitiesinclude greenstone communities associated with the BremerRange (TEC066), shrublands on floors of freshwater lakese.g. Lake Bryde (TEC040) and herblands and bunchgrasslands of gypsum lunettes (TEC074).

Most ecosystems have been cleared well below CARthresholds, so virtually all remnants are important forbiodiversity conservation. Those with lowland communities(tall woodlands, mallee and Melaleuca shrublands, freshwaterand naturally saline wetlands) are under threat from risingwater tables, and most of these communities will be lost.Some opportunities exist to add to the conservation estatethrough the vesting of unallocated Crown land and the re-vesting of other Crown reserves.

Reserve management across the bioregion is fair to good. Firebreaks and fire-access tracks are installed and maintained.Some feral predator control occurs in larger reserves such asLake Magenta, Dragon Rocks, Bendering, Row and NorthKalgarin Nature Reserves, although feral herbivore such asrabbits are not controlled. Many nature reserves are threatenedby saline groundwater, especially in MAL2, but is mitigated(by pumping) on only a few reserves (e.g. Toolabin).

Northern Kimberley (NK)

Dissected plateau of Kimberley Basin. Savanna woodland ofWoolybutt and Darwin Stringy bark over high Sorghumgrasses and Plectrachne schinzii hummock grasses on shallowsandy soils on outcropping Proterozoic siliceous sandstonestrata. Savanna woodlands on Eucalyptus tectifica - E.grandiflora alliance over high Sorghum grasses on red andyellow earths mantling basic Proterozoic volcanics. Riparianclosed forests of paperbark trees and Pandanus occur alongdrainage lines. Extensive Mangal occurs in estuaries andsheltered embayments. Numerous small patches of monsoonrainforest are scattered through the district. Dry hot tropical,sub-humid, summer rainfall.

Regional conservation lands include one large BiosphereReserve (Prince Regent River Nature Reserve), one largeNational Park (Drysdale River), two smaller National Parks(Mitchell River and Lawley River) and two smallConservation Parks (Laterite and Camp Creek). Thesereserves comprise 13.2 % of the bioregion

Of the 31 vegetation associations mapped in the region, 16 areunreserved and, along with nine unreserved ‘at risk’ecosystems, have a high priority for acquisition. A furthereight vegetation associations have a high priority foracquisition, even though small areas are reserved. Prioritiesinclude grasslands with associated woodland, hummockgrasslands with associated woodland, Pindan shrublands,tropical woodlands and tropical forests including rainforests,mangroves and mudflats. The level of reservation of three ofthe ecosystems at risk is unknown.

Constraints on reserve acquisition include competing land-uses (such as pastoral production) and the lack of data onbiodiversity patterns across the subregion’s landscape.

Management standard is poor to fair. Apart from a donkeycontrol program, no feral animal control programs exist.There is limited strategic aerial prescribed burning and someopportunistic hand burns, the latter being confined to verysmall areas of the Mitchell subregion. The effect ofthreatening processes (fire, weeds, ferals) remains to bedetermined. Due to uncontrolled stock access, vegetationchanges are overt within the region’s reserves, particularly invalley systems.

Nullarbor (NUL)

Tertiary limestone plain; subdued arid karst features. Bluebush- Saltbush steppe in central areas; low open woodlands ofMyall over bluebush in peripheral areas, including Myoporumplatycarpum and E. oleosa in the east and west. Arid non-seasonal climate.

The conservation estate comprises parts of three large NatureReserves and, in South Australia, a large National Park andpart of a large Conservation Park: ‘Nuytsland Nature Reserve’encompasses woodland mallee heathland, Grey bush andMelaleuca scrubs of the southern periphery of the region;Plumridge Nature Reserve, Great Victoria Desert NatureReserve and South Australia’s unnamed Conservation Parkinclude sandplains, Mulga and Myall woodlands overBluebush, and samphire communities of NUL1; NullarborNational Park comprises typical Nullarbor Plain topographywith coastal cliffs, caves and a large area of treeless plain.

Twelve of the 27 vegetation-types recognised from theWestern Australia part of the region are represented inreserves so the reserve system is incomplete and biased interms of CAR criteria. Six other vegetation-types have a highpriority for reservation; all are succulent steppe communitiesinvolving saltbush, bluebush and/or grassland, although somehave Salmon gum, Gimlet, Myall or Myoporum upper strata.NUL2 subregion is considered to be of higher priority assignificant threatening processes exist (grazing, feral animalsand changed fire regimes)

Constraints are primarily resource related in terms ofmanagement and research, although there is competition forgrazing land in the western and eastern ends of the region.The Aboriginal Land Agreement (Spinifex) is likely to workin favour of biodiversity conservation.

Reserve management is ‘fair’ because biodiversity values and or management issues poorly identified, weeds arewidespread, considerable degradation has occurred invegetation and components of the fauna (especially in theGreat Victoria Desert Nature Reserve), resource degradation isoccurring elsewhere (though retrievable), wildfiremanagement is non-existent, and the ongoing impact of feralherbivores is unknown.

Ord Victoria Plain (OVP)


Swan Coastal Plain (SWA)

Low lying coastal plain, mainly covered with woodlands. It isdominated by Banksia or Tuart on sandy soils, Allocasuarinaobesa on outwash plains, and paperbark in swampy areas. Inthe east, the plain rises to duricrusted Mesozoic sedimentsdominated by Jarrah woodland. Warm Mediterranean. Threephases of marine sand dune development provide relief. Theoutwash plains, once dominated by A. obesa-Marri woodlandsand Melaleuca shrublands, are extensive only in the south.

In subregion SWA2 there are 65 Nature Reserves, 8 NationalParks and 2 Conservation Parks. Only one Nature Reserve islisted for SWA1. Approximately half of the Nature Reservesin this subregion are small (<100 ha), with 10 reserves < 10haand only 8 exceeding 1,000ha.

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In the southern and central zones of the subregion, the areashighly disturbed by urban development and intensiveagricultural activities, nature reserves are frequentlyassociated with protection of coastal plain wetlands or a smallvegetated remnants surrounded by urban and semi rural landuses. The largest reserves are found in the northern part ofSWA2, with all but two being greater than 700 ha. Thesereserves contain coastal and northern sand plain communitiesgrading to low eucalypt woodlands.

The 25 threatened ecosystems in the Swan Coastal Plain areassociated with fertile soils of localised extent and occurrence,especially if the occur in southern parts of the region(wetlands, clays and other alluvials and coluvials). These arealmost entirely cleared. Twenty-four (16 endangered and 9vulnerable) are in SWA2, while one endangered ecosystem isin SWA1. Of the 53 vegetation associations that occurred inSWA2 subregion in pre-european times, 18 are centred onSWA2 and, as well, have less than 10% of their original areain conservation lands. Eight high- and medium-priorityecosystems in SWA1 are not represented in conservationlands.

National Parks range from 1,059 ha to 26,965 ha, with two ofthe eight parks primarily servicing the recreation and dayvisitor requirements of the Perth metropolitan area. All buttwo are sited on or near the coast (Lesueur NP and MooreRiver NP), so the overall diversity of vegetation communitiescontained within these parks is limited.

Feral animal control (fox, rabbit) is undertaken but ishampered by their close proximity to urbanisation. Salinityissues are generally not evident on the western side of thesubregion but extensive use of ground and surface waterresources may be impacting of the overall health of thevegetation in a number of these parks. Fungal disease(Phytophthora sp., Armillaria sp.) are present in all of theparks and Tuart decline (Borer, Phorocantha spp.) arecurrently impacting on much of Yalgorup, Neerabup andYanchep NP’s. The southern and central zone parks often havehigh weed loads especially Arum lily, Bridal creeper andpasture grass species, often associated with riparian andmoisture gaining sites. Fire regimes are often dominated bythe requirement to protect adjoining land values. In mostparks formalised biodiversity monitoring programs are absent.

Victoria Bonaparte (VP)


Yalgoo (YAL)

This region is an interzone between South-western Bioregionsand Murchison. It is characterised by low woodlands to openwoodlands of Eucalyptus, Acacia and Callitris on red sandyplains of the Western Yilgarn Craton and southern CarnarvonBasin. The latter has a basement of Phanerozoic sediments.

This bioregion extends westwards to the boundary of theSouth-west Botanical Province and includes the ToolongaPlateau of the southern Carnarvon Basin.

Mulga, Callitris-E. salubris and Bowgada open woodlandsand scrubs on earth to sandy-earth plains in the westernYilgarn Craton. Rich in ephemerals. Arid to semi-arid warmMediterranean climate.

Toolonga Nature Reserve is a large reserve to the north of thebioregion. Twenty-five of the region’s 80 vegetationassociations, and five ‘at risk’ ecosystems, are not representedin conservation reserves, even though they are highreservation priority. The region’s current reserve system ishighly biased in terms of CAR criteria. Constraints onconsolidating the reserve system include competing land uses(pastoralism occupies more than 76% of the region andmining has considerable interests) and difficulty in locatingbiodiversity values in most areas given the level of landdegradation.

Management actions are limited and access is extremelylimited to the majority of reserves. No fire beaks or fire accesstracks are installed and no feral animal control programs arein place. Management action is also limited at Kadji KadjiTimber Reserve.

Priority 4 BioregionsGibson Desert (GD)

Lateritised upland on flat-lying Jurassic and Cretaceoussandstones of Canning Basin. Mulga parkland over Triodiabasedowii on lateritic ‘buckshot’ plains. Mixed shrub steppeof Acacia, Hakea and Grevillea over Triodia pungens on redsand plains and dune fields. Lateritic uplands support shrubsteppe in the north and Mulga scrub in the south. Quaternaryalluvia associated with palaeo-drainage features supportCoolibah woodlands over bunch grasses. Arid, mainlysummer rainfall.

The bioregion has two Class-A Nature Reserves: GibsonDesert Nature Reserve and Mangkili Claypan Nature Reserve.1.8 million hectares (12% of the region’s area) is in theconservation estate (13 of the regions 26 vegetationassociations). However, this reserve system is highly biased,with GD2 having none of its area reserved. Reservedvegetation include hummock grasslands, scrublands, lowAcacia woodlands, sedgelands, mosaic areas and gorgecommunities.

Four vegetation associations and many of the ‘at risk’communities described above are not on reserves and have ahigh priority for acquisition. Gaps include:

• Low woodland Mulga between sandridges;

• Hummock grasslands and shrub steppe of Acacia andGrevillea over Triodia basedowii;

• Hummock grassland and shrub steppe of mixed herbsover spinifex between sandhills; and

• Hummock grasslands and steppe woodland of Desert oakand soft Spinifex between sandhills.

Reserve management standard is ranked as ‘fair’ becausesome resource degradation is occurring though retrievable;wildfire management is non-existent; mining explorationactivities are supervised; impact of feral herbivores is likely tobe considerable although not quantified; and no feral predatorcontrol programs exist in region.

Geraldton Sandplains (GS)

Mainly proteaceous scrub-heaths, rich in endemics, on thesandy earths of an extensive, undulating, lateritic sandplainmantling Permian to Cretaceous strata. Extensive York gumand Jam woodlands occur on outwash plains associateddrainage. Semi-arid (Dry) warm Mediterranean climate.

The 745,000 hectare conservation estate comprises 16.4 % ofthe bioregion and encompasses 78 of 106 vegetationassociations. There are five large National Parks (Lesueur,Alexander Morrison, Kalbarri, Badgingarra and Nambung),six large Nature Reserves (Pinjarega, Beekeepers, SouthernBeekeepers, Wandana, Toolonga and Zuytdorp), a singleConservation Park: (Coalseam) and in excess of 200 smallerreserves.

The reservation system is strongly biased. For instance, 88 %of the conservation estate in the Geraldton Hills subregion isconfined to agriculturally unproductive surface-types on itsnorthern periphery.

Fifteen vegetation associations and 14 of the ‘at risk’ecosystems are not on reserves and have a high priority foracquisition. A further 10 vegetation associations and 7 ‘atrisk’ ecosystems, whilst present in reserves, have a highpriority for further acquisition. The associations includeshrublands of Melaleuca, Acacia, Banksia, Allocasuarina,York gum, Wandoo, Mallee, low and medium woodlands ofYork gum and Salmon gum and low forest of Acacia.

The ‘at risk’ ecosystems comprise Moresby Range thicket,Eucalyptus macrocarpa sandplain community, Irwin Riverassemblages, Hutt Lagoon assemblages, Moresby RangeVerticordia dominated heath, Moresby RangeAllocasuarina/Melaleuca thicket, Acacia/Eucalyptus scrub,Burma Road sandplain, Leseuer-Coomallo area, chert hillheaths, coastal lakes, 3 island communities, herbaceous plantof lake beds, spring communities and cave communities.Priority areas for acquisition are remnants of ecosystems onagriculturally productive alluvial soils in Lesueur Sandplanand Geraldton Hills subregions, springs and soaks, succulentsteppe and hill-top communities.

Competing land-use is the primary issue because clearedfarming land occupies 49% of the bioregion. There aredifficulties in identifying biodiversity values in some areasbecause biodiversity data lacks resolution and the level ofdegradation due to agricultural practices and the impacts offeral herbivores is high.

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Management standard overall is classed as poor with manyreserves becoming saline or encountering rising water tables.Wildfire management facilities are limited by resources,except for fire breaks and fire-access tracks which areinstalled and maintained except on areas of BeekeepersNature Reserve and Nature Reserves smaller than 200 ha.Feral herbivore grazing is widespread and feral predatorcontrol systems are in place on only three large NationalParks.

Hampton (HAM)

Quaternary marine dune systems on a coastal plain of theEucla Basin, backed by stranded limestone scarp. Areas ofmarine sand are also perched along the top edge of the scarp.Various mallee communities dominate the limestone screeslopes and pavements, as well as the sandy surfaces. Alluvialand calcareous plains below the scarp support eucalyptwoodlands and Myall open low woodlands.

There are two A class reserves in Hampton, Nuytsland NatureReserve and Eucla National Park. Six of the nine vegetationassociations in the region are represented in conservationreserves, and the reserve system occupies 10.9% of the region.Two of the vegetation associations (Salt lakes and Bluebushsucculent steppe) not currently represented in CALM estatehave high priority for acquisition. The constraint is landavailability because most of the region is held as pastoralleases.

The reserve management rank is fair to good for both.

Priority 5 BioregionsEsperance Plains (ESP)

Proteaceous Scrub and mallee heaths on sandplain overlyingEocene sediments; rich in endemics. Herbfields and heaths(rich in endemics) on abrupt granite and quartzite ranges thatrise from the plain. Eucalypt woodlands occur in gullies andalluvial foot-slopes. Warm Mediterranean climate.

There are 10 National Parks (e.g. Stirling Ranges, Cape Arid,Cape Le Grand, Stokes, Waychinicup, Hassell, FitzgeraldRiver, Red Island) and 30 Nature Reserves within theEsperance region. Some are extensive. Although half of thearea of both subregions has been cleared (51% and 49%,respectively), over half of the remaining area of vegetation isreserved for nature conservation (54% and 58%, respectively).Fifteen of 63 vegetation-types in the Esperance region are notrepresented in the reserve system, and only one (low Moortforest) has a high priority for reservation. Priority in ESP1 isfor the acquisition of Low Moort forest. Priority in ESP2 is toextend Nuytsland Nature Reserve northwards to the EyreHighway.

Constraints to increasing the protected area estate relatemainly to competing land-uses. Major components of thelandscape are covered by mines/mining tenements/explorationleases and some grazing. Because of clearing, few optionsremain for increasing the Comprehensiveness andRepresentativeness of reserve system.

Many reserves in the Esperance Bioregion, particularly in thehigher rainfall western end, are subject to loss of biodiversitydue to impact from Phytophthora cinnamomi and minoragricultural weed invasion on sandy soils along western andnorthern boundaries of conservation reserves. Wildfiremanagement facilities beyond fire breaks and fire-accesstracks are limited by resources and isolation though someprescribed fuel reduction burning is undertaken on largerreserves. Feral herbivore grazing (e.g. rabbits) occurs acrossmost reserves, although goats appear to be confined toFitzgerald River National Park.

Most reserves are relatively well managed. In three cases(Stirling Ranges, Arpenteur, and Cape Le Grand) themanagement standard is classed as poor because of highvisitor numbers, unmanaged threatening processes and thelikelihood that permanent degradation will occur.

Great Victoria Desert (GVD)

Arid active sand-ridge desert of deep Quaternary aeoliansands overlying Permian and Mesozoic strata of the OfficerBasin. Tree steppe of Eucalyptus gongylocarpa, Mulga and E.youngiana over hummock grassland dominated by Triodiabasedowii. Arid, with summer and winter rain.

The existing system comprises seven reserves and includes theGreat Victoria Desert Nature Reserve, the largest reserve inWestern Australia. There are five A-class Nature Reserves andone C-class Nature Reserve in WA with a total area of 1.9million hectares. They include examples of 17 of the region’s39 vegetation associations: hummock grass, mallee, Mulgaand various eucalypt communities as well as communities ofthe Queen Victoria Springs yellow sandplain.

In addition to the ‘at risk’ communities described above, eightvegetation associations have a high priority for reservation:mallee scrub shrublands, low Mulga woodlands betweensandridges, low Allocasuarina cristata woodlands, Mulga andMarble gum over hard spinifex, succulent steppe with an openlow woodland comprising of Mulga over saltbush, grasslandand shrub steppe of Mulga and mallee over soft Spinifex,succulent steppe of Saltbush and Bluebush, and theMirramiratjarra dune field complex which is a unique duneformation, vegetation and drainage system.

The main constraints on filling these gaps are resource relatedin terms of management and research, although competinglanduses (pastoral industry) and prospective mineralexploration and mining leases are also factors. AboriginalLand Agreements will probably enhance biodiversityconservation.

Reserve management standard is ranked ‘fair’ as biodiversityvalues and management issues are poorly identified and someresource degradation is occurring, although retrievable.Predator control through aerial dog baiting programs hasoccurred in pastoral areas, and the impact of feral herbivoresis unknown. Wildfire management is non-existent althoughmining exploration activities are supervised.

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Warren (WAR)

Dissected undulating country of the Leeuwin Complex andAlbany Orogen with loamy soils supporting Karri forest,laterites supporting Jarrah-Marri forest, leached sandy soils indepressions and plains supporting paperbark/sedge swamps,and Holocene marine dunes with Agonis flexuosa woodlands.Moderate Mediterranean climate.

There are 25 Nature Reserves and 4 National Parks withinWarren. Fifty of the region’s 54 vegetation associations arewell represented in conservation estate. However, twovegetation associations (Jarrah-Marri medium forest and lowJarrah forest mosaic and Jarrah-Marri low forest) that onlyhave small areas of their distributions in reserve and remainhigh priority. There is a noticeable absence of NatureReserves in the central part of the subregion. Constraints tothe acquisition of new reserves include: irreplaceability,limited opportunity to meet CAR requirements and competinglanduses such as mining and agricultural land.

Warren contains 11 National Parks in their entirety and themajor portions of 3 others. The parks range in size from 50 hato approximately 117,000 ha. Management plans exist forLeeuwin Naturaliste, Shannon, DeEntrecasteux and WalpoleNornalup National Parks. Staff are resident at 4 parks(Leeuwin Naturaliste, Walpole Nornalup, Torndirrup andWilliam Bay) and other parks are serviced as needed from thenearest CALM office.

The management standards rank is good for all parks exceptScott, which is fair (result of Phytophthora and feral pigimpacts). The factors impacting on conservation values are:linear design of Sir James Mitchell, Leeuwin Naturaliste andWilliam Bay National Parks; semi rural land developmentsand an intensification of agricultural practices on adjoininglands impacting surface water; and routine feral animal (fox,some limited rabbit) control undertaken in all of the NationalParks. Weeds are subjected to annual control programs in themost accessible areas, though the spread of some weeds(african thistle) is being exacerbated by high recreationalvisitor numbers. Fire regimes are strongly influenced by highvisitation numbers and protection of adjoining land uses inparks close to urban and semi rural developments. Thedevelopment and implementation of fire regimes consistentwith biodiversity goals is absent from all of these parks.Nature Reserves vary in size from 12 ha to 4,300 ha and themanagement standard rank is fair.

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Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council(ANZECC) 1999. Australian Guidelines for Establishing the National ReserveSystem. Environment Australia: Canberra..

Benson, J. S., Allen, C. B., Togher, C. and Lemmon, J. 2006. New South WalesVegetation Classification and Assessment: Part 1 Plant Communities of theNSW Western Plains. Cunninghamia 9 (3). Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney.

Centre for International Economics 2005. Evaluation of the Natural HeritageTrust Envirofund. Unpublished report prepared for the Australian GovernmentDepartment of Environment and Heritage.

Commonwealth of Australia 1992. National Forest Policy Statement-a newfocus for Australia’s forests. Department of the Environment, Sport andTerritories: Canberra.

Commonwealth of Australia 1996. National Strategy for the Conservation ofAustralia’s Biological Diversity. Department of the Environment, Sport andTerritories: Canberra.

Cresswell, I.D. and Thomas, G.M. 1997. Terrestrial and Marine ProtectedAreas in Australia (1997). Environment Australia, Biodiversity Group,Canberra.

Department of the Environment and Heritage 2003. Collaborative AustralianProtected Areas Database (CAPAD) 2002. Department of Environment andHeritage: Canberra. (http://www.deh.gov.au/parks/nrs/capad/2002/index.html)

Environment Australia 2000. Revision of the Interim BiogeographicRegionalisation for Australia (IBRA) and Development of Version 5.1 -Summary Report. Department of Environment and Heritage:Canberra.(http://www.deh.gov.au/parks/nrs/ibra/index.html)

Environment Australia. 2001. National Objectives and Targets for BiodiversityConservation, 2001-2005. Environment Australia: Canberra.

Figgis, P. 2004. Conservation on Private Lands: the Australian Experience.pp9-10. IUCN: Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.

Fitzsimons, J. 1999. Reservation Status of Broad Vegetation Types in VictorianIBRA Regions – 1999. Report for the Department of Natural Resources &Environment, Melbourne.

Fitzsimons, J.A. & Ashe, C. 2003. Some recent strategic additions to Victoria’sprotected area system 1997-2002. Victorian Naturalist 120, 98-108.

Fitzsimons, J.A., FitzSimons, P. & Ashe, C. 2004. Further strategic additions toVictoria’s public protected area system: 2002-2004. Victorian Naturalist 121,214-225.

Fitzsimons, J.A., Williams, C. & FitzSimons, P. 2006. Ecological attributes ofstrategic additions to Victoria’s public protected area estate: 2004-2005.Victorian Naturalist 123, 134-145.

Gilligan, B. 2006. Evaluation of the National Reserve System Programme2006. Report prepared for the Australian Department of Environment andHeritage.

Habel, S.G. 1992. A Protected Area Strategy for the Conservation ofBiological Diversity. WWF-Australia Discussion Paper, WWF-Australia:Sydney.

Hooy, T. and Shaughnessy, G. (eds.) 1992. Terrestrial and Marine ProtectedAreas in Australia (1991). Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service:Canberra.

HORSCERA 1993. Biodiversity: The Role of Protected Areas. Report on theHouse of Representatives Standing Committee on Environment, Recreationand the Arts. Australian Government Publishing Service: Canberra.

Jarrott, J.K. 1990. History of Lamington National Park. Published byJ.K.Jarrott and The National Parks Association of Queensland: Brisbane.

Morton, S., Bourne, G., Cristofani, P., Cullen, P., Possingham, H. and Young,M. 2002. Sustaining our Natural Systems and Biodiversity. A report to thePrime Minister’s Science, Engineering and Innovation Council. CSIRO andEnvironment Australia: Canberra.

National Land and Water Resources Audit (NLWRA) 2002. AustralianTerrestrial Biodiversity Assessment. NLWRA: Canberra.http://www.environment.gov.au/atlas

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Pressy, R.L. 1999. Editorial – systematic conservation planning for the realworld. Parks 9 (1):1-6.

Purdie, R.W. 1986. Development of a National Park System for Queensland’sMulga Region. In P. S. Sattler (ed) The Mulga Lands. Royal Society ofQueensland Symposium Proceedings, Brisbane.

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6.0 References

© Australian Wildlife Conservancy

Appendix 1: IUCN ProtectedArea Categories Consistency in comparing protected areas across Australia isachieved by the allocation and use of an internationallydefined set of management categories, known as IUCN(World Conservation Union) categories. There are six IUCNprotected Area Categories, although only the first four aregenerally funded under the National Reserve System Program.The six categories are:

• Category IaStrict Nature Reserve: Protected Area managed mainly forscience

• Category IbWilderness Area: Protected Area managed mainly forwilderness protection

• Category IINational Park: Protected Area managed mainly forecosystem conservation and recreation

• Category IIINatural Monument: Protected Area managed forconservation of specific natural features

• Category IVHabitat/Species Management Area: Protected Areamanaged mainly for conservation through managementintervention

• Category VProtected Landscape/Seascape: Protected Area managedmainly for landscape/seascape conservation andrecreation

• Category VIManaged Resource Protected Areas: Protected Areamanaged mainly for the sustainable use of naturalecosystems

CATEGORY I Strict Nature Reserve / Wilderness Area:protected area managed mainly for science orwilderness protection

CATEGORY IaStrict Nature Reserve: protected area managedmainly for science

DefinitionArea of land and/or sea possessing some outstanding orrepresentative ecosystems, geological or physiologicalfeatures and/or species, available primarily for scientificresearch and/or environmental monitoring.

Objectives of Management• to preserve habitats, ecosystems and species in as

undisturbed a state as possible;

• to maintain genetic resources in a dynamic andevolutionary state;

• to maintain established ecological processes;

• to safeguard structural landscape features or rockexposures;

• to secure examples of the natural environment forscientific studies, environmental monitoring andeducation, including baseline areas from which allavoidable access is excluded;

• to minimise disturbance by careful planning andexecution of research and other approved activities; and

• to limit public access.

Guidance for Selection• The area should be large enough to ensure the integrity of

its ecosystems and to accomplish the managementobjectives for which it is protected.

• The area should be significantly free of direct humanintervention and capable of remaining so.

• The conservation of the area’s biodiversity should beachievable through protection and not require substantialactive management or habitat manipulation (c.f. Category IV).

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Organisational ResponsibilityOwnership and control should be by the national or otherlevel of government, acting through a professionally qualifiedagency, or by a private foundation, university or institutionwhich has an established research or conservation function, orby owners working in cooperation with any of the foregoinggovernment or private institutions. Adequate safeguards andcontrols relating to long-term protection should be securedbefore designation. International agreements over areassubject to disputed national sovereignty can provideexceptions (e.g. Antarctica).

Equivalent Category in 1978 SystemScientific Research / Strict Nature Reserve

CATEGORY Ib:Wilderness Area: protected area managed mainlyfor wilderness protection

DefinitionLarge area of unmodified or slightly modified land, and/orsea, retaining its natural character and influence, withoutpermanent or significant habitation, which is protected andmanaged so as to preserve its natural condition.

Objectives of Management• to ensure that future generations have the opportunity to

experience understanding and enjoyment of areas thathave been largely undisturbed by human action over along period of time;

• to maintain the essential natural attributes and qualities ofthe environment over the long term;

• to provide for public access at levels and of a type whichwill serve best the physical and spiritual well-being ofvisitors and maintain the wilderness qualities of the areafor present and future generations; and

• to enable indigenous human communities living at lowdensity and in balance with the available resources tomaintain their lifestyle.

Guidance for Selection• The area should possess high natural quality, be governed

primarily by the forces of nature, with human disturbancesubstantially absent, and be likely to continue to displaythose attributes if managed as proposed.

• The area should contain significant ecological, geological,physiogeographic, or other features of scientific,educational, scenic or historic value.

• The area should offer outstanding opportunities forsolitude, enjoyed once the area has been reached, bysimple, quiet, non-polluting and non-intrusive means oftravel (i.e. non-motorised).

• The area should be of sufficient size to make practicalsuch preservation and use.

Organisational ResponsibilityAs for Sub-Category 1a.

Equivalent CategoryThis sub-category did not appear in the 1978 system, but hasbeen introduced following the IUCN General AssemblyResolution (16/34) on Protection of Wilderness Resources andValues, adopted at the 1984 General Assembly in Madrid,Spain.

CATEGORY II:National Park: protected area managed mainly forecosystem protection and recreation.

DefinitionNatural area of land and/or sea, designated to (a) protect theecological integrity of one or more ecosystems for present andfuture generations, (b) exclude exploitation or occupationinimical to the purposes of designation of the area and (c)provide a foundation for spiritual, scientific, educational,recreational and visitor opportunities, all of which must beenvironmentally and culturally compatible.


Objectives of Management• to protect natural and scenic areas of national and

international significance for spiritual, scientific,educational, recreational or tourist purposes;

• to perpetuate, in as natural a state as possible,representative examples of physiographic regions, bioticcommunities, genetic resources, and species, to provideecological stability and diversity;

• to manage visitor use for inspirational, educational,cultural and recreational purposes at a level which willmaintain the area in a natural or near natural state;

• to eliminate and thereafter prevent exploitation oroccupation inimical to the purposes of designation;

• to maintain respect for the ecological, geomorphologic,sacred or aesthetic attributes which warranteddesignation; and

• to take into account the needs of indigenous people,including subsistence resource use, in so far as these willnot adversely affect the other objectives of management.

Guidance for Selection• The area should contain a representative sample of major

natural regions, features or scenery, where plant andanimal species, habitats and geomorphological sites are ofspecial spiritual, scientific, educational, recreational andtourist significance.

• The area should be large enough to contain one or moreentire ecosystems not materially altered by current humanoccupation or exploitation.

Organisational ResponsibilityOwnership and management should normally be by thehighest competent authority of the nation having jurisdictionover it. However, they may also be vested in another level ofgovernment, council of indigenous people, foundation or otherlegally established body which has dedicated the area to long-term conservation.

Equivalent Category in 1978 SystemNational Park.

CATEGORY III: Natural Monument: protected area managed mainlyfor conservation of specific natural features

DefinitionArea containing one, or more, specific natural or natural/culturalfeatures which is of outstanding or unique value because of itsinherent rarity, representative or aesthetic qualities or culturalsignificance.

Objectives of Management• to protect or preserve in perpetuity specific outstanding

natural features because of their natural significance, uniqueor representational quality, and/or spiritual connotations;

• to an extent consistent with the foregoing objective, toprovide opportunities for research, education, interpretationand public appreciation;

• to eliminate and thereafter prevent exploitation or occupationinimical to the purpose of designation; and

• to deliver to any resident population such benefits as areconsistent with the other objectives of management.

Guidance for Selection• The area should contain one or more features of outstanding

significance (appropriate natural features include spectacularwaterfalls, caves, craters, fossil beds, sand dunes and marinefeatures, along with unique or representative fauna and flora;associated cultural features might include cave dwellings,cliff-top forts, archaeological sites, or natural sites whichhave heritage significance to indigenous peoples).

• The area should be large enough to protect the integrity ofthe feature and its immediately related surroundings.

Organisational ResponsibilityOwnership and management should be by the nationalgovernment or, with appropriate safeguards and controls, byanother level of government, council of indigenous people, non-profit trust, corporation or, exceptionally, by a private body,provided the long-term protection of the inherent character of thearea is assured before designation.

Equivalent Category in 1978 SystemNatural Monument / Natural Landmark.

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CATEGORY IV: Habitat/Species Management Area: protectedarea managed mainly for conservation throughmanagement intervention

DefinitionArea of land and/or sea subject to active intervention formanagement purposes so as to ensure the maintenance ofhabitats and/or to meet the requirements of specific species.

Objectives of Management• to secure and maintain the habitat conditions necessary to

protect significant species, groups of species, bioticcommunities or physical features of the environmentwhere these require specific human manipulation foroptimum management;

• to facilitate scientific research and environmentalmonitoring as primary activities associated withsustainable resource management;

• to develop limited areas for public education andappreciation of the characteristics of the habitatsconcerned and of the work of wildlife management;

• to eliminate and thereafter prevent exploitation oroccupation inimical to the purposes of designation; and

• to deliver such benefits to people living within thedesignated area as are consistent with the other objectivesof management.

Guidance for Selection• The area should play an important role in the protection

of nature and the survival of species, (incorporating, asappropriate, breeding areas, wetlands, coral reefs,estuaries, grasslands, forests or spawning areas, includingmarine feeding beds).

• The area should be one where the protection of the habitatis essential to the well-being of nationally or locally-important flora, or to resident or migratory fauna.

• Conservation of these habitats and species should dependupon active intervention by the management authority, ifnecessary through habitat manipulation (c.f. Category Ia).

• The size of the area should depend on the habitatrequirements of the species to be protected and may rangefrom relatively small to very extensive.

Organisational ResponsibilityOwnership and management should be by the nationalgovernment or, with appropriate safeguards and controls, byanother level of government, non-profit trust, corporation,private group or individual.

Equivalent Category in 1978 SystemNature Conservation Reserve / Managed Nature Reserve /Wildlife Sanctuary.

CATEGORY V:Protected Landscape/Seascape: protected areamanaged mainly for landscape/ seascapeconservation and recreation

DefinitionArea of land, with coast and sea as appropriate, where theinteraction of people and nature over time has produced anarea of distinct character with significant aesthetic, ecologicaland/or cultural value, and often with high biological diversity.Safeguarding the integrity of this traditional interaction is vitalto the protection, maintenance and evolution of such an area.

Objectives of Management• to maintain the harmonious interaction of nature and

culture through the protection of landscape and/orseascape and the continuation of traditional land uses,building practices and social and cultural manifestations;

• to support lifestyles and economic activities which are inharmony with nature and the preservation of the socialand cultural fabric of the communities concerned;

• to maintain the diversity of landscape and habitat, and ofassociated species and ecosystems;

• to eliminate where necessary, and thereafter prevent, landuses and activities which are inappropriate in scale and/orcharacter;

• to provide opportunities for public enjoyment throughrecreation and tourism appropriate in type and scale to theessential qualities of the areas;


• to encourage scientific and educational activities whichwill contribute to the long term well-being of residentpopulations and to the development of public support forthe environmental protection of such areas; and

• to bring benefits to, and to contribute to the welfare of,the local community through the provision of naturalproducts (such as forest and fisheries products) andservices (such as clean water or income derived fromsustainable forms of tourism).

Guidance for Selection• The area should possess a landscape and/or coastal and

island seascape of high scenic quality, with diverseassociated habitats, flora and fauna along withmanifestations of unique or traditional land-use patternsand social organisations as evidenced in humansettlements and local customs, livelihoods, and beliefs.

• The area should provide opportunities for publicenjoyment through recreation and tourism within itsnormal lifestyle and economic activities.

Organisational ResponsibilityThe area may be owned by a public authority, but is morelikely to comprise a mosaic of private and public ownershipsoperating a variety of management regimes. These regimesshould be subject to a degree of planning or other control andsupported, where appropriate, by public funding and otherincentives, to ensure that the quality of the landscape/seascapeand the relevant local customs and beliefs are maintained inthe long term.

Equivalent Category in 1978 SystemProtected Landscape

CATEGORY VI:Managed Resource Protected Area: protectedarea managed mainly for the sustainable use ofnatural ecosystems

DefinitionArea containing predominantly unmodified natural systems,managed to ensure long term protection and maintenance ofbiological diversity, while providing at the same time asustainable flow of natural products and services to meetcommunity needs.

Objectives of Management• to protect and maintain the biological diversity and other

natural values of the area in the long term;

• to promote sound management practices for sustainableproduction purposes;

• to protect the natural resource base from being alienatedfor other land-use purposes that would be detrimental tothe area’s biological diversity; and

• to contribute to regional and national development.

Guidance for Selection• The area should be at least two-thirds in a natural

condition, although it may also contain limited areas ofmodified ecosystems; large commercial plantations wouldnot be appropriate for inclusion.

• The area should be large enough to absorb sustainableresource uses without detriment to its overall long-termnatural values.

Organisational ResponsibilityManagement should be undertaken by public bodies with aunambiguous remit for conservation, and carried out inpartnership with the local community; or management may beprovided through local custom supported and advised bygovernmental or non-governmental agencies. Ownership maybe by the national or other level of government, thecommunity, private individuals, or a combination of these.

Equivalent Category in 1978 SystemThis category does not correspond directly with any of thosein the 1978 system, although it is likely to include some areaspreviously classified as ‘Resource Reserves’, ‘Natural BioticAreas / Anthropological Reserves’ and ‘Multiple UseManagement Areas / Managed Resource Areas’.

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Southern Mallee Project, NSWEstablishment of a private reserve system in the SouthernMallee Planning Area which will contribute to acomprehensive, adequate and representative reserve systemthrough negotiation of binding property agreements coveringareas of Belah-rosewood woodland, Callitris woodland, Sandmallee, Chenopod shrubland and Chenopod mallee. Propertiesare all leasehold land and lease conditions are altered torequire the leaseholder to manage the identified area asprotected area in accordance with the approved managementplan. Funding has contributed to fencing and somemanagement costs, preparation of management plans, and project officer time to assist in site selection andestablishment. Areas offered for protection under the programare conservation off-sets for development approvals forclearing on other sections of the property.

Commonwealth funding for project – $1,162,000

Total area protected under Land Use Agreement to 30/6/2004:– approximately 94,570 ha

Grassy White Box Woodland ProjectThe objective of this project is integrated, long term, on-ground protection and management of threatened grassybox woodland remnants in the NSW wheat-sheep belt. Thisecosystem is highly depleted and mostly occurs as small,highly fragmented remnants on private lands. The project hasbeen identifying important remnants for protection throughworking with landholders. Some sites have been formallyprotected through conservation agreements under Statelegislation. While other sites are more informally protectedthrough improved management practices, the aim is for manyof these to be managed under conservation agreement in future.

Commonwealth funding for project – $493,860 (30/6/2002)

Total area protected – over 2,400 ha (formal and informalprotection arrangements)

Protected Areas on Private LandUnder this project, the Tasmanian Department of PrimaryIndustries, Water and Environment (DPIWE) will significantlyincrease the comprehensive, adequate and representativeprotected area system in Tasmania through establishment ofvoluntary conservation covenants on private land. The projectwill fill significant gaps in the CAR protected area system bytargeting high priority vegetation communities, rare orthreatened flora, habitat for rare or threatened fauna and highpriority freshwater and geo-conservation values.

Commonwealth funding for project to 30/6/2004 – $836,000

Total area protected – 1,250 ha

This project is ongoing.

Appendix 2: Covenanting projectsfunded under the National ReserveSystem Program

Building Nature’s Safety NetA Review of Australia’s Terrestrial Protected Area System, 1991–2004 117

Building Nature’s Safety Net - WWF

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Transcript of Building Nature’s Safety Net - WWF