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1
F. Recher, Harry. "SCB-A Newsletter December 2006." Pacific Conservation Biology 12, no. 4 (2006): 259. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc060259.
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It is now just a bit more than six months to the inaugural meeting of the Australasian region of SCB ?The Biodiversity Extinction Crisis, a Pacific and Australasian Response?, which will be held July 10?12 2007 at the University of New South Wales, Sydney. This conference faces the major problems for biodiversity conservation in our region, existing and potential solutions and links to the global biodiversity initiatives. There will be five major themes: (I) Regional challenges (particular issues for our part of the world); (2) Managing threatening processess of universal importance; (3) Case studies of conservation in action, including biodiversity monitoring and assessment; (4) Conservation science and policy; and, (5) Conservation science and the community (non-government organizations, indigenous people). With Australian governments finally awakening to the reality of global warming and its consequences for Australasia, this meeting has the potential to make a significant impact on regional conservation. Not only is your attendance important to the success of the conference, but it is your opportunity to be heard on issues as important as water allocation for environmental flows in Australia, biodiversity conservation in the Southern Oceans, climate change and the allocation of resources to threatened species management.
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BELLARD, C., C. LECLERC, B. D. HOFFMANN, and F. COURCHAMP. "Vulnerability to climate change and sea-level rise of the 35th biodiversity hotspot, the Forests of East Australia." Environmental Conservation 43, no. 1 (July 1, 2015): 79–89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s037689291500020x.
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SUMMARYThere is an urgent need to understand how climate change, including sea-level rise, is likely to threaten biodiversity and cause secondary effects, such as agro-ecosystem alteration and human displacement. The consequences of climate change, and the resulting sea-level rise within the Forests of East Australia biodiversity hotspot, were modelled and assessed for the 2070–2099 period. Climate change effects were predicted to affectc. 100000 km2, and a rise in sea level an area of 860 km2; this could potentially lead to the displacement of 20600 inhabitants. The two threats were projected to mainly affect natural and agricultural areas. The greatest conservation benefits would be obtained by either maintaining or increasing the conservation status of areas in the northern (Wet Tropics) or southern (Sydney Basin) extremities of the hotspot, as they constitute about half of the area predicted to be affected by climate change, and both areas harbour high species richness. Increasing the connectivity of protected areas for Wet Tropics and Sydney Basin species to enable them to move into new habitat areas is also important. This study provides a basis for future research on the effects on local biodiversity and agriculture.
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Turak, Eren, Alex Bush, Jocelyn Dela-Cruz, and Megan Powell. "Freshwater Reptile Persistence and Conservation in Cities: Insights from Species Occurrence Records." Water 12, no. 3 (February 28, 2020): 651. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/w12030651.
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Reptiles are rarely included in urban freshwater biodiversity monitoring and conservation. We explored the global persistence of freshwater dependent turtles, lizards, crocodilians and snakes in cities with a population greater than 100,000 using species occurrence data in online databases from a five-year period (2013–2018). We then used ecological niche models to help identify the locations of suitable habitats for three freshwater reptile species in Sydney, Australia. Our Global analysis showed that sightings of a majority of known species of crocodilians and freshwater turtles were recorded in databases within this 5-year period in contrast to about one in three freshwater lizard species and one in ten freshwater snake species and that freshwater reptiles were observed within 50 km of the center of 40% of the 3525 cities. While global databases hold substantial recent species occurrence records for some regions, they contain very little data for large parts of the world. Modelling showed that potential suitable habitat for the three freshwater species in Sydney was distributed across areas with different levels of urban development. The persistence of populations of freshwater reptiles in and around a large proportion of the world’s cities show that this group can play an important role in urban biodiversity conservation.
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Dickman, Chris R. "Long-haul research: benefits for conserving and managing biodiversity." Pacific Conservation Biology 19, no. 1 (2013): 10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc130010.
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SEVERAL times a year, every year for the last two decades, members of the Desert Ecology Research Group at the University of Sydney have made the long trek to the Simpson Desert in central Australia to continue biological monitoring and carry out experiments on a range of ecological and conservation-related topics. This is long-haul research: long-term biological sampling and experimental work that takes place in distant study sites. This kind of research is unusual in that much ecological inquiry takes place close to home and is completed over short periods — typically three years, which is the duration of most postgraduate projects and research grants from major funding bodies such as the Australian Research Council. If short-term local research is the norm, why should anyone contemplate undertaking multi-year hajjes to remote areas? What are the advantages, the challenges and payoffs from long-haul research? In this essay I argue that long-term research is essential to understand the dynamics and processes that drive ecological systems and provide the insights necessary to conserve them. I then propose that such research is needed most critically in remote areas where losses of species and ecological processes often continue apace, but pass unobserved and unremarked. In Australia, areas that are remote for most of us, both physically and conceptually, are the vast and varied landscapes of the continental interior.
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C. Chessman, Bruce, and Simon A. Williams. "Biodiversity and conservation of river macroinvertebrates on an expanding urban fringe: western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia." Pacific Conservation Biology 5, no. 1 (1999): 36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc990036.
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As in many growing urban areas, the prevention of environmental damage as Sydney spreads westward into the Hawkesbury-Nepean River basin is a major challenge for planners, managers and the local community, We surveyed macroinvertebrates at 45 river and stream sites in April-June 1996, and reviewed data from other sources, in order to assess the issues involved in conservation of the lotic macro invertebrate fauna, Regional richness is high with 443 recorded species and morphospecies, Cluster analysis showed community pattems related mainly to waterway size (separating the Hawkesbury-Nepean River from tributary streams), geology (tributaries on shale or sandstone), tidal intrusion and urbanization (impoverished faunas in urban streams). The ability of genus richness of mites and major insect orders to reflect overall genus richness at a site was limited, and Diptera and Trichoptera appear to have the greatest value as biodiversity predictors. Urban expansion is the major threat to lotic macro invertebrate communities in the region, but agriculture, flow regulation, sand and gravel ex1raction and introduced species have probably also impacted on the fauna, Streams with high conservation value for macroinvertebrates include those few on the Cumberland Plain and surrounding slopes that retain substantial indigenous vegetation in relatively undeveloped catchments. The Hawkesbury-Nepean River sfill harbours a rich faunal community and is also important for conservation, The development of effective strategies for conservation assessment and management is problematic for several reasons, Some species in the region are known to be vulnerable, but the status of most cannot be assessed because of a lack of taxonomic and zoogeographic information, Most "biodiversity indicator" concepts are of dubious value for aquatic macroinvertebrate conservation. A multi-faceted management approach emphasizing subcatchment reserves, riparian restoration and the control of threatening processes is required.
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Baker, Andrew M., Jane M. Hughes, John C. Dean, and Stuart E. Bunn. "Mitochondrial DNA reveals phylogenetic structuring and cryptic diversity in Australian freshwater macroinvertebrate assemblages." Marine and Freshwater Research 55, no. 6 (2004): 629. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/mf04050.
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Freshwater catchments of south-east Australia possess generally rich and diverse macroinvertebrate faunas, although the genetic structuring of these assemblages is poorly known. In this study, we assessed mitochondrial phylogenetic structure within four genera of macroinvertebrates from the Sydney Water Supply Catchment, south-east Australia: Euastacus (parastacid crayfish), Cheumatopsyche (hydropsychid caddisflies), Atalophlebia (leptophlebiid mayflies) and Paratya (atyid shrimp), with a view to prioritising areas of high diversity for future conservation efforts. We found extremely divergent (≈4–19%) cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) lineages within all surveyed groups, many of which corresponded to recognised taxa, although there was also evidence of cryptic species within three genera; Euastacus, Atalophlebia and Paratya. Distributions of these three genera were associated with high altitude streams, above dam impoundments. Our results have important implications for management of the Sydney Water Supply Catchment. Future disturbance in this region is likely to be high and priority should be directed towards preserving the diversity of fauna in these upland areas. This comparative phylogenetic approach may have value as a means to focus and direct conservation efforts in other areas supporting high biodiversity.
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Williams, Peter. "Growing houses and trees: integrating biodiversity conservation and urbanisation." International Journal of Law in the Built Environment 6, no. 1/2 (April 8, 2014): 152–73. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ijlbe-04-2013-0015.
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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the framework, operation and prospects of two innovative planning tools – biobanking and biodiversity certification – to protect biodiversity in the context of urbanisation. Design/methodology/approach – Using the Australian State of New South Wales, and its capital Sydney, as a focus, the paper reviews the history and performance of the two planning tools selected for examination. Findings – Through its analysis, this paper supports the use of biobanking and biodiversity certification as tools at the disposal of planners which should be employed to augment the array of tools to manage the impacts on biodiversity of urban development. Indeed, these tools have the potential to increase the level of conserved biodiversity if used appropriately. Originality/value – Biobanking and biodiversity certification are, respectively, examples of market-based and strategic-based statutory planning mechanisms that can be used to protect biodiversity in an urban development context. Creative adaption of environmental planning laws is required to ensure effective implementation of these innovative planning tools. The relevant contemporary statutory enactments that have given effect to these mechanisms are examined in this paper.
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Auld, T. D., and M. K. J. Ooi. "Applying seed germination studies in fire management for biodiversity conservation in south-eastern Australia." Web Ecology 8, no. 1 (June 4, 2008): 47–54. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/we-8-47-2008.
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Abstract. We examine the patterns of germination response to fire in the fire-prone flora of the Sydney basin, south-eastern Australia, using examples from several decades of research. The flora shows a strong response to fire-related germination cues. Most species show an interaction between heat and smoke, a number respond only to heat, whilst a few are likely to respond only to smoke. Many recruit in the first 12 months after fire and show no obvious seasonal patterns of recruitment, whilst several species have a strong seasonal germination requirement, even in this essentially aseasonal rainfall region. Key challenges remaining include designing future seed germination studies within the context of informing the germination response surface to smoke and heat interactions, and incorporation of the impact of varying soil moisture on seed germination post-fire, including its affect on resetting of seed dormancy. An understanding of the resilience of species to frequent fire also requires further work, to identify species and functional types most at risk. This work must ideally be integrated within the framework of the management of fire regimes that will change under a changing climate. We suggest that the functional classification of plant types in relation to fire could be enhanced by a consideration of both the type of germination response to fire (type of cues required) and the timing of the response (seasonally driven in response to seed dormancy characteristics, or independent of season). We provide a simplified version of such an addition to functional trait classification in relation to fire.
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Duckett, Paul E., and Vincenzo Repaci. "Marine plastic pollution: using community science to address a global problem." Marine and Freshwater Research 66, no. 8 (2015): 665. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/mf14087.
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It was once thought oceans were so vast they could not be affected by humans, but unfortunately rapid globalisation now threatens marine biodiversity. The negative effects of marine debris were recognised in the 1970s, and more recently globally acknowledged in scientific literature. We revisited the Greater Sydney region in New South Wales Australia, to research whether plastic waste on coastal beaches has reduced in recent years. This was achieved by designing a community science project in collaboration with local schools and volunteers. We discovered that plastic debris differed between beaches and strata, but was similar to Australian beaches that were sampled over a decade ago. The high correlations we found between plastic debris and both the frequency of storm-water drains and local population sizes suggested that storm-water drains may be responsible for delivering plastic waste to coastal ecosystems, and the amount of plastic debris was proportional to the size of the surrounding population. Involving local communities has the potential to rapidly raise awareness about key conservation issues to large and broad demographic audiences. Ultimately, this may inspire public and political change.
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Dragovich, Deirdre, and Sunil Bajpai. "Managing Tourism and Environment—Trail Erosion, Thresholds of Potential Concern and Limits of Acceptable Change." Sustainability 14, no. 7 (April 4, 2022): 4291. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su14074291.
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Natural area tourism may contribute to deterioration in biophysical environments important for sustainable conservation of biodiversity and/or historically significant sites. Levels of protection within the IUCN guidelines provide general descriptors of desirable outcomes, and the Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) management tool has often been implicitly applied. This article presents an initial attempt to assess the value of Thresholds of Potential Concern (TPC) relative to LAC as management frameworks for protected areas, using the example of trail width as an indicator of visitor impacts on vegetation, soil, water and, potentially, visitor safety. Visitor preferences relating to trail width were incorporated when applying the TPC and LAC principles. Sections of three walking trails in a high-visitation national park near Sydney, Australia, were measured at ~10.7 m intervals: the mean trail widths were 1.6 m, 1.8 m and 2.14 m. Of the 115 recreationists surveyed, 16% of those having the greatest tolerance towards management interventions (‘Non-purist’ wilderness category) viewed a trail ≥ 2 m wide as acceptable, but 96% of ‘Purists’ nominated a maximum of ≤1.5 m. The TPC was found to provide a broad strategy for identification, assessment and grading of multiple biophysical thresholds within an ecological framework. Combined with stakeholder information, the TPC allows for timely, proactive and calibrated management responses to maintaining biophysical and social sustainability.
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Roggema, Rob, Nico Tillie, and Greg Keeffe. "Nature-Based Urbanization: Scan Opportunities, Determine Directions and Create Inspiring Ecologies." Land 10, no. 6 (June 18, 2021): 651. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/land10060651.
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To base urbanization on nature, inspiring ecologies are necessary. The concept of nature-based solutions (NBS) could be helpful in achieving this goal. State of the art urban planning starts from the aim to realize a (part of) a city, not to improve natural quality or increase biodiversity. The aim of this article is to introduce a planning approach that puts the ecological landscape first, before embedding urban development. This ambition is explored using three NBS frameworks as the input for a series of design workshops, which conceived a regional plan for the Western Sydney Parklands in Australia. From these frameworks, elements were derived at three abstraction levels as the input for the design process: envisioning a long-term future (scanning the opportunities), evaluating the benefits and disadvantages, and identifying a common direction for the design (determining directions), and implementing concrete spatial cross-cutting solutions (creating inspiring ecologies), ultimately resulting in a regional landscape-based plan. The findings of this research demonstrate that, at every abstraction, a specific outcome is found: a mapped ecological landscape showing the options for urbanization, formulating a food-forest strategy as the commonly found direction for the design, and a regional plan that builds from the landscape ecologies adding layers of productive ecologies and urban synergies. By using NBS-frameworks, the potentials of putting the ecological landscape first in the planning process is illuminated, and urbanization can become resilient and nature-inclusive. Future research should emphasize the balance that should be established between the NBS-frameworks and the design approach, as an overly technocratic and all-encompassing framework prevents the freedom of thought that is needed to come to fruitful design propositions.
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Banks, Joanne L., Pat Hutchings, Belinda Curley, Luke Hedge, Bob Creese, and Emma Johnston. "Biodiversity conservation in Sydney Harbour." Pacific Conservation Biology 22, no. 2 (2016): 98. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc15048.
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Biodiversity conservation is a major issue in ports and harbours as scientists, managers and the public become increasingly aware of the importance of healthy ecosystems to the wellbeing of urban populations. Sydney’s Harbour provides essential environmental, social and economic values to community, government and industry. Recent systematic reviews of the biological and physical characteristics of Sydney Harbour revealed high environmental and conservation value, especially considering the large numbers of people using its resources. However, like many coastal areas, the harbour has been subject to stressors such as habitat loss, metal, organic and nutrient pollution, the introduction of non-indigenous species, foreshore construction and commercial and recreational fishing. Here we outline the environmental assets of the harbour and the major threats, and report on current and developing conservation strategies. By learning about the progress of environmental management in Sydney Harbour, the difficulties faced and new planning strategies implemented, coastal and harbour environmental managers within the region can be better prepared when faced with similar challenges.
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Bertouille, S. "Wildlife law and policy." Animal Biodiversity and Conservation 35, no. 2 (December 2012): 159–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.32800/abc.2012.35.0159.
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One of the crucial issues of our decades is how to stop the loss of biodiversity. Policy–makers need reliable data to base their decisions on. Managing wildlife populations requires, first of all, science–based knowledge of their abundance, dynamics, ecology, behaviour and dispersal capacities based on reliable qualitative data. The importance of dialogue and communication with the local actors should be stressed (Sennerby Forsse, 2010) as bag statistics and other monitoring data in wildlife management could be more precise if local actors, notably hunters, were better informed and aware of their importance, especially in supporting existing and emerging policies at national and international levels. Another essential issue in wildlife management is the conflicts generated by humans and their activities when they interact with wildlife (Heredia & Bass, 2011). A sociologic approach is required to take into account those human groups whose interests are divergent, facilitating communication and collaborative learning among these users of the same ecosytem. Obstacles should be addressed and solutions devised to protect and encourage a sustainable use of this ecosystem in, as much as possible, a win–win relationship. Policy objectives and mana-gement strategies should be discussed and debated among the stakeholders involved, then formulated. Policies can be translated into different types of instruments, economic and legislative, but also informative and educa-tive. As awareness of the actors is a key factor of successful regulation, the regulations should be sufficiently explained and stakeholders should be involved in the implementation of these regulations as much as possible. Finally, the effectiveness of the regulations should be evaluated in light of their objectives, and where necessary, the regulations should be strengthened or adapted to improve their performance (Van Gossum et al., 2010).The various aspects of the processes described above were highlighted in the plenary talk and the five oral communications presented during the session on wildlife law and policy. In his plenary talk, Dr Borja Heredia, Head of the Scientific Unit of the Secretariat of the CMS/UNEP in Bonn, pointed out different sources of human–wildlife conflicts, such as the logging activities in subtropical forests that induce overexploitation and poaching for bushmeat consumption; the problem of predators on livestock and the poisoning of lions in the Masaï Reserve; animals invading the human territory; and game species as a vector of diseases in humans and livestock (Heredia & Bass, 2011). Heredia stressed the importance for wildlife managers to deal with the human dimension; he stressed the importance of successful conflict management based on principles such as a non–adversial framework, an analytical approach, a problem–solving orientation, the direct participation of the conflicting parties, dialogue as a basis for mutual understanding and facilitation by a trained third party. Heredia explained how the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (UNEP/CMS) contributes to confict resolution and in this way increases the chance of survival of these species. The CMS (see CMS website) works for the con-servation of a wide array of endangered migratory animals worldwide through the negotiation and implementation of agreements and action plans. Migratory species threatened with extinction are listed in Appendix I of the Con-vention. CMS parties strive towards strictly protecting these animals, conserving or restoring the places where they live, mitigating obstacles to migration and controlling other factors that might endanger them. Besides establishing obligations for each State joining the CMS, CMS promotes concerted action among the Range States of many of these species. Migratory species that need, or would significantly benefit from, international co–operation are listed in Appendix II of the Convention. For this reason, the Convention encourages the Range states to reach global or regional agreements. The Convention acts, in this res-pect as a framework convention. The Agreements may range from legally binding treaties (called agreements, there are seven) to less formal instruments, such as Memoranda of Understanding, or actions plans (there are 20), and they can be adapted to the requirements of particular regions. The development of models tailored according to the conservation needs throughout the migratory range is a unique capacity to CMS. Heredia detailed inter alia the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, the Great Apes Survival Part-nership, the Agreement on the Conservation of Gorillas and their Habitats, the MoU on the Saïga Antelope, and the Programme for the Conservation and sustainable use of the wild saker falcon (Falco cherrug) in Mongolia.The talk of Sarah Wilks, research fellow at the School of Law, University of Western Sydney, illus-trated the importance of adequate transparency and public consultation in environmental and conservation law and decision making. Wilks (2012) examined the Australian legislation concerning animal welfare and the export of Australian wildlife products and, as a case study, explored the Tasmanian State Government’s recent decision to promote the com-mercial harvest and export of brushtail possums She pointed out that although the Enviromment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation 1999 (EPBC) process intended to be open and co–operative, it is not, in prac-tice, co–operative, public and transparent. The export of possum products requires Australian Government approval under the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (EPBC). Wilks (2012) assessed the Tasmanian Wildlife Trade Management Plan for Common Brushtail Possums developed by the EPBC, the public submissions to the Austra-lian Government, and the Australian Government’s response against the provisions of the EPBC. As a result, she deplored that welfare outcomes, like that of back or pouch juveniles whose mother had been trapped or killed have not been adequately considered either at Tasmanian State or at Australian Govenment level. She concluded by deploring that submissions on ethical grounds could not yet be considered by the Australian Government because the decision to harvest or not to harvest is made at State level, and yet the Tasmanian State legislation is deficient in mandating public consultation.Data on hunting and game resources provide quan-titative and qualitative information on game species, but moreover, game monitoring has shown to be efficient in identifying threats to biodiversity, such as biodiversity problems in agriculture and forest ecosystems, and also to be an early warning in assessing threats from invasive alien species (Sennerby Forsse, 2010). They are an essential tool for game managers, scientists and policy–makers, and hunters and hunter organisations are key resources in the collection of this information.The ARTEMIS data bank was initiated by the Federation of Asssociations of Hunting and Conservation of the Euro-pean Union FACE (see ARTEMIS website) to improve information about game in support of existing and emer-ging European policies. The objective of ARTEMIS is to centralise and analyse, in a coordinated and coherent Animal Biodiversity and Conservation 35.2 (2012)161extending the ban to all waterfowl hunting and not only that undertaken in protected wetlands.The presentation of K. E. Skordas, from the Hunting Federation of Macedonia and Thrace, Research Divi-sion, Greece, illustrated the contribution of the Hellenic Hunters Confederation (HHC) to law enforcement for wildlife protection. It showed how stakeholders, hun-ters, set up heir own Game Warden Service in 1999, through their Hunting Associations, in order to assume responsibility for the control of illegal hunting and wil-dlife protection, in collaboration with the local Forest Service. These game wardens carry out repressive and preventive controls and prosecutions. Besides this initiative, information campaigns are organised by the HHC to improve hunters’ awareness (see website of the Hellenic Hunters Confederation, HHC). Skordas & Papaspyropoulos (2011) analysed the relation between law enforcement, hunter awareness and infringement categories, classed in degree of influencing wildlife protection. They observed a strong reduction in the number of infringements; particularly, they found that hunting out of season and hunting without a license decreased from 23.4% to 7.31% and from 30.12% to 11.8%, respectively.All the talks presented in this session stressed the importance of dialogue in wildlife management as a basis for mutual understanding. Communication and involvement of the local actors/stakeholders are key factors at different stages of wildlife management: when collecting reliable data on which policy–makers may draw up their decisions, when debating policy objectives and strategies, and when implementing regulations and administrative acts
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Moorhouse, Ron. "Biodiversity Conservation in Australia and New Zealand." Conservation Biology 31, no. 1 (September 15, 2016): 229–31. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/cobi.12805.
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R. J. Hobbs, Ed, and Julian Reid. "Biodiversity of mediterranean ecosystems in Australia." Pacific Conservation Biology 1, no. 2 (1994): 154. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc940154.
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The Hobbs and Saunders publication machine continues unabated! Invariably conservation-oriented, jointly or singly, they have edited six major publications in the past six years and at least one other is on the way. The publisher, Surrey Beatty, has been involved with three of them, and of course, has launched this scientific journal (PCB) as well as publishing the proceedings of the conference held in Brisbane in 1991 entitled "Conservation biology in Australia and Oceania". Hats off to the publisher and to Saunders and Hobbs for being so active in this vital field.
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Garkaklis, Mark J. "Biodiversity Monitoring in Australia." Pacific Conservation Biology 20, no. 4 (2014): 403. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc140403.
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EFFECTIVE biodiversity monitoring, that allows an evaluation of how well we manage Australia’s natural heritage, remains a frustration to many who have worked in conservation biology over the decades. Too many times colleagues have audibly groaned when presented with yet another new tool or pet interest, with an appropriate price tag, that has been paraded to senior management as a panacea to biodiversity monitoring. The hotchpotch of vertebrate, one-off botanical, one-off remote sensing, wetland, riparian ecosystem, Threatened and Priority Ecological Community, and species-focused monitoring programs represents the collective failure to provide consistent measure of the state of the Australian environment within a common framework. We could audit the effectiveness of many of these monitoring programs; if we could find the data. If we can find the data, too often it is difficult to understand what the objective of the management intervention was. Effective biodiversity monitoring programs are in the minority and this must not continue.
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F. Recher, Harry. "The past, future and present of biodiversity conservation in Australia." Pacific Conservation Biology 8, no. 1 (2002): 8. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc020008.
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Australia has a poor record for biodiversity conservation. Government and community priorities promote growth and resource exploitation over conservation and ecologically sustainable land and water use. Programmes to protect biodiversity are inadequate, poorly funded, and inappropriate. Consequently, Australia has a large extinction debt and the 21st Century will see massive losses of continental biodiversity. Because birds are well known, these trends are already evident among Australia's avifauna and illustrate the magnitude of the problems facing biodiversity conservation in 21st Century Australia. Only by ending land clearing, limiting population growth, and adopting scientifically based land and water management and conservation practices can these trends be reversed. This is unlikely, as Australia's largely urban population is ill-informed, while the scientific community is marginalized and the agenda of green groups perpetuates the status quo.
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Waycott, Michelle, and Jud Kenworthy. "Introduction to Papers on Seagrass Conservation." Pacific Conservation Biology 5, no. 4 (1999): 250. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc000250.
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The following ten papers are the proceedings of a symposium on "seagrass conservation issues" held at the meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia (July 13?16, 1998).
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L. Gross, C. "Conservation Biology in Australia and Oceania." Pacific Conservation Biology 2, no. 2 (1995): 200. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc960200.
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Finally! The book from the conference has arrived. In 1991 the first conference on Conservation Biology in Australia was held in Queensland. Four years on, my first question about this book was, is this book out of date? Unfortunately, I do not think so. Why is this unfortunate? It is unfortunate because we have advanced very little in the last four years in the conservation and management of the biodiversity in Australasia.
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Goodall, David. "Australia?s Biodiversity and Climate Change." Pacific Conservation Biology 16, no. 3 (2010): 221. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc100221.
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This volume is the result of an initiative by the Natural Resources Management Ministerial Council, to assess the vulnerability of Australia?s biodiversity to climate change. It may be said at once that this remit is interpreted, not as referring to changes in ?biodiversity? as usually understood ? the number of species present ? but rather as covering all responses of organisms and the ecosystems in which they participate to the climate changes now in progress and in prospect. This extension of ?biodiversity? is clarified by the statement that ?modern biodiversity conservation . . . should ensure . . . the maintenance of ecological processes and the delivery of ecosystem services?.
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Kusmanoff, Alexander M., Fiona Fidler, Ascelin Gordon, and Sarah A. Bekessy. "Decline of ‘biodiversity’ in conservation policy discourse in Australia." Environmental Science & Policy 77 (November 2017): 160–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2017.08.016.
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F. Recher, H. "Conservation priorities: myths and realities." Pacific Conservation Biology 3, no. 2 (1997): 81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc970081.
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Jim Davie's essay on integrating nature conservation with the economic, social and political realities of Indonesia is as relevant to Australia as it is to developing nations. Although Davie makes this clear, it is a message that most Australians might overlook or choose to ignore. For too long Western nations have pursued the myth of nature conservation through reserves. We know that Australia's system of conservation reserves in neither representative nor viable in the long term. Conserving the continent's biodiversity requires a system of reserves and the environmentally sensitive management of the matrix within which the reserve system is embedded. Yet, Landcare and growing efforts by State forestry authorities aside, there is little evidence of environmentally sensitive management directed at conserving biodiversity on the vast expanse of urban, forestry, agricultural and pastoral lands throughout Australia. Moreover, it is by no means clear what the end result of establishing a comprehensive, adequate, and representative system of forest reserves throughout Australia will be. One concern is that the relevant authorities will adhere to the message of the myth and decide that with an "adequate" reserve system, management of forest biodiversity outside the reserves is less important or even unnecessary. If this eventuates, then the creation of a reserve system will actually have a negative impact on forest conservation.
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Bateman, Philip W., Patrick Pearlman, Peter Robertson, Beth Schultz, and Grant Wardell-Johnson. "Is the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (WA) fit for purpose?" Pacific Conservation Biology 23, no. 2 (2017): 146. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc16024.
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The Biodiversity Conservation Bill 2015 for Western Australia was criticised by scientists and conservation activists for its perceived flaws as it progressed from Bill through to Act. In this article, we summarise what we consider to be the major flaws in the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (WA) and suggest future amendments that could make the Act fit for purpose. Such criticism is important as biodiversity conservation initiatives globally appear to be failing to prevent biodiversity losses. As we move further into the 21st Century we need to identify, enact and implement effective legislation that will produce successful conservation outcomes.
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McCormack, Phillipa C., Jan McDonald, and Kerryn A. Brent. "Governance of Land-based Negative-emission Technologies to Promote Biodiversity Conservation: Lessons from Australia." Climate Law 10, no. 2 (June 26, 2020): 123–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/18786561-01002001.
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Climate change is a fundamental threat to biodiversity. Climate mitigation in general, and Negative-Emission Technologies (nets) in particular, have the potential to benefit biodiversity by reducing climate impacts. Domestic laws could help to ensure that nets have benefits for biodiversity adaptation to climate change (e.g. reducing land clearing and habitat loss and facilitating habitat restoration, corridors for species’ migration, and broader ecological resilience). Domestic laws will also need to govern trade-offs between nets and biodiversity adaptation (e.g. increased competition for land and landscape-scale fragmentation by new industrial developments and linear infrastructure). We argue that domestic laws should be used to maximize the benefits of nets while minimizing trade-offs for biodiversity. These laws should ensure that trade-offs are, at the very least, explicit and transparent, both in terms of their implications for current biodiversity and in the context of an acceleration of climate-driven biodiversity decline.
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Morrone, Juan J., Liliana Katinas, and Jorge V. Crisci. "On temperate areas, basal clades and biodiversity conservation." Oryx 30, no. 3 (July 1996): 187–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0030605300021621.
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It has been accepted traditionally that biodiversity is concentrated in the tropics. However, threatened temperate areas in southern South America, South Africa, New Caledonia, Australia and the Holarctic possess a significant number of unique taxa. Phylogenetic information encoded in cladograms can be used to develop indices for measuring biodiversity. Application of these indices to Asteraceae (Angiosperms) and Curculionoidea (Coleoptera) indicates the relevance of the temperate areas to biodiversity conservation: they are rich in phylogenetically valuable species and are environmentally threatened.
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Iftekhar, M. S., J. G. Tisdell, and L. Gilfedder. "Private lands for biodiversity conservation: Review of conservation covenanting programs in Tasmania, Australia." Biological Conservation 169 (January 2014): 176–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2013.10.013.
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Firestone, Karen. "Biodiversity Extinction Crisis." Pacific Conservation Biology 12, no. 2 (2006): 85. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc060085.
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?The Biodiversity Extinction Crisis, a Pacific and Australasian response? is the theme for the Australasian Section of the Society for Conservation Biology?s (SCB-A?s) inaugural regional conference. The idea of holding this conference has been a few years in the fermenting, mulling, and processing stages and the organizing committee is still in the initial stages of logistic planning, but in 2007 this meeting will be a reality. This will not be the first time that the Society has held a conference in the region, however. Many will remember the highly successful Society for Conservation Biology conference that was held at Macquarie University in 1998. That conference predated the formation of the international sections of SCB and attracted approximately 800 world-class conservation scientists and practitioners from around the globe, indicating not only the strength of the profession but also the strong need and desire for such a platform, particularly within Australia and the Australasian region.
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Radford, Jim. "The role of private conservation in saving biodiversity in Australia." Ecological Management & Restoration 15, no. 1 (January 2014): 2–3. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/emr.12080.
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Boulton, A. J., W. F. Humphreys, and S. M. Eberhard. "Imperilled Subsurface Waters in Australia: Biodiversity, Threatening Processes and Conservation." Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management 6, no. 1 (January 2003): 41–54. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14634980301475.
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A. McAlpine, C., A. Peterson, and P. Norman. "The South East Queensland Forests Agreement: Lessons for Biodiversity Conservation." Pacific Conservation Biology 11, no. 1 (2005): 3. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc050003.
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In Australia, regional forest agreements formed the cornerstone of strategies for resolving disputes over the logging of native forests in the last decade of the twentieth century. These disputes, driven by an increasingly vocal and influential conservation movement, coincided with changes in the nature of relationships between Commonwealth and State Governments, with the Commonwealth adopting an increasing role in environmental management (Lane 1999). Following very public disputes about the renewal of export woodchip licenses from native forests (which culminated in log truck blockades of the Commonwealth Parliament, Canberra), the Commonwealth Government adopted regional forest agreements as the mechanism for achieving sustainable management of Australia?s native hardwood forests. This was underpinned by the National Forest Policy Statement (Commonwealth of Australia 1992), which outlined principles for ecologically sustainable management of the nation?s production forests. The Commonwealth and several State Governments reached agreement to develop regional forest agreements (RFAs) for the long-term management and use of forests in ten regions (Fig. 1) (Commonwealth of Australia 2004). Key goals of the agreement were to: reconcile competing commercial, ecological and societal demands on forests in a way that was consistent with the principles and goals of ecologically sustainable forest management (Davey et al. 1997, 2002; Lane 1999); and to establish a comprehensive, adequate and representative reserve system, based on the nationallyagreed JANIS criteria (JANIS 1997).
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New, T. R. "Biodiversity in mediterranean ecosystems in Australia." Biological Conservation 66, no. 3 (1993): 249. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0006-3207(93)90009-p.
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Reid, T. "The Other 99%. The Conservation and Biodiversity of Invertebrates." Pacific Conservation Biology 6, no. 2 (2000): 178. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc000178.
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The importance of invertebrates as the most significant component of biodiversity is often overlooked. A four-day conference held in 1997 and the subsequent published transactions, examine the reasons why society ignores invertebrates. There is a need for change in the perception and value of invertebrates, if Australia is to conserve its unique biodiversity and achieve ecological sustain ability in farming, fisheries and forestry.
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Mehdi Amirmahmoudi & Md. Zafar Mahfooz Nomani. "Access & Benefit Sharing Provisions Under Biodiversity Conservation Law in Australia & Its Implications for India." Legal Research Development 2, no. IV (June 30, 2018): 35–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.53724/lrd/v2n4.06.
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Australia played a major role in the developing ABS framework under biodiversity conservation law. Australia is a megadiverse country with complex ABS experience and possessed huge support from the biodiversity stakeholders. Australia has adopted the regulations regarding access benefit sharing under article 15 of CBD, 1992. The Australian legislation is in compliance with PIC and MAT. The agreement reaffirms faith in CBD, 1992, Bonn Guidelines, 2001 and Nagoya Protocol, 2009. The government system of Australia is a constitutional federation which is made up of six sovereign governments, two autonomous territories, and a national government. It has a ‘common law’ system adopted from Britain. Australia’s experience is extensive with ABS to draw lessons about developing an effective institutional mechanism for public and private sector with equitable benefit sharing in scientific and commercial access. The access and benefit sharing provisions under biodiversity conservation law in Australia have potential impact to design its national laws and policies for India by synergizing environmental law and intellectual property rights in a sustainable framework.
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D. James, Craig, Jill Landsberg, and Stephen R. Morton. "Ecological functioning in arid Australia and research to assist conservation of biodiversity." Pacific Conservation Biology 2, no. 2 (1995): 126. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc960126.
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This discussion paper outlines what we perceive to be current conservation problems in arid Australia. We call for better land-use planning for conservation, for the integration of conservation and other types of land use, and for an agenda for research that is required to assist this planning and integration. We identify four key themes on which we believe research is imperative to assist the conservation of biodiversity. The research themes are: (1) identification of spatial and temporal patterns of distribution of native biota; (2) quantification of the impact of pastoralism on native biota; (3) identification of, and control of, potential non-native pest species; and (4) development of methods and technologies to allow regional conservation planning. For each of these themes we examine current knowledge and on-going research and provide a framework in which these research areas could be addressed. We offer this discussion to help refine and target research expenditure.
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Hayward, Matt W. "Time to agree on a conservation benchmark for Australia." Pacific Conservation Biology 18, no. 2 (2012): 69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc120069.
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WELL defined goals are critical to successfully achieve outcomes and monitor the success of achieving them, yet conservation agencies rarely explicitly state the goals of their management activities with appropriate metrics. Here I use case studies on the conflicting conservation management focus of the Sydney Harbour National Park at North Head, the legislative impediments of bridled nailtail wallaby conservation management, the planning for broadscale habitat connectivity programmes such as Habitat 141, fire management for the conservation of the quokka and the broader Kimberley landscape, and mesopredator suppression using dingoes to highlight the problems with inappropriate conservation benchmarks. I compare these issues with activities from South Africa, India, New Zealand and Poland to illustrate the benchmarks other nations have. I conclude that Australia urgently needs an explicit conservation benchmark upon which to aim our conservation efforts and excuses of inadequate knowledge can no longer be accepted for maintaining the status quo.
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Turak, E., R. Marchant, L. A. Barmuta, J. Davis, S. Choy, and L. Metzeling. "River conservation in a changing world: invertebrate diversity and spatial prioritisation in south-eastern coastal Australia." Marine and Freshwater Research 62, no. 3 (2011): 300. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/mf09297.
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Concentration of human populations with likely impacts of climate change present major challenges for river conservation in the south-eastern coastal region of Australia. Quantitative methods for spatial prioritisation of conservation actions can play a major role in meeting these challenges. We examined how these methods may be applied to help plan for potential impacts of climate change in the region, using macroinvertebrate assemblages as surrogates of river biodiversity. Environmental gradients explaining broad-scale patterns in the composition of macroinvertebrate assemblages are well represented in protected areas; however, their effectiveness for conserving river biodiversity with climate change depends on linking management inside and outside protected areas. Projected increases in temperature and sea level may be used to prioritise conservation to counter likely major impacts in high-altitude zones and the coastal fringes, whereas elsewhere, considerable uncertainty remains in the absence of better downscaled projections of rainfall. Applying such spatial prioritisations using biodiversity surrogates could help river-focussed conservation around the world.
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Penninkilampi, Lachlan. "Law reform for life: how to unleash the guiding principles of ecologically sustainable development to improve human relationships with (the rest of) urban biodiversity." Asia Pacific Journal of Environmental Law 24, no. 1 (September 24, 2021): 66–89. http://dx.doi.org/10.4337/apjel.2021.01.03.
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Urbanization is arguably the most severe and irreversible driver of environmental change, particularly with respect to biodiversity. This is the case even in Australia, a megadiverse country with a sophisticated federal regime of biodiversity governance. Yet, life persists in urban worlds. In the context of global climate and ecological crises, this article endeavours to illustrate how law and policy can grapple with the complexities of urban biodiversity and enable it to flourish. First, the article outlines the current approaches to urban biodiversity: what is it, what is it like, why does it matter and how do humans think of it? Second, the article analyses the current state of biodiversity governance in Australia, focusing particularly on the laws and policies of the Commonwealth, New South Wales, and local governments in Greater Sydney. Finally, the article details a program of reform which revisits the original guiding principles of ecologically sustainable development, illustrating how they could be unleashed for the better governance of urban biodiversity with respect to decision-making, the administration of law, issues at scale, the economy, valuation techniques and community participation. The program includes not only systemic and multi-scalar reforms, but also local-level reforms which have significant yet often overlooked potential to encourage pro-biodiversity behaviours in everyday life. The aim is to reveal just some of the many ways in which hope can be creatively transformed into action for a biodiverse urban future – that is, to reveal the possibilities of law and policy to enable urban biodiversity to be better recognized, understood, valued, protected and enhanced as Australia develops in the twenty-first century.
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Faith, Daniel P. "A Singular Concept of Biodiversity Remains the Best Way to Address the Plural Values of Nature in Conservation Planning." Conservation 1, no. 4 (December 1, 2021): 342–49. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/conservation1040026.
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The term “biodiversity” generally refers to living variation. Biodiversity has recognized anthropocentric values of insurance and investment. Values of “nature” include those of biodiversity and also many other aspects reflecting the scope of human-nature relationships. Systematic conservation planning methods can integrate this range of local to global values. Early case studies in Australia and Papua New Guinea show the potential for such approaches. Recently, there have been calls for a recasting of the concept of biodiversity to capture plurality of values. However, balance among sometimes conflicting values of nature is best-served by a singular biodiversity concept and definition focused on variety, because this enables effective integration with other values of nature. Attempts at pluralistic recastings of biodiversity in fact may promote neglect of global biodiversity values. Further, an extended analysis of the Papua New Guinea case study shows that it cannot be argued that focusing on localized values of nature for conservation will effectively address regional/global scale conservation needs.
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Kiley, Heather M., Gillian B. Ainsworth, and Michael A. Weston. "Modest levels of interpretability of the term ‘biodiversity’, mediated by educational level, among the Australian public." Pacific Conservation Biology 25, no. 2 (2019): 208. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc18056.
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Effective worldwide efforts to conserve flora and fauna rely on engaging the public, and thus on public appreciation of the object of conservation activities (most commonly, ‘biodiversity’). We examined alignment of interpretation of the term ‘biodiversity’ with generally accepted definitions in a representative sample (n=499) of the public from the State of Victoria in Australia, a country with an explicit biodiversity conservation strategy (which defines the term) and the capacity to invest heavily in conservation. However, almost half of respondents did not know what ‘biodiversity’ meant, 32% and 18% expressed an ecological and conceptual interpretation, respectively. The probability of having at least some interpretation of the term was higher among university-educated respondents, but otherwise did not vary with sex or income. Broadening the base of conservation efforts would likely be facilitated by better aligning interpretations of the term ‘biodiversity’ among the public or by adopting more intuitive language when engaging with the public.
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West, J. G. "Floristics and biodiversity research in Australia: the 21st century." Australian Systematic Botany 11, no. 2 (1998): 161. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/sb97044.
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Australian botany has reached the point where the vascular flora of this country is relatively well documented; we have sound basic information on what species are present, and where they occur (geographically and ecologically). The real challenge facing plant systematists now is to grasp the inspiring opportunities that exist in the areas of floristics and biodiversity research. The time has come to capitalise on the enormous existing knowledge base. This includes ‘mobilising’ the data we have and promoting potential usage by making clients aware of the quality and nature of the information. Australia has the international-level expertise and the institutional mechanisms to make this happen. We need to build political goodwill within State and Commonwealth agencies to develop strong national linkages. This would enhance the accessibility and applicability of existing baseline datasets, e.g. specimen and taxon databases should be transparently interchangeable and readily available to all potential clients. Although our basic floristic knowledge is good, our understanding of phylogenetic, evolutionary and biogeographic patterns of major Australian plant groups is lacking. Such analyses will ensure accurate predictions and advice on conservation and exploitation of elements of the flora. Future research should concentrate on understanding the processes operating at the genetic and species level in order to answer critical questions about ecosystem functioning. Modern technology will be utilised, particularly in information systems and molecular techniques. Systematists have a clear obligation under the National Biodiversity Strategy to contribute information essential to conservation of biodiversity and to land-use decision making.
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Debrincat, B. "Networking, Habitat Restoration, and Restoration Education in Sydney, Australia." Ecological Restoration 28, no. 2 (May 7, 2010): 146–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.3368/er.28.2.146.
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Snaddon, Jake, Gillian Petrokofsky, Paul Jepson, and Katherine J. Willis. "Biodiversity technologies: tools as change agents." Biology Letters 9, no. 1 (February 23, 2013): 20121029. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2012.1029.
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A meeting on Biodiversity Technologies was held by the Biodiversity Institute, Oxford on the 27–28 of September 2012 at the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford. The symposium brought together 36 speakers from North America, Australia and across Europe, presenting the latest research on emerging technologies in biodiversity science and conservation. Here we present a perspective on the general trends emerging from the symposium.
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Recher, Harry. "National Biodiversity Council." Pacific Conservation Biology 3, no. 1 (1997): 2. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc970002.
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The National Biodiversity Council was formed in December 1994. The Council is an independent body that acts as a scientific voice for biodiversity conservation in Australia. It consists of a council of 12 scientists, elected by their peers, and an Assembly of representatives from scientific societies and institutions and those nominated by the Council to provide balance and additional expertise. The Council was formed because many people were concerned about the lack of an independent scientific voice on environmental and development issues, and because many Australian scientists lacked full freedom to comment on government and institutional policies affecting biodiversity. The Council was to be that voice and Council members were empowered to speak freely and openly on behalf of the Council.
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Clement, Sarah, Susan A. Moore, Michael Lockwood, and Tiffany H. Morrison. "A diagnostic framework for biodiversity conservation institutions." Pacific Conservation Biology 21, no. 4 (2015): 277. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc15032.
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Biodiversity loss is a critical issue on the environmental agenda, with species-based approaches failing to stem the decline. Landscape-scale approaches offer promise, but require institutional change. This article describes a novel conceptual framework for assessing institutional arrangements to tackle this persistent problem. In doing so, two critical issues for biodiversity governance are addressed. The first is a need to enrich largely theoretical descriptions of adaptive governance by considering how the practical realities of institutional environments (e.g. public agencies) limit achievement of an adaptive governance ‘ideal’. The second is enabling explicit consideration of the unique aspects of biodiversity as a ‘policy problem’ in the analysis of institutional arrangements. The framework contributes to efforts to design more adaptive institutional arrangements, through supporting a more sophisticated and grounded institutional analysis incorporating insights from institutional theory, especially literature on organisational environments and public administration. Concepts from Pragmatism also contribute to this grounding, providing insight into how public agencies can play a more productive role in biodiversity conservation and building public consent for management actions. The diagnostic categories in the framework include the attributes of the biodiversity problem and the involved players; the political context; and practices contributing to both competence and capacity. Guidance on how to apply the framework and an example of its application in Australia illustrate the utility of this tool for institutional diagnosis and design. Development of this diagnostic framework could be further enhanced by empirically informed elaboration of the relationships between its components, and of the nature of, and factors influencing, key concerns for adaptation, particularly learning, self-organising and buffering.
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Gill, A. Malcolm. "Fire regimes, biodiversity conservation and prescribed-burning programs." Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 124, no. 1 (2012): 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/rs12001.
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In the trend towards the domestication, or taming, of fire regimes in Victoria, Australia, the level of prescribed burning has been stepped up due to a recommendation from the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission. While prescribed burning programs may be instituted for a number of reasons, especially the protection of life and property, they have consequences for the conservation of biodiversity. Not all vegetation types can be prescribed burned because the weather does not always allow it to occur under safe working conditions; where prescribed burning programs are carried out, unplanned fires may still occur. Thus, the general issue is the effect on biodiversity of both prescribed and unplanned fires, neither alone. Here, the importance to biodiversity conservation of all the components of the fire regime– interval, season, intensity and type (peat fire or otherwise) – and their domain of variability is emphasized. If conservation of biodiversity is to be guaranteed in a changing fire world, then much more knowledge about the systems being managed, gained in large part through effective monitoring, is needed. Issues such as targets and some assumptions of management are addressed here.
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Jacobs, Brent, Louise Boronyak, and Polly Mitchell. "Application of Risk-Based, Adaptive Pathways to Climate Adaptation Planning for Public Conservation Areas in NSW, Australia." Climate 7, no. 4 (April 19, 2019): 58. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cli7040058.
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Globally, areas of high-quality wildlife habitat of significant environmental value are at risk of permanent damage from climate change. These areas represent social-ecological systems that will require increasing management intervention to maintain their biological and socio-cultural values. Managers of protected areas have begun to recognize the inevitability of ecosystem change and the need to embrace dynamic approaches to intervention. However, significant uncertainty remains about the onset and severity of some impacts, which makes planning difficult. For Indigenous communities, there are intrinsic links between cultural heritage and the conservation of place and biodiversity that need to be better integrated in protected area planning and management. In New South Wales, Australia, management of public conservation reserves and national parks is the responsibility of a State government agency, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). This paper describes the outcomes of a participatory planning process with NPWS staff to, firstly, identify the options available, the available ‘tool kit’, to manage biodiversity and cultural heritage in protected areas; secondly, explore how the selection of management actions from the ‘tool kit’ is associated with the level of climate risk to biodiversity or cultural heritage assets; and thirdly, to understand how the form of individual management actions might adapt to changes in climate risk. Combining these three elements into a series of risk-based, adaptive pathways for conservation of biodiversity and cultural heritage is a novel approach that is currently supporting place-based planning for public conservation areas. Incorporation of the trade-offs and synergies in seeking to effectively manage these discrete but related types of values and the implications for conservation practice are discussed.
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Howell, Jocelyn, Doug Benson, and Lyn McDougall. "Developing a strategy for rehabilitating riparian vegetation of the Hawkesbury-Nepean River, Sydney, Australia." Pacific Conservation Biology 1, no. 3 (1994): 257. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc940257.
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Situated on the southeastern coast at 34�S 151�E, Sydney was established in 1788 as Australia's first permanent European settlement. Clearing of natural vegetation and environmental degradation associated with the country's largest population concentration over the past 200 years have severely affected the nearby Hawkesbury-Nepean River. A strategy for rehabilitation of the riparian vegetation to conserve and enhance the natural conditions remaining along the river, with particular emphasis on habitat and natural biodiversity, has been developed. The study area encompassed the most modified part of the river, where it passes alternately through 80 km of sandstone terrain, where the natural vegetation of waterside scrub backed by open-forest remains largely unchanged, and 135 km of floodplain terrain, where most of the indigenous tall open-forest has been cleared and associated wetlands have been greatly modified. Indigenous riparian zone vegetation was recognized as critical to the maintenance of river health, providing a reservoir of biodiversity as a major value, upon which other values, including enhancement of water quality, bank stablility and erosion control, depend. As 47 per cent of study area riverbank was found to have less than 25 per cent tree cover, the strategy recommended that all remnant native vegetation and remnant native trees along the river be protected and that a substantial long-term aim should be the establishment of a 50-metre wide strip of native riparian forest vegetation on each bank along the full length of the river, to be linked ultimately with other areas of natural vegetation on the floodplain. To provide practical resources for revegetation, the strategy assembled a botanical database, including maps showing present tree cover and the past extent of floodplain vegetation types, descriptions and locations of sites where significant native riparian vegetation remains, ecological information on approximately 300 locally indigenous riparian and wetland plant species, guidelines on selection of appropriate species, replanting methods and determination of priorities at both site and landscape scale.
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Shanahan, D. F., J. E. Ledington, and F. J. F. Maseyk. "Motivations for conservation action in peopled landscapes." Pacific Conservation Biology 24, no. 4 (2018): 341. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc18010.
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Urbanisation can drive wholesale change of ecosystems, and so biodiversity conservation action in these landscapes must overcome significant challenges. Despite this, councils and city residents invest significant resources into managing and promoting biodiversity in cities, often independently from wider-scale conservation objectives. In this paper we first examine biodiversity strategies from cities (Australia and New Zealand) and countries (Pacific Islands) to identify key ‘motivations’ for conservation action in peopled landscapes – this information is critical to guide how conservation planners can leverage effort in these spaces for broader conservation gain. We found that enhancing human well-being is a key motivator for biodiversity conservation in peopled landscapes; for example, 100% of strategies identified cultural ecosystem services as a key motivator. This trend reflects the importance of biodiversity in cities for people. This study raises a crucial question: what conservation outcomes might be possible from conservation action in cities where the key desired outcome is for people? We use two case studies to examine this question (threatened plant and threatened bird conservation in New Zealand cities), showing that conservation action in cities can deliver significant benefits that contribute to broader conservation objectives. We conclude that these benefits arise for several reasons: urban landscapes can leverage considerable people-power, the highly disturbed landscape can provide significant advantages for conservation action for some species, and enabling people to connect with nature and carry out conservation action can galvanise community effort for even greater conservation gain. If conservation planners can identify ways to leverage this effort for broader outcomes the results can be exceptional.
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Lindenmayer, David. "From biodiversity to bioperversity: from good science to poor environmental policy." Pacific Conservation Biology 19, no. 4 (2013): 250. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc130250.
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While Australia is one of the world leaders in conservation biology, it is not in conservation policy. Proposed socalled policy “reforms” in environmental policy will undermine many of the important gains made in conservation management. Here I outline four retrogressive policy changes proposed or currently taking place in eastern Australian states. These range from branding climate research as “post-normal” science through to grazing of alpine environments to reduce “blazing” despite overwhelming evidence that it has no such effect. Conservation scientists will need to work extremely hard to communicate their science and underscore the need for scientific data to underpin truly evidencebased conservation policy and evidence-based conservation management. The consequences of failing to do so will be an ongoing decline in the quality of environmental policies and impaired environmental and conservation outcomes.
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Downey, Paul O., Moira C. Williams, Leonie K. Whiffen, Bruce A. Auld, Mark A. Hamilton, Alana L. Burley, and Peter J. Turner. "Managing Alien Plants for Biodiversity Outcomes—the Need for Triage." Invasive Plant Science and Management 3, no. 1 (May 2010): 1–11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1614/ipsm-09-042.1.
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AbstractRecognition that alien plants pose a significant threat to biodiversity has not always translated into effective management strategies, policy reforms, and systems to establish priorities. Thus, many alien plant management decisions for the protection of biodiversity occur with limited knowledge of what needs to be protected (other than biodiversity in a generalized sense) or the urgency of actions. To rectify this, we have developed a triage system that enables alien plant management decisions to be made based on (1) the urgency of control relative to the degree of threat posed to biodiversity, compared with (2) the likelihood of achieving a successful conservation outcome as a result of alien plant control. This triage system is underpinned by a two-step approach, which identifies the biodiversity at risk and assesses sites to determine priorities for control. This triage system was initially developed to manage the threat posed by bitou bush to native species in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. It has subsequently been improved with the national assessment of lantana in Australia, and the adaptation from a single to multiple alien plant species approach on a regional scale. This triage system identifies nine levels of priority for alien plant management aimed at biodiversity conservation, ranging from immediate, targeted action to limited or no action. The development of this approach has enabled long-term management priorities to be set for widespread alien plants that are unlikely to be eradicated. It also enables control to occur in a coordinated manner for biodiversity conservation at a landscape scale, rather than as a series of individual unconnected short-term actions.