Fast Facts 37. Biodiversity conservation in protected areas and across the wider landscape
April 2003
Protected areas
Australia's protected area system is central to biodiversity conservation and provides considerable revenue from nature-based tourism. The system aims to be fully representative of Australia's biodiversity.
- 6.6% of Australia was protected in formal reserves and 2.6% in other areas, as of June 2001.
- 67% of the diversity in ecosystems is captured by national parks and formal reserves, with a further 5% captured by other protected areas and covenants on private land.
- 42 out of 85 regions are a high priority for further reservation to ensure Australia has a comprehensive and representative system of protected areas (Map 1).
Map 1: Priority regions for consolidating Australia's protected area system.
Conservation across the wider landscape
Integrating biodiversity conservation into natural resource management on private lands is essential to conserve biodiversity and protect ecosystem function. The large number of threatened species and ecosystems means that targeted programs are needed for species recovery and ecosystem repair. However, there are major constraints including limited community capacity in many regions to achieve both integrated natural resource management and recovery of threatened species and ecosystems.
- The capacity for integrating biodiversity conservation into natural resource management is constrained for 47% of regions due to the extent of degradation, socio-economic issues and limited community capacity (Map 2). Programs in these regions will need to be strategically targeted and considerable incentives provided.
Map 2: Opportunities for integrating biodiversity conservation into natural resource management.
Recovery actions for threatened species and ecosystems:
- There are major biophysical constraints to achieving recovery of threatened species and ecosystems due to the high level of habitat loss and poor landscape condition in 11% of regions.
- Community capacity exists and some biodiversity outcomes have been achieved in 20% of regions.
- There are significant resource constraints and limited regional capacity in 34% of regions.
- Recovery measures are significantly in place in 5% of regions.
- Relatively minor effort would result in significant biodiversity gains in 29% of regions (mainly in northern Australia).
Further Information:
- See Australian Terrestrial Biodiversity Assessment 2002 for more details.
- Or go to the Australian Natural Resources Atlas (www.environment.gov.au/atlas).
- Email: info@nlwra.gov.au
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