Australia’s National Environmental Laws

A report entitled “Fast-tracking extinction: Australia’s national environmental laws” was collaboratively prepared by the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF), WWF, Wilderness Society and the University of Queensland and published in September 2018. The central theme of the report the effects of deforestation on Australian wildlife. The full report can be viewed here: https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/auscon/pages/6451/attachments/original/1536271571/08-2018_16pp_ACF_Fast-Tracking_Extinction_report_final_WEB.PDF?1536271571

While Australia is home to an extensive range of native animals, unfortunately, it is the leading country worldwide in terms of mammal extinction rates (Woinarski, 2011). Habitat loss is amongst the largest reasons for extinction and the decline of species on a global scale.

Habitat loss for threatened species may be broken down into two types: known habitats and likely habitats. Known habitats, as the name suggests, are areas which are known locations of threatened species. Likely habitats are areas in with preferred conditions and geographical locations for threatened species are found. The Australian Conservation Foundation (2018) estimates that a total 7.47 million hectares of habitat have been lost, when considering both known and likely habitats, since the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act 1999 (EPBC Act) was first enacted in 2000.

The intention of the EPBC Act was to protect threatened and endangered species as well as their habitats. The Act established a process of approval for activity with a potentially significant impact in these areas. However, the figures in the following table, sourced directly from the ACF 2018 report, suggests that the measures currently in place are not stringent enough to provide the intended protection.

The report offers recommendations for improving current conditions for threatened species and slowing the rate of habitat loss, largely consisting of suggested changes to national legislation and a closer analysis of projects being undertaken.

 

References

Australian Conservation Foundation, (2018). Fast-tracking extinction: Australia’s national environmental law. Retrieved from: https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/auscon/pages/6451/attachments/original/1536271571/08-2018_16pp_ACF_Fast-Tracking_Extinction_report_final_WEB.PDF?1536271571

Woinarski, J. C. Z. et al. (2011) ‘The disappearing mammal fauna of northern Australia: Context, cause, and response’, Conservation Letters, 4(3), pp. 192–201