The Cumberland Plain in western Sydney is Australia ‘s fastest growing and most populous region. Many of its unique natural attributes need special effort to maintain their values and ensure their protection. Just 13% of western Sydney ‘s native vegetation remains in highly fragmented patches of varying size and condition. The Cumberland Plain Recovery Plan has been designed to provide for the long-term survival and protection of the threatened biodiversity of the Cumberland Plain as the area develops. It constitutes the formal New South Wales recovery plan for 20 threatened species, populations and ecological communities that reside there.
This is the last issue of Decision Point under the auspices of the Applied Environmental Decision Analysis hub (AEDA) – a research group that finishes at the end of 2010. However Decision Point will be back in 2011 under the auspices of ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions (CEED). What Decision Point will look like is still to be decided – you can help by undertaking the Decision Point survey. You can download the final AEDA edition of Decision Point at AEDA News. Read the rest of this entry »
The Parliament of Australia Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications is conducting an inquiry into the status, health and sustainability of Australia’s koala population for report by 1 June 2011. The Committee is seeking written submissions from interested individuals and organisations. Submissions should be received by 8 February 2011. To find out more visit Inquiry into the status, health and sustainability of Australia’s koala population.
Have you been involved in, or would you like to be involved in, the planning, approval or implementation of a translocation project for threatened flora? Then this Australian Network for Plant Conservation (ANPC) workshop is relevant to you! The workshop is being held at the Tweed Bicentennial Environment Park, Centennial Drive, Pottsville NSW on Friday 5 November 2010. Read the rest of this entry »
The call for abstracts and workshop expressions of interest for the Australian Network for Plant Conservation (ANPC) 8th National Conference has been extended to 15 August 2010. With the theme “Planning conservation to achieving restoration”, the Australian Network for Plant Conservation (ANPC) 8th National Conference (Perth 28 Sep – 1 Oct 2010) is a conference for everyone involved in conserving Australia’s unique flora and native vegetation. To find out more visit the conference webpage.
In any ecological survey, there is a chance that a species occupying a site will not be detected during a survey of that site. Georgia Garrard’s research has investigated detectability issues in the Western (Basalt) Plains grassland community on the northern and western fringes of Melbourne in close proximity to Melbourne’s urban growth boundary, where there is continual pressure for development. Read the rest of this entry »
The Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges region is one of Australia’s 15 National Biodiversity Hotspots (along with Kangaroo Island). It contains nationally significant vegetation communities and over 90 fauna species and nearly 300 flora species, many listed as threatened at a State or National level and some species or sub-species that are endemic to the region. The region is also home to over one million people residing in both urban and rural areas. The new report ‘Informing Biodiversity Conservation for the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Region South Australia’ sets conservation targets and actions at a variety of biological and spatial scales, based on a series of analyses using the best available data. To download the report and associated maps and fact sheets visit Informing Biodiversity Conservation for the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Region South Australia.
Decision Point is the monthly magazine of the Applied Environmental Decision Analysis research hub (AEDA) and presents articles, views and ideas on environmental decision making, biodiversity, conservation planning and monitoring. The July 2010 issue of Decision Point is now available and it promises to provoke a bit of discussion on our National Reserve System. Should we trade in the bits that aren’t performing that well? Does it adequately protect our wilderness? Read the rest of this entry »