Photo by Wildlife Photographer Justin Cally.
Article by: Dr Manda Page
You might have heard the term ‘threatened species’ and other related descriptors for species in trouble like ‘endangered’ or ‘vulnerable’. But what exactly do they all mean? And do they paint the full picture for us?
I’m Dr Manda Page and I recently moved into this area as the new CEO of South West NRM. Creating real change for our threatened species starts with broad community understanding of the problem. I hope this article will go some way towards achieving that.
First: A bit about me
I’d like to assure you of my credentials in this space! For the past five years, I was the Director of Threatened Species for the Queensland Government.
Prior to that I was in WA and during that 10-year period oversaw development and implementation of more than a dozen recovery programs for WA threatened species.
Contributing to work that would slow, and ideally reverse, the annual 2% decline of Australia’s threatened species over the past 25 years (in line with the Australian Government’s zero extinction target) is where my heart lies.
The problem
We have one of the highest loss of species anywhere in the world with 100 of our endemic (found nowhere else on earth) species becoming extinct since colonisation. More than 1,700 species and ecological communities are considered ‘threatened’ and at risk of extinction.
And that’s just the ones we know about! There’s a whole raft of species considered as ‘data deficient’. We simply don’t know enough about them to figure out whether they might also be at risk of extinction. It’s an ongoing challenge to meet this shortfall in information.
Changing the continued decline of our threatened species is no longer a choice but an imperative, not just for the species themselves, but for the health and wellbeing of everyone now, and into the future.
We just can’t afford to underestimate our reliance on maintaining biodiversity – the variety of native species in our ecosystems. When it comes to species, variety really is the spice of life!
What we’re doing about it
Here in our South West NRM Region we have 108 Nationally-listed threatened species (excluding marine and migratory species) – 84 plants and 24 animals.
South West NRM is rolling out a suite of new projects this year to benefit threatened species in our region so I felt it might be a good time to start with increasing our general understanding of these enviro-type terms.
What it all means
Basically, a ‘threatened species’ is a species that is at risk of extinction. It means they’re in real trouble.
The process for adding a species to the National threatened list in Australia is informed by scientific information and controlled by the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. You might have heard the Australian Government is currently working on a review of this legislation.
Once listed as ‘threatened’, the species is then also assigned a conservation class such as ‘critically endangered’, ‘endangered’ or ‘vulnerable’ which refers to their level of risk of extinction.
Here in WA, the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 provides for the listing of threatened native plants, animals and ecological communities for protection.
Sometimes the national list differs to the state-based lists and there is work occurring to towards a single national list for consistency however this is taking some time.
What happens when a species is listed as ‘threatened’
But more important than the legalities, what are the practical implications of a species being listed as threatened?
- There are greater penalties and protections for a species if it is listed as threatened;
- Having an identified list helps to inform how we should spend valuable conservation resources.
To help target interventions where they are needed most, the Australian Government has identified a target list of 110 priority species under its Threatened Species Action Plan 2022-2032. Most States and Territories also have a system of prioritisation.
There are a number of government agencies, non-government organisations, First Nations People, community groups and industry that contribute to conservation and knowing what species are most at risk helps us all make a valuable contribution.
How you can help
The problem at times, I admit, feels overwhelming. But there are solutions and we can all do our part, even if you don’t work in the environment sector.
A very good place to start is to be informed so with that in mind, I hope you have found this article of help. Please do consider sharing it within your networks.
For more information on environmental conservation work by South West NRM over more than two decades, please visit the below page of our website.
