A report by the Auditor General, Conservation of Threatened Ecological Communities, was tabled in WA Parliament yesterday, assessing the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions’ management of Threatened Ecological Communities (TECs).
Conservation Council of WA (CCWA) Executive Director Matt Roberts said the damning report proved yet again that we need stronger protections for nature if we are going to halt and reverse the biodiversity crisis in Western Australia.
“This audit confirms that the government is not prioritising environmental monitoring and compliance and is not resourcing environmental agencies to be effective in protecting WA’s unique environment,” Mr Roberts said.
“It’s a great concern that escalates every year, that our TECs are not being effectively managed. As the audit clearly states, once a TEC is destroyed, it is unlikely to recover.
“Western Australia is a wealthy state, with a $2.4billion budget surplus - but our government is yet to seize the opportunity to protect what truly matters: the health of nature on which we all depend.
“The recent State Budget prioritises streamlining assessments at the expense of monitoring and compliance measures. This is a matter of priorities, and it’s clear the government has not yet understood the crisis our environment faces and its importance to our wellbeing.
“The full and proper resourcing of our environment departments is critical to putting the proper protections in place and to effectively enforce environmental conditions. We strongly urge the Government to elevate the environment on their priorities for this term of government.
“CCWA is calling on the state government to urgently review and strengthen the Biodiversity Conservation Act – an overdue, mandated review that could be a turning point for nature in WA. We need laws that deliver real protection for threatened species and ecological communities across WA.
“To prevent further extinctions, the WA Government needs to fund and implement Recovery Plans for all threatened species and ecological communities, including the strongest possible protections for critical habitat.
“This should form part of an ambitious strategy to protect and restore biodiversity in WA, in line with Australia’s commitment to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
“WA has not published a State of the Environment Report since 2007. The last Biodiversity Audit was in 2015. We can’t pretend there isn’t a significant risk of extinction and ecological collapse by refusing to take account of the problem at hand.
“Reinstating regular State of the Environment reports and biodiversity audits is essential to track the decline – and recovery – of nature in WA.”
As the audit noted, to be protected, TECs need to be formally listed and the Department has identified 390 other ecological communities that are threatened or rare and likely threatened and a priority for listing.
“Alarmingly, at its current pace, the Department would take over 100 years to list the other 390 priority ecological communities if they were all deemed suitable for listing. That is too late for many areas of ecological significance and the species which rely on them.
“Also of great concern, the audit revealed the Department does not have a TEC strategy and it’s not clear if TEC activities actually align to long-term conservation goals,” Mr Roberts said.
Media contact: John Cooke – 0433 679 780 – [email protected]