ENDANGERED SPECIES — RECOVERY PLANS
439. Hon
TJORN SIBMA to the minister representing the Minister for Environment:
I
refer to the reference to the ''Proportion of critically endangered and
endangered species and ecological communities that have a recovery plan''
on page 712 of budget paper No 2, volume 2.
(1) How many
threatened and endangered species and communities are there presently in Western
Australia?
(2) How much
funding is attached to the 72 per cent of the above species and communities
with recovery plans in this budget?
(3) What efforts are being made to capture the 28 per
cent of species and communities without recovery plans?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. The following answer is provided on behalf of the
Minister for Environment.
(1) There are 678 threatened species listed under the Biodiversity
Conservation Act 2016. There are 65 threatened ecological
communities managed as environmentally sensitive areas under the Environmental
Protection Act 1986.
(2) Recovery
plans provide guidance on recovery actions to the Department of Biodiversity,
Conservation and Attractions and other organisations. In DBCA, many actions are
taken across multiple species and locations—for example, feral animal
control—therefore, it is not possible to identify funding allocated to
the species specific activities under recovery plans.
In 2020–21, approximately
$5.7 million was expended on development and implementation of approved
biodiversity management programs, including recovery plans for threatened
species and ecological communities, as part
of service 6, conserving habitats, species and ecological communities. It is
anticipated that a similar level of expenditure will be incurred over
the forward estimates.
(3) Development of recovery plans is prioritised for
threatened species and ecological communities when there are significant
complexities in conservation planning arising from multiple significant
threats, occurrence across multiple land tenures, large numbers of
stakeholders and social, cultural or economic significance.
All
threatened species and ecological communities, regardless of whether they have
a recovery plan, are considered in conservation planning for on-ground
operational activities and when advice is provided to stakeholders, including
on development proposals, native vegetation clearing applications and in
environmental impact assessments.