Australia’s Faunal Extinction Crisis

My Submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Australia’s Faunal Extinction Crisis can be viewed here :  Dr Myfanwy Webb Submission 247.

Resurrecting ecosystems manually should encourage all of the intricate connections within ecosystems and bolster their resilience to threats. I see regrowing bush is like providing necessary new ‘housing developments’ for our populations of animals and plants.

Wallaby (Photographer Myfanwy Webb)

To see a list of all submissions go to Submissions Received By The Committee

“About the Inquiry:

An inquiry into Australia’s Faunal extinction crisis including the wider ecological impact of faunal extinction, the adequacy of Commonwealth environment laws, the adequacy of existing monitoring practices, assessment process and compliance mechanisms for enforcing Commonwealth environmental law, and a range of other matters.

The Terms of Reference are:

Australia’s faunal extinction crisis, including:
a) the ongoing decline in the population and conservation status of Australia’s nearly 500 threatened fauna species;
b) the wider ecological impact of faunal extinction;
c) the international and domestic obligations of the Commonwealth Government in conserving threatened fauna;
d) the adequacy of Commonwealth environment laws, including but not limited to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, in providing sufficient protections for threatened fauna and against key threatening processes;
e) the adequacy and effectiveness of protections for critical habitat for threatened fauna under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999;
f) the adequacy of the management and extent of the National Reserve System, stewardship arrangements, covenants and connectivity through wildlife corridors in conserving threatened fauna;
g) the use of traditional knowledge and management for threatened species recovery and other outcomes as well as opportunities to expand the use of traditional knowledge and management for conservation;
h) the adequacy of existing funding streams for implementing threatened species recovery plans and preventing threatened fauna loss in general;
i) the adequacy of existing monitoring practices in relation to the threatened fauna assessment and adaptive management responses;
j) the adequacy of existing assessment processes for identifying threatened fauna conservation status;
k) the adequacy of existing compliance mechanisms for enforcing Commonwealth environment law; and
l) any related matters.”