15.Endangered species and communities
The ability of native species to be maintained in a landscape depends on the quality, quantity and connectivity of its preferred habitat. The intention of this target is to conserve endangered species and communities through recovery plans, action plans and mitigation of key threatening processes.
The measurable target
The target relates to the 2008 baseline of 17 endangered species, 14 vulnerable species and two endangered communities in the ACT. Real progress over the long term would see species and communities gradually becoming more secure and being taken off the list. If species (or communities) are allocated three points for extinct, two for endangered and one for vulnerable, the 2008 ‘conservation listing’ score for the ACT is 50. The target is to reduce this to 40 by 2030 through any combination of movement in conservation status.
| OUTCOMES | OUTPUTS | ACTIONS |
|---|---|---|
|
Intermediate Trajectories established that show that endangered species and communities are becoming less threatened (2015) Long-term The conservation listing status of endangered species and communities improves by 20% (2030) |
Related plans Threatened species actions plans ACT Vertebrate Pest Management Strategy ACT Weeds Strategy ACT Lowland Woodland Conservation Strategy ACT Aquatic Species and Riparian Zone Conservation Strategy ACT Lowland Grassland Conservation Strategy |
Foundation Assess the potential impact of climate change on endangered species and communities and the options for mitigation On-ground Identify and enhance priority habitat Establish species re-introductions or breeding programs if required Publicise the state and recovery of endangered species and communities Develop formal provisions that require any loss of endangered species habitat or communities to be fully offset Develop specific criteria that itemise prohibitions and restrictions on land use change in endangered species habitat Continue development, implementation and revision of threatened species action plans and conservation strategies Monitor the habitat of endangered species and communities to identify changes in condition Assess and address threats to species or communities that are in decline and in danger of becoming vulnerable Assess the combined impact of pest animals, weeds and climate change on biodiversity including the impact of extreme events such as drought, climate change and fire for inclusion in the next review of strategies and action plans for threatened species and communities |
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