The Conference of the Parties, in decision VII/30, annex II, decided to establish a provisional framework for goals and targets in order to clarify the 2010 global target adopted by decision VI/26, help assess the progress towards the target, and promote coherence among the programmes of work of the Convention. Parties and Governments are invited to develop their own targets with this flexible framework. Please provide relevant information by responding to the questions and requests contained in the following tables.
Goal 1
Promote the conservation of the biological diversity of ecosystems, habitats and biomes.
Target 1.1
At least ten percent of each of the world’s ecological regions
effectively conserved
I) National target: Has a national target been established corresponding to the global target above?
Protect the components of biodiversity. (GOALS 1 – 3 of the 2010 Strategy)
Australia’s key statement of national objectives to protect biodiversity is the The National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia's Biological Diversity. More about the Strategy.
National Objectives and Targets for Biodiversity Conservation
The National Objectives and Targets for Biodiversity Conservation 2001-2005 (NOTs) were written to augment the National Strategy. They set objectives and targets for ten priority outcomes for the Australian, State and Territory governments to collectively achieve. These cover (1) native vegetation retention, (2) freshwater ecosystems, (3) marine and estaurine ecosystems, (4) invasive alien species, (5) dryland salinity, (6) ecologically sustainable grazing, (7) impacts of climate change on biodiversity, (8) ethnobiological knowledge, (9) knowledge and access to information, and (10) institutional reform. More about the National Objectives.
National Standards and Targets Framework In addition to the National Objectives and Targets for Biodiversity Conservation, Australia has substantially moved towards specific, time bound and measurable targets in regional planning under the (National Action Plan on Salinity and Water Quality (NAP) and the Natural Heritage Trust (NHT) (see more at http://www.nrm.gov.au/monitoring/index.html). The National Standards and Targets Framework sets out the national outcomes that investment in natural resource management is aiming to achieve (http://www.deh.gov.au/nrm/index.html). These are aspirational targets and sit over “10 matters for target” designed to assist delivery of these outcomes at the regional level. Regional plans must include iteratively developed time-bound measurable targets that relate primarily to resource condition, which should be achieved within a 10-20 year time frame. Baselines (either previously established or to be established as part of a regional plan) are an essential component of the national NRM standards and targets and monitoring and evaluation frameworks.
National outcomes are aspirational statements about desired national natural resource outcomes, and include for example, minimization of the impacts of salinity on land and water resources, maintenance or rehabilitation of biodiversity, maintenance of ecosystem services, further development of sustainable production systems etc.
Ten resource condition matters for targets include;
Land salinity.
Soil condition.
Native vegetation communities' integrity.
Inland aquatic ecosystems integrity (rivers and other wetlands).
Estuarine, coastal and marine habitats integrity.
Nutrients in aquatic environments.
Turbidity / suspended particulate matter in aquatic environments.
Surface water salinity in freshwater aquatic environments.
Significant native species and ecological communities.
Ecologically significant invasive species.
Management action matters for targets include;
Critical assets identified and protected.
Water allocation plans developed and implemented.
Improved land and water management practices adopted.
Directions for the National Reserve System
Broad targets for the protection of ecological communities within biogeographic regions are established in the publication Directions for theNational Reserve System – A Partnership Approach. (see http://www.deh.gov.au/parks/nrs/index.html)
The Australian Government through the National Reserve System Program of the Natural Heritage Trust assists the States, Territories and non-government organisations in establishing protected areas, particularly in priority bioregions and areas containing under represented ecological communities.
The “Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia” (IBRA) is the primary mechanism for the development of the National Reserve System (NRS). The division of the Australian continent into regions is based on natural boundaries, rather than State or Territory borders. The 85 biogeographic regions are defined by the major ecosystems present in each region and reflect patterns in geology, landform, soils, vegetation, fauna and climate1
The IBRA is a cooperative approach by all nature conservation agencies to define the ecological patterns of the Australian continent. It has provided an important stratification of Australia’s natural environment, given absence of continental scale ecosystem or vegetation mapping, and the strong relationship between the location of Australia’s biota and the physical environmental parameters included in the IBRA. IBRA regionalisation has been used to indicate gaps in the reserve system, and as a framework for addressing the protection of native ecosystems under ‘comprehensiveness’ categories used by the NRS.
Major geomorphic units within the bioregions have also been delineated as sub-regions to a detailed scale in many jurisdictions. Because of the strong relationship between land use and the sub-regions, this provides a useful stratification for addressing threatening processes to native biota and the representativeness of the NRS, i.e. addressing ecosystems across their geographic range.
The National Land and Water Resources Audit report, Australian Terrestrial Biodiversity Assessment 2002, concluded that 46 of the 85 bioregions had less than 10% of their areas in reserves, 16 bioregions had less than 2% and 2 had no protected areas. A considerable number of protected areas have been added to the reserve system since then and a review of protected area status of the bioregions and sub-regions is underway using the Collaborative Australian Protected Area Database (CAPAD).
Australia’s Criteria and Indicators of Sustainable Forest Management
The “Framework of Regional Level Criteria and Indicators of Sustainable Forest Management in Australia” (The Framework) uses the internationally recognised Montreal Process criteria and indicators to report on all areas of forest in Australia. The criteria agreed by the Montreal Process and adopted in the Australian Framework cover:
effective legal, institutional and economic frameworks
The Framework reflects Australia’s National Forest Policy Statement (1992), and is an integral part of the Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) process. The Framework was comprehensively reported against, for the first time, in Australia’s State of the Forest Report 2003 (see http://www.affa.gov.au/content/output.cfm?ObjectID=1F434DF7-3882-42C6-9BD9F1ED1336D03E&contType=outputs.
II) National targets for specific programmes of work: If such national target(s) ha(s)(ve) been established, please indicate here, and give further details in the box(es).
Programme of work
Yes
No
Details
Agricultural
X
Inland water
X
Not based explicitly on CBD Program of Work: National Objectives and Targets for Biodiversity Conservation 2001-2005 (see Target 1.1 above)
Recognised as a priority in Directions for the National Reserve System and incorporated in agreed targets as outlined above.
Marine and coastal
X
Not based explicitly on CBD Program of Work:
National Objectives and Targets for Biodiversity Conservation 2001-2005 (see Target 1.1 above)
Dry and subhumid land
X
Not based explicitly on CBD Program of Work:
National Objectives and Targets for Biodiversity Conservation 2001-2005 (ref especially parts 1 “Native Vegetation and Terrestrial Ecosystems”, 4 “Invasive Species 5 “Dryland Salinity” and 6 “Ecologically Sustainable Grazing”(see Target 1.1 above).
Forest
X
Targets for forest ecosystems and forest oldgrowth have been used in the design of Australia’s forest reserve system. Australia’s State of the Forest report 2003 reports that 13% of Australia’s forests are in conservation reserves and 71% of oldgrowth in Regional Forest Agreement areas are in reserves.
Mountain
X
III) Has the global or national target been incorporated into relevant plans, programmes and strategies?
No
Yes, into national biodiversity strategy and action plan
X (national target)
Yes, into sectoral strategies, plans and programmes
X (regional targets)
Please provide details below.
In relation to c) and b) see 1.1 (I) above)
IV) Please provide information on current status and trends in relation to this target.
See Box II.
V) Please provide information on indicators used in relation to this target.
The development of a set of Resource Condition Indicators is being coordinated by the Australian Government’s Monitoring and Evaluation Working Group (MEWG). The MEWG was established by the “Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council” and contains representatives from each jurisdiction (Australian and State/Territory governments). MEWGContact Details The indicators, when fully developed, will detail the method for monitoring each 'matter for target' set out in the National Framework for Natural Resource Management Standards and Targets. These indicators are being developed primarily to measure the performance of investments made under funding programs such as the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality and the Natural Heritage Trust. At the same time, use of consistent measurement methods will enable the data collected for these indicators to contribute to overall assessments of resource condition.
Regional natural resource management (NRM) bodies will be responsible for making informed decisions about the indicators required for the monitoring necessary in their regions. If, for example, an investment targets salinity reduction in a freshwater environment, the most relevant indicators would likely focus on total dissolved solids or electrical conductivity. (see Resource Condition Indicators)
VI) Please provide information on challenges in implementation of this target.
Targets and Indicators for regional planning are still under development
VII) Please provide any other relevant information.
