Abstract for presentation at Biodiversity Extinction Crisis Conference - A Pacific Response

From the Australian Alps to Atherton (A2A) and beyond – progress in establishing Australia’s first continental scale mountain connectivity conservation initiative

  • Ian Pulsford, Department of Environment and Conservation (NSW), Australia
  • Graeme Worboys, IUCN (The World Conservation Union) World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA Mountains Biome), Australia
  • Andrew Knight, Department of Environment and Conservation (NSW), Australia

    • At the November 2006 meeting of the Environment Protection and Heritage Council of Australia and New Zealand (EPHC), the NSW Minister for the Environment presented a proposal to establish an Australian Alps to Atherton (A2A) Connectivity Conservation Corridor. The proposal was keenly received and Environment Ministers from the Commonwealth, NSW, Queensland, Victoria and the ACT agreed to cooperate and to establish a working group to further develop the concept. A2A is a land use concept that aims to achieve landscape conservation connectivity for more than 2,800 km along the Great Eastern Ranges from the Australian Alps to Atherton Tablelands and beyond. This can be achieved through support of a vision, and leadership by Government and the community. It aims to improve resilience of ecosystems and species to adapt to significant threats such as loss of critical habitats for plants and animals, climate change, changed fire regimes and invasion by pests and weeds. This can be achieved through better coordination and management of knowledge, tools, science, planning and funding - to increase awareness and improve connectivity conservation management across all land tenures. The NSW Environment Trust Fund has allocated $7mill over three years to establish the A2A Initiative in NSW. A business plan, communication and community involvement strategy, and collaborative research partnerships are key strategies required to implement the program. The vision, objectives, principles and key messages for the first steps towards implementation of this ambitious and innovative program are examined. The program will investigate ways to integrate and harness the conservation benefits of a wide range of policies, partnerships and mechanisms including voluntary conservation agreements, stewardship payments, carbon credits, BioBanking, Property Vegetation Planning. It will build on lessons learned from other landscape scale conservation projects.

    Conference Organiser - ICMS Pty Ltd