Biodiversity Symposium Special Issue

Biodiversity Papers

Victoria’s FFG Act: a Perspective from the
Department of Sustainability and Environment

Adrian Moorrees

Abstract
This paper discusses the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 from the perspective of the Department of Sustainability and Environment.
(The Victorian Naturalist 120 (6) 2003, 214-216)

Back to Table of Contents

Has the FFG Act Achieved What We Hoped?

Phillip Sutton

Abstract
This paper discusses the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act from its introduction in 1988 to the present, its successes, its failures and future directions.
(The Victorian Naturalist 120 (6) 2003, 216-223)

Back to Table of Contents

The FFG Act 1988 (Vic) – a Toothless Tiger Quoll?

Andrew Walker

Abstract
This paper provides a short summary of the FFG Act and sets out the key problems with the Act and its implementation to date. Then LFF’s recommendations for reform of the FFG Act are summarised.This paper is not, and is not intended to constitute, legal advice. Comments are of a general nature only. Readers of this paper should not act or refrain from acting on the basis of this paper without first obtaining specific legal advice.
(The Victorian Naturalist 120 (6) 2003, 224-237)

Back to Table of Contents

Implementation of the Threatened Species Conservation Act in NSW

Graham Wilson

Abstract
The Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (TSC Act) came into effect, in NSW, on 1 January 1996. The TSC Act provides broad protection to threatened plants and animals, including invertebrates, but not fish, which are protected under the Fisheries Management Act 1984 (FM Act). The Act also allows for the listing of endangered ecological communities and endangered populations of species which are not otherwise endangered, and provides legal protection to threatened species either from direct harm to individuals or from damage to their habitat. An independent scientific committee is established to determine the lists of threatened species and threatening processes. The Act also provides for the preparation of Recovery Plans and Threat Abatement Plans within specified timeframes, integrates threatened species assessment into the assessment provisions of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act), and includes other conservation measures. This paper explains major provisions of the TSC Act and provides summary information in regard to its implementation. Amendments to the TSC Act in 2002 on the basis of a review by a Joint Select Committee of the NSW Parliament in 1997 are briefly discussed. As many of the protective measures within the TSC Act are given effect through provisions within the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 (NPW Act) these provisions are also considered. (
The Victorian Naturalist 120 (6), 2003, 237-248).

Back to Table of Contents

The Victorian FFG Act and the Conservation of Communities
and Lesser Known Groups of Biota

Tom May, Tim New, Neville Walsh and Alan Yen

Abstract
The Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act was designed to protect plants and animals through listing of individual threatened taxa as well as listing of communities and potentially threatening processes. This paper is a review of what the Act has achieved for non-vascular plants, fungi and invertebrates and also includes an assessment of the value of community listing as a surrogate for individual taxon listing in these highly diverse groups. It is suggested that listing all threatened taxa in these groups, which include numerous undescribed taxa, may not be the most practical strategy for ensuring their conservation. These lesser known groups may be better served by first listing a smaller number of better known threatened taxa, with emphasis on selected focal groups, while at the same time putting more resources into listing communities. The linkage between Department of Sustainability and Environment threat lists and the Flora and Fauna Guarantee list are discussed, as is a proposal for a comprehensive inventory of Victorian biota. Suggestions on where the Act could be directed in the future are outlined.
(The Victorian Naturalist 120 (6), 2003, 248-260)

Back to Table of Contents