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Objective

Recommendation

Key issues

Actions taken

Objective

To protect threatened species and their habitats.

Recommendation

It is recommended that:

1. as an interim measure pending the fulfilment of part (ii) of this recommendation, the Land Use Planning Review Panel, in accordance with section 34(2) of the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993 directs that all planning schemes be amended to include maps of critical habitat as determined under the Threatened Species Protection Act 1995, and requires local government, upon receipt of an application to undertake works on land involving remnant native vegetation that is identified, either wholly or partly, as critical habitat, to refer the matter of protecting that habitat to the Director of National Parks and Wildlife;and that
    
2. the State Policy on the Protection of Remnant Native Vegetation recommended in this State of the Environment report (Recommendation 13) includes maps of critical habitat as determined under the Threatened Species Protection Act 1995, and requires local government, upon receipt of an application to undertake works on land involving remnant native vegetation that is identified, either wholly or partly, as critical habitat, to refer the matter of protecting that habitat to the Director of National Parks and Wildlife.
    

Key issues

This information is available from Volume 2 of the last SoE Report (SDAC 1997), which can be downloaded. The final objective, final recommendation, and a summary of key management actions are detailed below.

Actions taken

There has been limited progress made in addressing this recommendation since the previous SoE Report (1997), including the following.

• As noted in the 1997 Recommendation 13, remnant vegetation in Tasmania is now being managed and protected through a package rather than as a policy (see State Policy on the Protection of Remnant Native Vegetation Recommendation for more detail).
   
• There is currently no listed critical habitat, although work is progressing on identifying these habitats. Habitat mapping has been completed for all known threatened species and entered in a database, and threatened fauna manuals have also been prepared.
   
• There has been a significant increase in referrals to the Threatened Species Unit from councils assessing development applications, reflecting an increased awareness. However, there has been no directive that all planning schemes be amended to include maps of critical habitat.