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Objective

Recommendation

Key issues

Actions taken

Objective

To enhance biodiversity conservation.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the Department of Environment and Land Management and the Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries undertake a programme to assess systematically the adequacy of the reserve system, with a view to conserving more fully the range of biodiversity in terrestrial and marine environments.

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 some progress in addressing the recommendation on the adequacy of the reserve system since the previous SoE Report (1997), including the following.

• In compliance with the National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia's Biodiversity, Tasmania is committed to establishing a reserve system over land, freshwater and marine systems which is comprehensive, adequate and representative (CAR) of the natural elements it protects.
   
• A good framework for assessing and improving the reserve system now exists with the mapping of bioregional boundaries, ecological communities and priority species. Progress is also occurring in defining subregions in order to further refine the reserve system.
   
• There are now agreements in relation to priorities for forests through the Janis Reserve Criteria and agreement for non-forest priorities.
   
• In 1998, the Commonwealth, States, Territories endorsed the Guidelines for Establishing the National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas - ANZECC Task Force on Marine Protected Areas 1998. In 2001, the Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment released the DPIWE 2000. On 14 August 2001 the Minister for Primary Industries, Water and Environment, issued a reference to the Resource Planning and Development Commission to conduct an inquiry and recommend to the Minister on the establishment of a marine protected area within the Davey and Twofold Shelf marine bioregions.
   
• DPIWE released the report in 2000 entitled 'A Wetlands Strategy for Tasmania - Draft Discussion Paper'.