Submission to the Senate inquiry into our faunal extinction crisis

While Australia is renowned for its unique and varied biodiversity, our ‘megadiverse’ landscapes are losing mammal species at a rate faster than anywhere else in the world. NRM Regions Australia recently made a submission to the Senate’s ‘Environment and Communications References Committee Inquiry’ into Australia’s faunal extinction crisis. The aim of this submission is to highlight the crucial role that NRM organisations play in conserving our biodiversity assets. The integrated approach to landscape management that has been practiced under the NRM model for decades has enabled regional NRM bodies to address land and water management practices and deal with other threatening processes such as loss of vegetation, weed and feral animal impacts. These actions, which involve community and a range of land managers, are vital in protecting habitat at a landscape scale.

Australia’s declining biodiversity decline demands attention, particularly when faced with the challenges of climate change, a growing population and greater global competition for diminishing resources. Without the national ‘infrastructure’ provided by NRM regions many of our landscape-scale threatened species projects could not be delivered. To download a copy of the submission, click here.