Introduction to Protecting Victoria's Environment - Biodiversity 2036 by DELWP Biodiversity

INTRODUCTION

Victoria’s natural environment is richly diverse, unique and precious. As Victorians, we treasure the environment not just for its own sake, but for its indispensable value to us as humans.

At one level we thrill to its beauty, grandeur and complexity; at a more basic level, we rely on it for our existence – it provides the raw materials that we require for our physical survival and material prosperity. Given the demonstrable health benefits of connecting with a healthy natural environment, we need to ensure all Victorians can share in these. A healthy natural environment is therefore good for all of us, and something to cherish and protect. Rich though it remains today, Victoria’s natural environment is not as healthy as it once was. Our biodiversity – the wonderful tapestry and multiplicity of plant and animal life that makes up our natural environment – has been under sustained pressure since the first colonists arrived in Victoria almost two centuries ago. Many indigenous native species have been lost, as successive generations of Victorians have exploited the natural environment in pursuit of economic development. In recent decades, as we have become more conscious of the importance of biodiversity, the rate of clearing of terrestrial native vegetation has slowed. Yet, despite our efforts to look after what we have, many indigenous plant and animal species in Victoria remain under threat from the cumulative actions of humans. We are continuing to lose biodiversity, and our current level of remedial effort is not sufficient to make up for these losses. It is clear that we need to: • radically increase our efforts and investment in actions such as private land conservation, and • take stronger action to reduce threats to biodiversity on public land. We also need to increase the effectiveness of our actions – firstly to slow and halt the loss of biodiversity, and then begin to rebuild – before further irreversible losses occur. We know we can’t save everything, because the impacts of climate change are upon us. But with a concerted effort we can give our native plants and animals the best opportunity to survive and adapt into the future. We also need to increase our efforts to ensure that future generations of Victorians inherit a healthy environment that continues to provide the same or improved economic and social benefits. Biodiversity has been a key component of government programs in Victoria for many years, and much has been achieved. But we are not yet where we want to be when it comes to protecting our natural heritage. Now, as in the past, it is necessary to update, renew and modernise policies and strategies in response to continuing changes in our built and natural environments, and to make improvements in our knowledge base.

A renewed plan is needed to ensure that all Victorians can enjoy the benefits of a healthy natural environment now and into the future. The Victorian Government’s draft biodiversity plan, Protecting Victoria’s Environment – Biodiversity 2036, will assist Victorians to recognise the multiple values that biodiversity provides, and to identify the tools, tasks and roles needed to ensure that Victoria’s natural environment is healthy and positioned to cope with the effects of future population growth and climate change.

What is biodiversity? Biodiversity encompasses all the components of the living world: the numbers and variety of plants, animals and other living things, including micro-organisms, across our land, rivers, coast and ocean. It includes the diversity of their genetic information, the habitats and ecosystems within which they live, and their connections with other life forms and the natural world. Indigenous biodiversity refers to the living things that originate in and are characteristic of a particular place – such as Victoria.

Fulfilling national and international commitments to biodiversity Protecting Victoria’s Environment – Biodiversity 2036 represents the Victorian Government’s commitment to national and international biodiversity programs and agreements. In 2010 the 196 signatory nations to the Convention on Biological Diversity, including Australia, adopted the international Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020. This provides an overarching framework on biodiversity for all partners engaged in biodiversity management and policy development. One of the commitments of the Convention for signatory nations is that the international framework be translated into national biodiversity strategies and action plans within two years. In 2010 Australia delivered on this commitment by producing the Biodiversity Conservation Strategy 2010-2030. The vision and goals of Protecting Victoria’s Environment – Biodiversity 2036 are consistent with those of the Convention (see adjacent panel) and of the Australian Strategy. The draft plan also addresses the three main priorities of the Australian Strategy, and will establish priorities for action and clear outcomes and targets that will support the Government to align its specific priorities and investments within a broader national context. Protecting Victoria’s Environment – Biodiversity 2036 is also consistent with the relevant sections of the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (FFG Act), which requires the preparation of a Flora and Fauna Guarantee strategy. That requirement is currently fulfilled by an existing Biodiversity Strategy, which was prepared in 1997. Once Protecting Victoria’s Environment – Biodiversity 2036 is finalised in 2016, it will replace the 1997 Biodiversity Strategy, and become the Flora and Fauna Guarantee strategy for the purposes of the FFG Act.

The five strategic goals of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity are to: • Address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss by mainstreaming biodiversity across government and society. • Reduce the direct pressures on biodiversity and promote sustainable use. • Improve the status of biodiversity by safeguarding ecosystems, species and genetic diversity. • Enhance the benefits to all from biodiversity and ecosystem services. • Enhance implementation through participatory planning, knowledge management and capacity building.

Making the case for biodiversity Victoria’s biodiversity is an important part of our identity We take pride in our unique flora and fauna. We value things that are important to our personal or social identity, such as iconic species or sites of historical or cultural significance. We identify with landscapes and the plants and animals they contain, such as the Dandenongs, the Grampians, Port Phillip Bay, Red Gum plains, the Murray River, our coasts and the High Country. Traditional Owners attach great cultural significance to the plants, animals and medicines that feature in their Dreamtime and creation stories. Many of life’s principles and lessons have been transmitted across generations through stories, songs and dances about significant species and their living cultural landscapes. It is a basic human right for Traditional Owners to practise their culture, which relies on good management of our biodiversity. The Victorian Government’s Aboriginal Inclusion Framework recognises and respects the value of Aboriginal knowledge and culture, and commits to deliver better outcomes for Aboriginal Victorians.

Victoria’s natural environment is fundamental to the wellbeing of every Victorian We connect with nature in a myriad of ways. We enjoy the benefits of nature and are enriched by the process of caring for it. Many Victorians spend much of their recreation time in the outdoors – playing sport, walking, hiking, climbing, sailing, fishing or just relaxing in the splendid natural surrounds of the bush, the coast or a local urban park.

Being in nature is good for our minds and bodies There is much evidence to show that time spent in natural spaces is linked to positive long-term health outcomes. These outcomes include hastening recovery from surgery, lowering blood pressure, strengthening the immune system, reducing stress levels, mitigating the symptoms of hyperactivity disorder, and helping to mitigate disease. Playing in natural environments is essential to our children’s development. Numerous studies have demonstrated the importance of nature play for development of core skills, including observation, problem-solving, reasoning, creativity and imagination, along with emotional and intellectual development and the acquisition of gross motor skills, such as agility, coordination, and balance.

Scientists believe that phytoplankton (singlecelled marine plants) contribute between 50 to 85 per cent of the oxygen in the earth’s atmosphere.

Victoria’s natural environment is our biggest tourist attraction

Victoria’s biodiversity is the foundation of our healthy ecosystems

The beauty and function of our ecosystems and our unique plants and animals underpin the billions of dollars that tourism contributes to Victoria’s economy. In 2013-14, tourism was worth an estimated $20.6 billion to the economy, and employed approximately 206,000 people, many of them in regional areas. Nature-based tourism visitors represented 70 per cent of all international overnight visitors to the state in 2013-14, and approximately 4.3 million day trips were undertaken to and within Victoria by domestic nature-based visitors in the same period. For example, in 2012 it was estimated that the Little Penguins at Phillip Island contributed $125 million to the state economy, with half of that spent in the Bass Coast area. Aboriginal cultural tourism is also expanding to meet the growing international demand for Aboriginal cultural experiences and products.

Victoria’s natural environment is fundamental to the wellbeing of every Victorian. It is both diverse and unique, with its own mix of plants, animals, soils, seas, waterways and habitats that function together as ecosystems.

Biodiversity can help reduce the impacts of climate change, not only by sequestering carbon

At a basic level, a healthy environment provides Victorians with vital life-sustaining resources, and it underpins many of the productive activities that generate value for Victorians.

Vegetation, soils, rivers and wetland habitats can play major roles in slowing run-off from catchments to reduce floods. Coastal habitats can be managed to help address the effects of rising sea levels and increased storm surges. In towns and cities, we can use trees and shrubs around buildings and in public open spaces to provide shade and shelter, thus reducing energy demands for cooling and insulation.

Fact Victoria’s coastal waters are part of The Great Southern Reef. The reef spans more than 71,000 square kilometres as a network of small reefs and marine habitats that have been identified as a ‘biodiversity hot-spot’. The reef supports many fisheries and tourism attractions that contribute billions of dollars to the Australian economy each year.

Healthy, functioning ecosystems provide humans with “ecosystem services” that result in public benefits such as clean air and water, productive soils, natural pest control, pollination, flood mitigation and carbon sequestration. Our ecosystems also provide us with food (seafood, crops, wild foods), raw materials (timber, grazing, fertilizers), genetic resources, pharmaceuticals, and contribute to waste decomposition and detoxification. They provide essential “green” infrastructure services to society at low cost.

Ecosystem services is a term that defines the important benefits that flow to humans from a healthy ecosystem. In the absence of those services our society would suffer. For example, healthy biodiversity in water catchments saves us from having to treat water for consumption or use bottled water. Mangroves and seagrass meadows are the nursery for many of our native fish, including those targeted by fishers. The tall wet eucalypt forests of our catchments provide the health benefits of purified air and water at a regional scale, but also make a global contribution to limiting climate change by storing carbon.

Our ‘Natural Capital’ The term “natural capital” is often used to describe the various resources provided by nature that are essential for human survival and economic activity. Natural capital includes minerals, soil, air, water and all living things from which we derive not only material or financial value, but also ecosystem services. Biodiversity is a crucial component of natural capital. Victoria’s agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors, which directly rely for their existence on natural capital, contribute around $8 billion, or 2.8 per cent, to annual Gross State Product. Such sectors are exposed to declines in natural capital, where substitutes cannot be found or are more costly. In the water sector, for example, if natural water purification and flood protection benefits were diminished or lost, they would need to be replaced by built capital infrastructure, resulting in an increase in water bills for customers. Other sectors that may also draw heavily on our natural capital more indirectly include financial and insurance services, health care and social assistance, and accommodation and food services.

Natural capital and the business sector “National Australia Bank recognises that all companies are dependent on ecosystem services, either through their supply chains, around their operating sites or via their customers. We see that managing natural value includes the economic valuing of ecosystem services and the natural environment – that is, recognising impact and dependency on biodiversity and ecosystem services and accounting for them within traditional business frameworks and the way we do business. This is important for the sustainability of our business and economic systems. NAB has been investigating these issues and is starting to explore how we can review our business models. And for these reasons National Australia Bank endorses the Natural Capital Declaration.” Cameron Clyne, former CEO NAB The Natural Capital Declaration (NCD) is a finance sector initiative, endorsed at CEO-level, to integrate natural capital considerations into loans, equity, fixed income and insurance products, as well as in accounting, disclosure and reporting frameworks.

As with any capital assets, the condition of environmental assets is critical to their functioning. Natural capital can be eroded by external impacts such as pollution and climate change, which can degrade the condition of ecosystems and their ability to generate or support the provision of essential products and services. Unlike other capital assets, however, many of our environmental assets exist in complex ecosystems, and the services they provide are either very costly or impossible to recover if the assets are degraded or lost. Investment in the sustainable management of our natural capital therefore represents a least-cost way of ensuring that we can continue to enjoy its benefits into the future. Investment in the protection of Victoriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s natural capital will also be an important aspect of our response to climate change.

The concept of investing to protect natural capital was explored in a report1 by the Future Economy Group.2 The modelled scenarios suggest that in the long-term, shifting investment from environmentally damaging industries towards less resource intensive sectors of the economy is likely to result in economic benefit, and greater prosperity and wellbeing for Victorians. The Future Economy Group estimated that, by 2028, healthier natural capital could provide between $15 billion and $36 billion in economic benefits for Victoria. On the other hand, continuing without deliberate action could result in an economic loss of between $16 billion and $78 billion.

Valuation of benefits from Victoriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Parks Examples of industry benefits and potential exposure to decline in natural capital. Tourism: $1.4 billion in spending per year is associated with visits by tourists to parks in Victoria. This generates $1 billion gross value added to the state economy and 14,000 jobs. Health benefits: It is estimated that visits to parks save Victoria between $80 million and $200 million per year from avoidance of disease, mortality and lost productivity. Carbon sequestration: Victoriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s network of land-based parks store at least 270 million tonnes of carbon and marine parks store at least 850,000 tonnes. Water purification: Avoided costs are estimated at $33 million per year in metropolitan areas and $50 million per year in non-metropolitan areas. Flood protection: $46 million per year from avoided infrastructure costs. Coastal protection: $24 million-$56 million per year from avoided costs.

1 Nous Group (2014) The Future Economy Project: The economic impact of diminishing natural capital in Victoria. A report for The Future Economy Group, May 2014. 2 The Future Economy group comprises environment and business leaders from organisations including Bank Australia, VicSuper, Sustainable Business Australia, Australian Ethical Investment, Whole Kids Organic Foods, Pacific Hydro, Intrepid Travel, Third Ecology and Environment Victoria.

Figure 1 attempts to depict these estimated outcomes, using the Nous Group economy figures as examples of how restored natural capital and economic prosperity are linked. More recently, a CSIRO Australian National Outlook report3 has similarly predicted strong economic benefits if policies that mobilise technology and promote reduced pressure on the environment are appropriately pursued. Estimates of future economic impacts are only ever based on modelled scenarios. Specific figures cited are therefore indicative only but highlight the scale and relationship between natural capital and the Victorian economy.

There are multiple ways to rebuild natural capital, but the best and cheapest is to support and improve natural systems and environments, rather than trying recreate them from scratch. As demonstrated in the conceptual diagram in Figure 1, without deliberate action we risk our future prosperity. By increasing our efforts and by expanding our investment, we can reap the rewards.

Figure 1: Choosing a new trajectory for Victoria’s natural capital and prosperity

B = REBUILDING OF NATURAL CAPITAL

A = OUR CURRENT STATE

Natural capital Declining Improving

Significant challenges for Victoria’s biodiversity, fresh water, land and soil, forests and vegetation, oceans, materials and climate. A relatively strong economy with $295 billion in output

Providing an extra $15-$36 billion to the Victorian economy

Past actions

Now

C = A DECLINE IN NATURAL CAPITAL That puts Victoria’s future prosperity at risk costing $16 - $78 billion to the Victorian economy

Future

3 Hatfield-Dodds et al (2015) Australia is ‘free to choose’ economic growth and falling environmental pressures. Nature 527, 49–53.

VICTORIA’S CHALLENGE

Facing the challenge Biodiversity gives us clean water, productive soils, oxygen and other essential resources for our existence and material prosperity. But as a society, we tend to under-value the benefits that we derive from biodiversity – and the risks posed to it by our actions. Collectively, we have allowed the continued decline of biodiversity for a variety of reasons: • The immediate cost of avoiding harm to the natural environment is sometimes perceived to be too high. • The potential serious impacts of harming the environment are thought to be too far in the future. • Biodiversity has always been a free service, and therefore is taken for granted. • Biodiversity loss may be too abstract a concept for some to grasp, or its incremental impacts too obscure to see. In summary, while most of us happily enjoy the benefits of biodiversity, many are not fully conscious of its importance, or are not prepared to share the cost of – and responsibility for – sustaining it. This phenomenon has resulted in a continuing legacy of biodiversity loss in Victoria, with future generations denied the opportunity to see 18 species of mammal, two birds, one snake, three freshwater fish, six invertebrates and 51 plants that have become extinct since European settlement. Today, between one quarter and one third of all of Victoria’s terrestrial plants, marine, freshwater and terrestrial birds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals, along with numerous invertebrates and ecological communities, are considered threatened with extinction. Natural environmental processes, such as fire, grazing and water regimes, have at times undergone significant changes due to human requirements for urban, rural and coastal development, agriculture, and to protect people and property. We have inherited a legacy of loss, degradation and fragmentation of habitats across our state. The effects of this legacy will continue to be experienced, creating more pressure on species and increasing their vulnerability to other threats, such as pest plants and animals. Native terrestrial habitats on private land have declined to the extent that our existing network of conservation reserves cannot sustain a healthy environment on its own.

These impacts on biodiversity that we see today are the results of many individual decisions and actions, or inactions, over almost two centuries. Under-investment in planning, management, protection, evaluation and reporting for biodiversity and the natural environment has been conspicuous. Even today, decision makers in government, business and land management too often fail to fully consider the impacts of their actions on biodiversity – and are not routinely required to do so. Victoria is the most intensively settled and cleared state in Australia. Since the introduction of Victoria’s native vegetation regulations in 1989, rates of clearing have reduced and regulated clearing is now avoided, minimised and/or offset. Despite this we are still allowing the extent and condition of the state’s remaining areas of native vegetation to shrink by approximately 4000 habitat hectares each year4. This trajectory is largely the result of uses and threats operating outside of the regulatory framework. These include routine management activities on private and public land which, although necessary, do incur a local environmental impact. As shown in Figure 2, these impacts taken together are significant and far exceed the impact of regulated clearing.

‘Habitat hectares’ is a method for assessing native vegetation, in terms of both quality and extent. Quality is assessed by scoring habitat attributes at a site in comparison to a reference point (benchmark) for the relevant vegetation type - this provides a ‘habitat score’. The number of habitat hectares of a stand of native vegetation is determined by multiplying the score by the area of vegetation. For example, 10 hectares with a habitat score of 100 per cent is counted as 10 ‘habitat hectares’, whereas 10 hectares of vegetation with a score’ of 50 per cent would be scored as five ‘habitat hectares’.

4 2015 qualitative update of the 2008 Net Gain approximation report (DSE (2008) Native Vegetation net gain accounting first approximation report. Department of Sustainability and Environment, East Melbourne).

While native vegetation is only one component of biodiversity, it is an important and telling indication for the broader decline in Victoria’s biodiversity. We are still experiencing a decline in habitat condition (e.g. due to pest plants and animals, fire regimes and reduction in old growth forests). This in turn impacts on the persistence of species, which are also affected by localised threats such as introduced predators and diseases. The declining trend for species populations is worse than for habitat, because potential habitat is not always occupied (or readily re-occupied), or populations may be reduced to such low numbers that they cannot recover from additional disturbances. This phenomenon is often referred to as the ‘extinction debt’, whereby species populations may continue to decline even after habitat clearing has reduced, due to the legacy of historical clearing and disturbance. Furthermore, because many of our native species are long-lived – their life cycles are measured in tens or hundreds of years – we may not readily observe changes in population sizes. Species that seem to be secure may be failing to reproduce or adapt because of past impacts. For example, longlived trees may survive for many years after reproduction ceases to occur. This means that changes in forest structure may only be seen when the next generation of trees fails to grow. Introduced plants and animals are competing with, or preying on, our native plants and animals, and are a primary cause of biodiversity decline. Pest species also affect the productivity of private land. Weed invasion is the most commonly identified threat to native plants. After habitat loss, predation by introduced species (mostly foxes and feral cats) is regarded as being the major threat to endangered terrestrial native animals. The decline in habitats is occurring on both private and public land but, as shown in Figure 2, is significantly more pronounced on private land. When combined with the impact that legacy clearing has had in terms of creating fragmented and isolated landscapes, it becomes clear that solutions need to focus on the whole of the landscape and not just our parks and reserves.

Public land

GAINS

Private land 0

LOSSES Annual change in habitat hectares

Figure 2: Estimates of relative changes per year of native vegetation in Victoria (from Native Vegetation net gain accounting – see Chapter 8 ‘Better, smarter management of our biodiversity’ for further discussion)5 GAINS

LOSSES GAINS

LOSSES 15,000

-15,000

On-going legacies due to historical impacts (i.e. habitats / populations with insufficient resilience)

Losses due to permitted clearing

Losses detected by satellite imagery (could include some permitted clearing)

Insufficient management of threats on public land

Impacts of controlled management regimes and exemptions on public land

Entitled uses / exemptions (freehold land)

Government programs and general management on crown land

Government programs on freehold land

Voluntary actions on freehold land

Offsets for permitted clearing

5 The gains described in Figure 2 are primarily gains under management not necessarily through permanent protection.

Marine and freshwater environments are under threat from the previously mentioned impacts of climate change and invasive species. More than 100 introduced marine species have become established in Port Phillip Bay after arriving on either domestic or international ships, and now prey on or compete with native species. Both marine and freshwater environments are also threatened by ongoing coastal development and infrastructure, runoff of excessive nutrients and sediments from catchments, high levels of water consumption, altered flow regimes, pollution (including oils, pharmaceuticals and micro-plastics) and overexploitation of marine resources. Along the south-west, Bellarine and Western Port coasts, vegetation is often narrow, fragmented or absent. The health of the Gippsland Lakes has declined with reductions in freshwater flows from catchments, along with increased water salinity caused by the permanent opening of the lakes’ entrance. As our population continues to grow, the increasing demands being placed on our land, freshwater and marine ecosystems are resulting in diminished productivity from Victoria’s environment overall. Without remedial action, there is a risk that our material yields from the environment will decline further and, in the longer term, collapse, with potentially serious consequences for communities, businesses and jobs.

“The economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment, not the other way around.” Gaylord Nelson, a US senator in the 1960s who was integral in the modern environmental movement, and founder of Earth Day.

Reviewing the performance of the current system of biodiversity management The current system does not adequately respond to legacy and current threats, so we continue to see losses of what the Victorian community highly values – our native plants and animals. In developing the new plan it is important to review how the current system (of legislation, protected areas, private land conservation, government agencies, research and community action) performs in addressing the decline of Victoria’s biodiversity. A number of audits, reports and court cases have highlighted specific problems with performance of the current system. Most fundamentally, the current system has not met the objectives of the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 or the previous Victorian biodiversity strategy. A large number of specific issues have been identified, but there are seven overarching issues: • Victoria has a world-class conservation reserve system, but it still needs some improvement. The system is comprehensive and adequate for some biodiversity areas (e.g. the Alps), but other areas (e.g. native grasslands) are still very poorly represented. There is scope for targeted additions and improved management. • Victoria is fortunate to have great community-based programs, such as Landcare, Land for Wildlife, Conservation Management Networks and the multitude of local “friends” groups, that contribute to enhancing our natural environment. However, we have not effectively engaged the whole community on Victoria’s biodiversity challenge. • There has been insufficient investment and effort from all sources to adequately address the legacy of biodiversity loss, and to counter-balance the ongoing losses that occur due to decisions and activities today. The inevitable result has been a reduction of on-ground investment to support community action and a reduced capacity in public land management, including inadequate management of threats from weeds, pests and other introduced animals. Addressing the challenge of biodiversity decline requires a sustained and cost-effective effort that ensures effective land management, alignment of actions and adaptive decision making when change is required. In addition to this, where individuals and businesses benefit from improved biodiversity, it is appropriate that they contribute – currently this does not occur at a level commensurate with the benefits gained or the biodiversity challenge.

• Biodiversity, as an essential component of our natural capital, is not adequately accounted for and managed across the Victorian economy in the same way that other essential capital assets are managed. • A lack of alignment across the biodiversity sector (both government and non-government) has meant that opportunities to work together to deliver the greatest impact from our collective investment and effort have been missed. Decisions are too often made in isolation and without using the complete suite of tools available. What is needed is an approach that ensures that all land and water managers work together to maintain biodiversity, share information, are accountable and support adaptive management. • Dispersed and unclear accountabilities across the conservation sector mean that progress towards overall biodiversity gains is not adequately coordinated and monitored. New approaches to monitoring and information collection will be required to effectively and comprehensively report on progress against the goals proposed in this draft plan. • A lack of action on climate change has increased the risks for the most vulnerable species and populations across landscapes and seascapes. To date, there has not been enough effort to understand how populations and ecological processes are changing, or what capacity species might have to further adapt. Without this understanding, management strategies may be ineffective. Separate reviews of the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 and the Native Vegetation Clearing Regulations are underway in parallel with the development of this draft plan, and the reviews will address these specific issues.

Creating more opportunities for private land While there are clear problems with the current system of biodiversity management there are also opportunities that need greater take-up – for example, opportunities to significantly increase biodiversity gains on private land. Private landholders play an important role in conserving biodiversity, as they manage twothirds of the Victorian landscape. As shown in Figure 2, losses of native vegetation have been greater on private land than on public, mostly because of permitted uses and exemptions from regulations. This draft plan provides us with a real opportunity to turn around this trend and capitalise on the biodiversity conservation opportunities on private land. We need to see an increase in the area and quality of private land managed for conservation, to make up for significant ongoing losses of quality and extent of habitats, and for the legacy of past clearing. Opportunities to secure more biodiversity on private land, and to ensure that terrestrial, riparian and wetland habitats and species are managed to maximise the preservation of biodiversity can be enhanced by: • Clear conservation planning processes to identify the best places to protect, manage, restore and create linkages, so that our efforts are directed where they can make the most difference to biodiversity; • Better, increased and more targeted use of voluntary mechanisms to secure the protection of private land; • Clear standards and codes to support management of private land for conservation outcomes; • Increasing support and incentives from markets and from government investment, including making the most of related markets for carbon and water, and consideration of, for example, tax arrangements; • Supporting significantly increased private and philanthropic sector investment; and • Supporting groups such as Landcare or Conservation Management Networks to make it easier for people to be involved in private land conservation. These opportunities to improve the conservation of biodiversity on private land, and the importance of strengthening the network of biodiversity conservation areas on public and private land, are described later in Chapter 8.

Considering the potential impacts of climate change for Victoria Climate change will bring various challenges for Victoria’s species and populations, such as: • Increased frequency and severity of extreme weather events (e.g. droughts, floods, storms); • More severe fire weather; • Longer, more intense droughts;

We need to fundamentally change the way we plan for and act to manage biodiversity to ensure that we recognise the changing nature of our environment more effectively and the increasing pressures on it from climate change and population growth. It has always been a dynamic system, but now we need a management approach that can respond to change and account for a range of possible futures under climate change.

• Changes in ocean temperatures, currents and ocean acidification (which may affect zooplankton with consequent serious impacts on marine food chains);

There is a need to work closely with the Victorian community to build understanding of this changing context and determine the best way for us to manage Victoria’s biodiversity and support the natural assets that the community values. This is crucial to ensuring that the Victorian community can continue to realise the benefits of a healthy natural environment.

• Changes to freshwater flows, levels and regimes (including wetlands and estuaries);

What we need to do

• Rising sea levels;

• Loss of alpine habitats, reduced diversity of habitats; • Changes to plant growing seasons; • Changes to invertebrate species, including their range, distribution, abundance and seasonality; • Changes in the distributions of other species, and the interactions between them, to the disadvantage of some; • Changes in the range, distribution and impacts of introduced plants and animals, including the introduction of new pests taking advantage of a changed climate; and • Changes to habitat resulting from the flourishing of new invasive species. To date, there has been insufficient effort to understand how populations and ecological processes are changing, or what adaptive capacity species might have to further change. Without this understanding, the effectiveness of management strategies is limited, and Victoria is exposed to a number of risks – to our natural environment, to our economy and to our people. Where knowledge about climate change is limited, ideally we should apply a precautionary approach when managing for its impacts on Victoria’s biodiversity. However, this is likely to be insufficient. Change will occur. We need to be much more pro-active, planning in advance and investing in ‘emergency response’ and ‘resilient landscapes’ scenarios.

As Victorians, we must acknowledge the urgent need to reverse biodiversity decline. We share the risks and rewards of natural resource use, and have the responsibility to manage the consequences of our stewardship for current and future generations. We need to consider the consequences of losing biodiversity and its benefits, and the costs of incremental preemptive investment to protect the environment, against the cost of trying to recover a badly damaged system.

Getting climate ready To help natural areas adapt to a new climate, Victorians need to take action so that biodiversity is “climateready”. For an overview of climate change projections for Victorian regions, some of the expected impacts and how Victorians can become “climate-ready”, refer to Chapter 8 of this draft plan, and see the Victorian Government’s Climate Ready brochures. Also refer to websites such as VicNature 2050. www.vicnature2050.org

A FRESH VISION FOR VICTORIA’S NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

This section presents an outline of the plan’s vision for Victoria’s biodiversity – its goals and objectives, how targets will be set to meet these goals, and key strategic directions for measuring and managing these in the era of climate change.

Halting the rate of biodiversity decline in Victoria is a massive challenge. The Victorian Government must lead and coordinate our overall response to the challenge. However, it cannot succeed in this endeavour alone; it needs all Victorians to be actively and enthusiastically engaged with the protection of our natural environment. To achieve a higher level of involvement

by Victorians, we must first aim to increase our collective understanding and appreciation of the importance of biodiversity to our personal wellbeing and prosperity, and share the benefits of healthy biodiversity more equitably. For this reason, ensuring that individual Victorians value nature highly is seen as a goal in itself, to be pursued in parallel with – and in support of – our overriding goal of a healthy environment.

GOALS

VISION

Vision and goals of Protecting Victoria’s Environment – Biodiversity 2036 VICTORIA’S BIODIVERSITY IS HEALTHY, VALUED AND ACTIVELY CARED FOR

GOAL 1: TO ENCOURAGE MORE VICTORIANS TO VALUE NATURE

GOAL 2: TO ENSURE THAT VICTORIA’S NATURAL ENVIRONMENT IS HEALTHY

Victorians understand that their personal wellbeing and the economic wellbeing of Victoria are dependent on the health of the natural environment.

Victoria has flourishing plant and animal populations, improved habitats and functioning resilient ecosystems.

Looking at a vision of success What would the future look like under a better biodiversity management system? How different, and how much better, could our management of the natural environment be than it is today? Here is an example – a vision – of what future generations of Victorians might see. Victoria is leading Australia in effective biodiversity conservation, and is renowned globally as a role model. The decline in Victoria’s biodiversity has halted. Unauthorised clearing of native vegetation has ceased, and habitat protection, management and restoration programs undertaken by government, business and community organisations – individually and in partnership – have led to the recovery of important populations of threatened species, on land, in waterways and seas. The area of private land under voluntary protection has increased, and significantly adds to the improved parks and reserves system, especially in strategically targeted areas. Protected private land, conservation reserves and other public land (such as roadsides) are managed to protect important species, habitats and ecosystems. Conservation reserves are managed to world’s best practice standards. The community cares deeply for the environment, enjoying the benefits that it provides, and environmental considerations are part of everyday life. Environmental education is an essential part of school curriculums, and children are as environmentally aware as adults, if not more so. Melbourne continues to maintain its status as “world’s most liveable city”, and Victoria’s population enjoys the physical and emotional wellbeing associated with a healthy environment. Both urban and rural dwellers across all sectors of society have access and opportunities to visit natural places, and have daily contact with nature in the places they live and work. So too do the numerous tourists who visit Victoria for its natural beauty and clean air and waters, thus contributing to employment growth in the services sector. Regional and statewide biodiversity targets continue to be revised upwards every ten years and priorities for achieving these are widely known, giving investors in environmental programs a simple way to maximise their effectiveness. Land managers act as stewards of the natural environment, working to not just maintain the natural value of the land, but to improve it. Biodiversity management is integrated across all public and private land, as well as in freshwater and marine environments.

Accounting of our environmental assets is published annually by state and local government alongside economic accounts, and a majority of medium and large businesses report environmental performance. Government and businesses work together to attract investment in key sectors, such as nature-based tourism, and create partnerships to ensure long-term investment in positive environmental outcomes. Businesses have expanded corporate and social responsibility into environmental action, and actively “give back” and invest in the environment. Climate change impacts continue, but community awareness of adaptation to climate change is high, while state and local government and community responses have assisted the management of and adaptation to climate effects. Stormwater and pollution from high rainfall events are managed by improved infrastructure, and all-of-community water efficiency has significantly increased. Soil and land quality remain stable, stream flows and wetlands are maintained by “environmental water” inputs, and better protection of marine reserves and planning regulations reduce impacts on coastal landscapes and marine biodiversity. The agricultural sector remains strong, and a growing social and environmental conscience leads to a greater demand for locally grown primary produce. Agriculture focuses on “clean and green” food production, leading to increasing export markets for this high quality produce.

GOAL 1: TO ENCOURAGE MORE VICTORIANS TO VALUE NATURE CHAPTER

A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT FOR HEALTHY VICTORIANS 1 Encourage all Victorians to connect with nature on a daily basis. 2 Raise the awareness of all Victorians about our State’s natural environment and its cultural and economic importance. 3 Encourage all Victorians to take positive personal action to protect and preserve our natural environment.

CHAPTER

LINKING OUR SOCIETY AND ECONOMY TO THE ENVIRONMENT

e the first state in Australia to adopt the UN System of B Environmental-Economic Accounts as a way to embed environmental considerations into whole-of-government decision making.

5 Develop Environmental-Economic Accounting tools that help Victorian industries move towards environmentally pro-active business opportunities and manage risks associated with the loss of natural capital. 6 Support communities to plan for future climate change scenarios that impact our natural assets.

PRIORITIES

rive the expansion of green infrastructure and the use D of native species, to help create liveable and climateadapted communities that include opportunities to connect with nature.

8 Showcase Victoria’s environmental assets as worldclass nature-based and cultural tourism attractions.

CHAPTER

BIODIVERSITY LEADERSHIP ACROSS GOVERNMENT 21 Apply the principles of Protecting Victoria’s Environment – Biodiversity 2036, and embed early consideration of biodiversity and climate change impacts, in planning and decision-making processes across government.

PRINCIPLES

VALUES

SHARED RESPONSIBILITY

GOAL 2: TO ENSURE THAT VICTORIA’S NATURAL ENVIRONMENT IS HEALTHY CHAPTER

BETTER, SMARTER MANAGEMENT OF OUR BIODIVERSITY

9 Establish a sustainable funding model that leverages and aligns all sources of investment to improve Victoria’s natural environment, and including the use of innovative mechanisms such as crowd funding to supplement other funding sources. 10 P ublish a Regional Biodiversity Investment Prospectus and establish a business community roundtable to effectively communicate key areas in which communities and investors can act to improve biodiversity on public and private land. 11 Develop a holistic biodiversity conservation credit market to leverage future interactions with markets for water and carbon and other public benefits that could be traded between producers and beneficiaries. 12 Investigate options for significantly increasing incentives for private land owners to permanently protect important habitat on their land.

13 Establish a whole-of-government approach to ensure effective and timely response to tackle the most pressing biodiversity threats on public and private land. 14 Deliver excellence in national park and conservation reserve management, and ensure that the system is sufficiently adequate and comprehensive to provide its core function as the backbone of nature conservation in a changing environment. 15 Significantly increase the extent of private land under voluntary permanent protection and managed under conservation stewardship arrangements and improve the management of protected land now and in the future, to strategically complement the protected area system. 16 Ensure that all activities that impact on biodiversity are consistently and transparently reported at statewide level. For those activities that are outside the regulatory system, counter-balance these impacts through investment, management or other means. 17 Significantly increase our collection of targeted data for evidence based and adaptive decision making and information products that underpin reporting. 18 Deliver the most cost-effective biodiversity outcomes by developing world best practice decision support tools to identify areas and activities that will inform state and regional planning and local community decision making. 19 Deliver an effective, best-practice regulatory and legislative framework to protect our habitats for future generations and support the achievement of Protecting Victoria’s Environment – Biodiversity 2036. 20 Reform Victoria’s conservation planning and investment framework to better focus on biodiversity conservation priorities, promote regional partnerships, and report consistently.

BIODIVERSITY LEADERSHIP ACROSS GOVERNMENT 22 Embed Protecting Victoria’s Environment – Biodiversity 2036 into legislation, regularly review the effectiveness of the plan, and report on progress towards targets and goals in collaboration with the Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability every five years.

KNOWLEDGE

CHAPTER

DECISION MAKING

LIVING SYSTEMS

PRIORITIES

INVESTING TOGETHER TO PROTECT OUR ENVIRONMENT

GOALS

VISION

Vision, goals and objectives of Protecting Victoria’s Environment – Biodiversity 2036 VICTORIA’S BIODIVERSITY IS HEALTHY, VALUED AND ACTIVELY CARED FOR GOAL 1: TO ENCOURAGE MORE VICTORIANS TO VALUE NATURE

GOAL 2: TO ENSURE THAT VICTORIA’S NATURAL ENVIRONMENT IS HEALTHY

Victorians understand that their personal wellbeing and the economic wellbeing of Victoria are dependent on the health of the natural environment.

Victoria has flourishing plant and animal populations, improved habitats and functioning resilient ecosystems.

MEASURABLE OBJECTIVES

MEASURING PROGRESS TOWARDS GOALS Increase the number of Victorians spending time enjoying nature.

Halt the overall decline of threatened species and secure the greatest possible number of species in the wild in the face of climate change.

Increase the percentage of Victorian organisations reporting and managing their performance against measures that support the natural environment.

Improve the overall extent and condition of native habitats across terrestrial, coastal, marine and freshwater environments.

Increase the number of Victorians acting to protect nature (e.g. volunteering, making everyday choices).

Improve ecological regimes to best support biodiversity in a changing environment.

CONSULTATION QUESTIONS 1, 2 & 3 What do you think of the proposed goals and objectives of this plan? What might they mean for you personally and professionally? What might they mean for the organisation that you represent?

Goal 1: To encourage more Victorians to value nature To achieve this goal, the Government should seek to: • Increase the number of Victorians spending time enjoying nature. To achieve this, Victorians not only need a desire to get out into nature, but the access and the opportunity to do so. The principles of environmental justice require that all Victorians have access to nature and can experience its benefits. However, some parts of the community may have fewer opportunities than others to enjoy nature. We therefore need to increase opportunities for access to natural places and reduce the barriers to accessing those places. We must enrich the places where Victorians live, work and travel with natural features – such as revegetated public spaces and more native trees and plants in parks, gardens and transport corridors. • Increase the percentage of Victorian organisations reporting and managing their performance against measures that support the natural environment. Victorian businesses must be supported in efforts to innovate and improve their environmental management. The development of corporate tools based on ‘EnvironmentalEconomic Accounting’ (see Chapter 6, Linking our society and the economy to the environment) has the potential to help the business community identify synergies between efficient business practices, and the sustained social and economic benefits that flow from a healthy and biodiverse environment. To encourage more Victorians to be involved in protecting the environment, measures must be taken to ensure they know how and where they can best contribute. • Increase the number of Victorians acting to protect nature (e.g. volunteering, making everyday choices). Making simple decisions in our daily lives, such as responsible pet ownership or improving management and protection on private land, can have lasting positive outcomes for the environment. In addition, volunteering and working in nature to improve the environment creates a feeling of connectedness, of personal attachment to nature, and an overall greater community commitment.

These objectives are expanded upon in Chapter 5, A healthy environment for healthy Victorians, which describes the links between a healthy environment and the health of the general population. Chapter 5 also explores the importance of ensuring that all Victorians have opportunities to learn about and connect with nature, and how they can act to make significant contributions to the protection of Victoria’s environment. The objectives are further explored in Chapter 6, which discusses the importance of increasing the community’s understanding of our environment, the benefits of accounting for our interactions with the environment, and making decisions that address the environmental challenges that Victoria faces.

Measuring progress Collecting conclusive evidence on people’s attitudes towards the environment, and the degree to which they value their environment, is challenging. However, there are indicators that can assist in drawing general conclusions about attitudes, and to monitor changes in these. A potential source of information could be a regular statewide survey, perhaps conducted every five years, which would monitor pro-nature values and behaviours and how they change over time. Indicators could include: • The type of connections Victorians are making with nature; • Who is currently engaged in actions to protect and improve the natural environment; • What actions to protect nature are currently taking place; and • Whether there are any barriers to access and/or actions to protect nature. In addition to a statewide survey, other potential sources of information already collected by DELWP and other agencies can be used to help build a picture of current behaviours and connections with nature and pro-nature values among Victorians. An example is the regular surveys conducted by the Victorian Coastal Council over the past 20 years to gauge the attitudes of Victorians towards marine and coastal values, conditions, threats and responses. These surveys assist in the preparation of the council’s coastal strategies.

Valuable indirect indicators of how Victorians value the environment can also be gleaned. For example, we could usefully include information on: • Numbers of visitations made to Victorian parks and reserves; • The range of experiences that are supported or enhanced by the natural environment; • Volunteering and community participation in the conservation, protection and interpretation of natural environments (this would include the number of people and hours worked in volunteer-based projects); • Numbers of people contributing to information sets as part of “citizen science”; • Areas of private land under covenants or management agreements; and • The number of businesses reporting on environmental performance. Current measures might not provide conclusive evidence of people’s values regarding nature, or of whether this will lead to action. For example, park visitation might increase because of easier to access parks, rather than due to a change in people’s values. However, taken together, they could provide general guidance about the degree to which Victorians value, experience and act to protect nature.

Goal 2: To ensure that Victoria’s natural environment is healthy To achieve this goal, the Government should seek to: • Halt the overall decline of threatened species and secure the greatest possible number of species in the wild in the face of climate change. Victoria has many threatened species that are subject to a wide range of risks, which must be addressed to achieve this objective. Successful conservation of threatened species in the wild requires understanding and management of habitats, ecosystems and the ecological processes that sustain them. Overall success is rarely achieved by individual actions focussing on individual species. We are moving away from the traditional approaches of single-species-at-a-time planning and short-listing of priorities as our primary way of working. While sometimes species require specialised, focussed attention such as that set out in the Zoos Victoria Wildlife Conservation Master Plan, and demonstrated by the work of organisations such as the Australasian Native Orchid Society and the Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater, this approach is not sustainable across all species and will not on its own deliver the overall biodiversity outcome we need. The most effective overall approach is to consider needs and options for all species – to provide secure habitats that contain all the necessary elements for their survival, and that are large enough and connected enough to other areas for multiple species to survive climate change. We can identify the ecosystems and places that can best deliver success, and the most effective actions that people can take in their own areas of interest or responsibility across Victoria (see Goal 1). In seeking to secure species in the face of climate change, we cannot realistically state which or how many threatened plants and animals will be conserved; instead our focus must be on providing the best outcome for the greatest range of species. This approach acknowledges that not everything can be saved; small population sizes, ongoing threats and climate change may mean that some individual populations or even species might not survive. But we will sustain as many as we can.

• Improve the overall extent and condition of native habitats across terrestrial, coastal, marine and freshwater environments. Improving habitat quality can be effective in maintaining the persistence of threatened species, and also in preventing more species from becoming threatened. Such improvements can include:

- Increasing the number, extent and condition of ecosystems protected under secure conservation tenure, on both public and private land and waters;

- Providing more protection to ecosystems that are poorly protected in the current reserve system;

- Increasing the connectivity of fragmented landscapes and seascapes; and

- Supporting the continued presence of key structural features within ecosystems (e.g. canopy trees, kelp beds) even though species distributions will be changing due to climate change.

The overall goal for terrestrial native vegetation – “Net Gain” – is nested within this objective. • Improve ecological regimes to best support biodiversity in a changing environment. Victoria’s land, waters and seas are subject to a range of ecological regimes and processes that have the potential to directly or indirectly impact on the condition of native species, habitats and ecosystems. Victoria’s environment must be managed to prevent the spread of weeds and pest animals, to ensure that water flows, fire regimes and nutrient cycles are appropriate and adequate, that resource use is sustainable, and that the roles of important classes of species (e.g. pollinators, native apex predators such as owls, quolls and dingoes) are acknowledged and considered in management planning. The first steps towards achieving Goal 2 will involve halting the overall decline of species persistence and habitat condition. Then, through measures to protect and restore habitats and improve ecological regimes, we will progress from the objective of halting decline to achieving a steady improvement. While this might not seem overly ambitious, it will stand as a considerable achievement given legacy issues and the impacts of climate change.

This approach will be adopted across the full range of freshwater, marine and terrestrial environments. In marine environments, the focus will be on maintenance of key habitats, managing key threats and restoring degraded systems. For freshwater environments, approaches will vary according to what type of waterway is desired: near natural, ecologically healthy, working or highly modified. The government has released the Water for Victoria discussion paper and will release a final water plan in mid 2016 to guide Victoria’s water management for decades to come.

Measuring progress The diversity of native species and the cycles of change within ecosystems make measuring progress a significant challenge. We increasingly need to take account of our native species’ ability to adapt to climate change. Many species are long-lived; their life cycles can be measured in tens or hundreds of years, so the effects of history can be long lasting, and recovery can be slow. Therefore, we need to plan, invest, manage and adapt over a range of time scales. As a first step, DELWP will work with the Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability and other relevant agencies such as the Victorian Catchment Management Council to develop consistent, workable indicators that are relevant to terrestrial, coastal, marine and freshwater environments. We need to measure biodiversity condition and progress against the three objectives for Goal 2: • Security of species – For vertebrates and vascular plants in the terrestrial and aquatic environments, Victoria has some good data on species distributions and attributes, but information on invertebrates and non-vascular plants is less plentiful. Data for marine systems is generally poorer. Citizen science provides good information on some species, particularly birds. But information on the persistence of populations is generally limited.

• Habitat condition – There are well-established measures for native vegetation, streams and wetlands. However, measures could be enhanced by the consideration of ecological function. For marine environments, indicators will be developed with reference to other key environmental projects, such as the review of the State Environment Protection Policy (Waters of Victoria), fisheries stock assessments, and the first State of the Bays report, to be released in 2016-17. These will provide insight into the potential statewide and regional targets that could be set for Victoria’s marine environments and the indicators needed to measure progress towards those targets. • Ecological regimes – There has been some recent experience with identifying current and desirable regimes for fire and environmental flows. Further work needs to be undertaken to adapt these for practical use across relevant spatial scales and reporting requirements. It will also be important to better record management actions so we can understand how much we are influencing outcomes. Each of these needs to be assessable under current and future management and climate scenarios, taking account of the uncertainties of measurement and prediction.

Focusing our effort Given the immensity of the challenge to protect our state’s biodiversity, we must make the most of our available resources. We will need to direct our efforts into areas of high biodiversity value, and where we can achieve strong, cost-effective biodiversity benefits. Previous reports have identified broad areas that are important for biodiversity values (see Figure 3, for example). However, modern data-driven tools now allow us to develop more refined views of these values and of the potential benefits of action.

Healthy biodiversity Healthy biodiversity consists of a wide range and abundance of native plants, animals and other living organisms, down to the level of invertebrates, bacteria and fungi. These components can grow and thrive over the long term, interacting as populations, communities and ecosystems. Healthy biodiversity has a high level of genetic diversity, and consists of healthy ecosystems that have the capacity to respond to shocks by recovering or adapting. It is part of our frontline defence against climate change impacts.

BIOLINKS FLAGSHIP AREAS

These modern tools will be used to identify the areas of the state where we can achieve the greatest biodiversity success. To do this, we are bringing together information on: • Where all species occur across the state (this will include not just threatened or iconic species, but every species for which we have data); • Where threats are occurring; • The cost and feasibility of actions to manage threats; • How species will respond if a threat is managed; and • How climate change may affect habitats and ecological processes.

Figure 3: An example of how strategically important areas for biodiversity across Victoria can be summarised (from DSE (2009) Securing our natural future: a White Paper for land and biodiversity at a time of climate change).

By combining this information, we will be able to compare all places, based on their relative contributions to cost-effective improvement across all species. Information-rich, simple and accessible products will identify the best places to focus on within major ecosystems and local landscapes, the most appropriate actions that could be undertaken, and the species that will benefit. This approach could be directed at several levels: • At a regional level, important species and the most effective biodiversity actions can be identified (e.g. in areas such as the Mallee or the grasslands of the Western Plains.) • For each species, the best management options across their range can be selected. • For each landscape-scale threat, the most beneficial places to act can be identified. Regions and communities will be able to select from the highest ranking options in pursuit of achieving regional targets. The first versions of these products will be released with the final plan, with an on-going program of improvement to accommodate new information and increase the range of issues that are considered. This approach will be used across terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments. Priority setting in marine environments will also take into account the government’s response to the Victorian Environment Assessment Council’s Marine and Coastal Investigation Report.

Proposed target-setting approach To deliver the vision for Victoria’s biodiversity, statewide targets will be set for 10 years (medium term commitments) and 50 years (longer-term aspirations). We will report on progress, refine strategic directions where necessary and review the targets every five years. We will seek to embed Protecting Victoria’s Environment – Biodiversity 2036 and these requirements into legislation. Targets will be outcome-based and focus on the most beneficial actions and places in each major ecosystem. An example of a statewide target could be: • By 2025, demonstrate a 20 per cent improvement in biodiversity (defined as an improvement or stabilisation of habitats and/or species populations) in the places that have been identified as having the greatest potential (in the top 20 per cent of Victoria) for cost-effective improvement. The statewide target will then translate to regions, according to the biodiversity priorities of each. For example, the priorities for the Riverina region might include specific improvements in Riverina native grasslands, or in wetland bird populations. This approach will enable state and regional planning to best connect community decision-making and action to the available information on where success is most likely (see Goal 1). The choice of targets will be based on what can reasonably be achieved over the first 10 years towards the delivery of our goals, outcomes and vision. The targets will be partly defined by the likely level of system investment and effort. The establishment of realistic targets will therefore be assisted by input from Parks Victoria, catchment management authorities and the Australian Government, as well as terrestrial, marine and waterways programs across DELWP. Specific regional and statewide targets will be set in the final plan.

Unfortunately, irrespective of the level of effort to protect them, it is likely that some individual populations will not survive in the long term. However, our efforts will aim to maximise the number of populations that can be sustained across the state. Past experience shows we can create substantial changes in direction, even if the current patterns of behaviour seem entrenched (see case studies below).

Projects that have made a difference • An important trigger in the rise of environmental consciousness in Victoria was the successful campaign in the late 1960s to save the Little Desert from subdivision for farms. It led to the establishment in 1971 of the Land Conservation Council (now the Victorian Environmental Assessment Council). This resulted in a systematic effort to protect representative habitats and led to protected areas increasing in area from one per cent of Victoria to approximately 17 per cent in 2015. • Controls to regulate the clearing of native vegetation from private land were introduced in 1989. This resulted in the extent of native vegetation loss dropping from 15,000 hectares per year to 4000 hectares per year by 2010. (Note that this is not the same as the net loss in native vegetation extent/ condition, which is measured in habitat hectares and was reported in the 2008 Net Gain Approximation report. The number 4000 for both measures is coincidental.) • Establishment of the world’s first network of marine protected areas in 2002, covering 5 per cent of Victoria’s coastal waters.

CONSULTATION QUESTION 4 Do you support the approach to target setting that focuses investment efforts on places in the landscape where the most cost-effective actions are possible?

PRINCIPLES OF PROTECTING VICTORIA’S ENVIRONMENT – BIODIVERSITY 2036

The development of Protecting Victoria’s Environment – Biodiversity 2036 has been guided by eleven key principles that apply to Government and, at a broader level, to all Victorians. The principles will also guide the future implementation of the plan. VALUES 1 We acknowledge that the life forms that make up biodiversity have intrinsic value and warrant our respect, whether or not they are of immediate benefit to us. 2 We recognise the connections and dynamics within and between ecological, social, cultural and economic systems. We understand that biodiversity delivers many ecosystem services on which we fundamentally rely.

LIVING SYSTEMS 3 We live in a changing environment increasingly driven by climate change, with a finite capacity to recover from demands and disturbances. We need to plan and manage for a resilient system and work towards long-term sustainability. 4 Biodiversity protection is best achieved in natural habitats because the needs and roles (known and unknown) of species, and their capacity to continue to persist, are most likely to be met and retained within the ecosystems in which they have evolved.

DECISION MAKING 9 T he logic of our decision making is clear and defensible: • We consider the context across space and time in which assets and issues exist, and we focus on causes and solutions. • We assess risk and return and our decisions are evidence-based, but we do not use a lack of complete evidence as a reason for postponing measures to take protective action to prevent significant impacts. • We consistently account for all interventions and changes that we make to the environment. • We consider changing environmental circumstances and adapt our thinking to new information. 10 Our decision-making processes are fair, transparent, efficient and consistent. The effort required by these processes is proportionate to the level of risk or reward.

KNOWLEDGE 11 We value the generation and application of knowledge. In particular:

SHARING 5 We engage citizens and communities – local, and statewide – in decisions that affect them, and work together to ensure that our various contributions to protecting biodiversity are complementary and aligned to a common purpose, even though our perspectives may vary. 6 We value environmental justice, which holds that there should be equity in access to natural resources, and in sharing the risks and rewards of their use, both for present and future generations.

• We recognise multiple sources of knowledge (e.g. science-based, traditional, community) and make it accessible as a common foundation for decision making. • Managing complex systems requires information that characterises components and relationships, enables us to track and anticipate changes, and allows us to evaluate options. • As working with incomplete information is sometimes inevitable, we consider the limitations and uncertainties while continually improving our knowledge base.

7 We share responsibilities appropriately, by: • Taking collective responsibility for addressing the legacy impacts on biodiversity from historical use of the environment. • Collectively investing in conserving biodiversity, valuing and encouraging voluntary community contributions. • Regulating to manage risks of further damage, and where significant losses of public benefit occur, we expect those who caused the losses to make good the impacts of their activities. 8 We work together to ensure that our various contributions to protecting biodiversity are complementary and aligned to a common purpose, even though our perspectives on the value of biodiversity may vary.

CONSULTATION QUESTIONS 5, 6 & 7 What do you think of the principles of this plan? Which ones make sense, which ones do not? Is this the right mix of principles to guide the plan’s implementation? What principles might be missing from this plan?