EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

Approval of International Agreement under section 209(4)

(Issued under the Authority of the
Minister for the Environment and Water Resources)

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the Act) places certain obligations on the Commonwealth to protect and conserve migratory species, including a requirement for the establishment and maintenance of a list of migratory species under paragraph 209(1)(a) of the Act.

Section 209(4) provides that the Minister may approve an international agreement for the purposes of subsection 209(3) if the Minister is satisfied it is an agreement relevant to the conservation of migratory species.  Section 209(3) requires that the list of migratory species includes all species from time to time included in appendices to the Bonn Convention and for which Australia is a range state under the Convention, and all species from time to time included in lists established under JAMBA and CAMBA (Australia’s bilateral migratory bird agreements with Japan and the People’s Republic of China, respectively).

The purpose of this instrument is to approve the Republic of Korea – Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (ROKAMBA) as an international agreement for the purposes of subsection 209(3) of the Act.

The ROKAMBA is an agreement relating to the conservation of birds which migrate between Australia and the Republic of Korea. It is similar to the JAMBA and CAMBA which are the source of the list of migratory species under paragraph 209(3)(b).

Amendment to the migratory species list under paragraph 209(3)(c) is not required as all of the species identified in the annex to the ROKAMBA are already included in the migratory species list.

The following Australian Government, State and Territory agencies were consulted regarding the ROKAMBA, initially in 2002 regarding the intention to develop the ROKAMBA and most recently in 2006, at which time they were provided with the final text of the Agreement:

• Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department;
• Australian Government Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs;
• Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade;
• Australian Government Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts;
• Australian Government Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources;
• Australian Government Department of Defence;
• Australian Government Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet;
• Australian Government Department of Transport and Regional Services;
• Australian Government Department of the Treasury;
• Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry;
• Department of Primary Industries Water and Environment (Tasmania);
• Department of Primary Industries (Victoria);
• Department for Environment and Heritage (South Australia);
• Department of Conservation and Land Management (Western Australia);
• Department of Environment and Conservation (New South Wales);
• Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources (New South Wales);
• Environmental Protection Agency (Queensland);
• Department of Natural Resources, Environment and the Arts (Northern Territory); and
• Environment ACT.

This instrument is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

This instrument commenced on the day after it was registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.