EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
Declaration under section 184(1)
(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 threatened species and ecological communities and recognise, and where possible abate, key threatening processes listed on the lists of threatened species, ecological communities and key threatening processes under the Act.
The purpose of this declaration is to amend the list of ecological communities under the Act in accordance with s184 by:
including in the list in the critically endangered category:
- Peppermint Box (Eucalyptus odorata) Grassy Woodland of South Australia; and
- Iron-grass Natural Temperate Grassland of South Australia
as recommended by the Threatened Species Scientific Committee (the Committee), having regard to the definition of critically endangered ecological communities in s182 of the Act.
The Committee’s recommendation is as follows:
- Peppermint Box (Eucalyptus odorata) Grassy Woodland of South Australia
The evidence presented in the nomination and submitted by experts in the field enabled the Committee to judge that the Peppermint Box (Eucalyptus odorata) Grassy Woodland of South Australia ecological community is eligible for listing as critically endangered under the Act. The ecological community met the criteria in the Act and EPBC Regulations (Part 7, Division 7.1 and 7.2). In particular, one of the criteria for listing as vulnerable and one for listing as critically endangered:
Criterion 1: It has undergone a very severe decline in geographic distribution (critically endangered).
Criterion 4: The reduction in integrity across most of its geographic distribution is substantial as indicated by degradation of the ecological community and disruption of important ecological community processes that is substantial (vulnerable).
On this basis, the Committee recommends that the ecological community Peppermint Box (Eucalyptus odorata) Grassy Woodland of South Australia, be listed as critically endangered under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
On the basis of the advice of the Committee, I am satisfied that the ecological community is eligible to be included in the critically endangered category.
In deciding to include this ecological community in the list, I only considered matters that relate to whether the ecological community is eligible to be included in that category, or the effect that including the ecological community in that category could have on the survival of the ecological community.
2. Iron-grass Natural Temperate Grassland of South Australia
The evidence presented in the nomination and submitted by experts in the field enabled the Committee to judge that Iron-grass Natural Temperate Grassland of South Australia ecological community is eligible for listing as critically endangered under the Act. The ecological community met the criteria in the Act and EPBC Regulations (Part 7, Division 7.1 and 7.2). In particular, two of the criteria for listing as vulnerable and one for listing as critically endangered:
Criterion 1: It has undergone a very severe decline in geographic distribution (critically endangered).
Criterion 2: Its geographic distribution is limited and the nature of its distribution makes it likely that the action of a threatening process could cause it to be lost in the medium term future (vulnerable).
Criterion 4: The reduction in integrity across most of its geographic distribution is substantial as indicated by degradation of the ecological community and disruption of important ecological community processes that is substantial (vulnerable).
On this basis, the Committee recommends that the ecological community Iron-grass Natural Temperate Grassland of South Australia, be listed as critically endangered under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
On the basis of the advice of the Committee, I am satisfied that the ecological community is eligible to be included in the critically endangered category.
In deciding to include this ecological community in the list, I only considered matters that relate to whether the ecological community is eligible to be included in that category, or the effect that including the ecological community in that category could have on the survival of the ecological community.
This instrument is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
The instrument commenced on the day after it was registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.