australian terrestrial biodiversity assessment 2002 - Land and Water ...

Reserve Management
Australia’s national parks and other protected areas
are its premier investment in biodiversity
conservation. Adequate management of these areas
(and adjoining lands) is essential. The assessment of
protected area management standards (Table 8.4)
has indicated that reserves across 12% of assessed
bioregions have a very good standard of
management where a high proportion of reserves
have management plans and ecological monitoring
programs in place. However, the standard of
management of most of Australia’s protected areas
indicates that more can be done. In most bioregions
(53%), the standard of management is only fair
125
though any resource degradation is retrievable, and
in 14% it is poor where permanent resource
degradation is occurring. In 21% of bioregions
reserve management is good and the major
biodiversity issues are being addressed, though not
necessarily in a structured context where systematic
ecological monitoring programs are in place.
In Canada, the monitoring of parks' natural
integrity is a legislated requirement. This represents
a desirable precedent to ensure park management
incorporates the protection of biodiversity values as
part of the enhanced effort required to improve
overall park management standards.
Management standard Very good Good Fair Poor
Number of bioregions 7 (12%) 12 (21%) 30 (53%) 8 (14%)
Table 8.4 Protected area management standards within Australia’s bioregions
(based on 67% of bioregions assessed).
Kosciuszko National Park (NSW NPWS)