DRAFT Tuart Conservation and Management Strategy

• The fourth, and perhaps most important argument, is that living things provide the
indispensable life-support systems of our planet. They provide oxygen, help to maintain
the quality of the atmosphere, regulate freshwater supplies, generate and maintain the
topsoil, dispose of wastes, generate and recycle nutrients, control pests and diseases,
pollinate crops and provide a genetic store from which humans can benefit in the future.
Extinctions throughout the world resulting from human activity are part of a larger problem.
Increasing populations and improving technologies mean that humans are now able to affect
the environment in ways it cannot sustain. Conserving biological diversity is therefore a key
community responsibility.
Other important considerations in conserving biodiversity include: (i) the impact of
management activities on the conservation of biodiversity at a range of scales, (ii) that users
of the environment pay fair value for that use, (iii) that the processes effecting adaptive
management be a key component of management systems, and (iv) that management
prescriptions be based on the best available scientific knowledge.
1.7.5 Integrating conservation and management across all tenures
The proportion of remnant tuart woodlands on private lands (63%) significantly exceeds the
proportion in reserves, parks and forests (31%) vested in the Conservation Commission of
Western Australia (Appendix 6.1). The management of tuart woodlands on private lands
must therefore be sympathetic with and complementary to the State’s formal conservation
objections. This will require:
• participation of appropriate peak organisations, Natural Resource Management groups
and community groups, in collaboration with statutory authorities, Government agencies
and local authorities, to reach agreement on key strategies and actions;
• a comprehensive approach to ensure the successful implementation of strategies and
actions dealing with the variety of public as well as private land management issues;
• an integrated approach to ensure strategies and actions on public and private lands are
consistent with land management legislation, and other policies, strategies and
management plans; and
• continuous improvement to ensure strategies and actions fulfil the vision, achieve
outcomes, and meet the targets contained in the ‘tuart strategy’.
1.7.6 Programs based on the precautionary approach and adaptive
management
The ‘precautionary principle’ is concerned with decision-making where action should be taken
to prevent damage even where there is no absolute certainty that damage will occur. It
applies where there is a threat of serious or irreversible damage.
‘Adaptive management’ requires conservation and protection programs to be updated over
time based on the dissemination of new information from research, monitoring and auditing.
1.8 Framework for strategy development
The strategy scope and purpose of this draft Tuart Conservation and Management Strategy is
aligned with Government legislation, policies and strategies, and the Corporate plans and
management functions, roles and responsibilities of Government agencies and local
authorities.
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