ILLAWARRA BIODIVERSITY STRATEGY Vol. 2 - Wollongong City ...

and endemism status,butare listedas EECs,were also includedinPriority 2 duetotheir threatenedstatusunderthe TSC ActorEPBCAct.Priority 3communitieswere those thatmeet the 30%reservationstatus, and arenot particularlyendemicto theIllawarra.In the Illawarraregion, they are confinedmostly to theBudderooPlateauwithinNationalPark estate. This classincludedsandstonewoodlands, gully forests andheaths.Appendix 12shows the complete listof vegetationunits withtheir determinedpriority class.Vegetationpriorities shouldbeusedtoguidepriorities for investment and conservationefforts onland outsideof the regional corridors.These priorities canalsobeusedtotarget opportunities forland acquisitionorincentives.6.10 REGIONAL BIODIVERSITY CORRIDORSThe Strategy consolidates andmapsanetwork ofregionalbiodiversity corridorsacrossthe Illawarra.The biodiversity valueof corridor networksiswell known. Landscapes thatretainmore connectionsbetweenpatchesofotherwise isolatedareasof vegetationare more likely to maintainmore numerousand more diverse populationsof various plantand animal species(LindenmayerandFischer, 2006).Conversely, alack of landscape connectivity canhave arange of negative impactson speciespopulations(Lindenmayerand Fischer, 2006).It isthought that ifexisting remnants are leftto persistwithoutsufficientimmigrationtomaintain genetic diversity,continuedlossesofbiodiversity are certain(Parker et al. 2008).Mostof theareasdefinedin the Strategyas forming part ofaregional corridor network have alreadybeenflaggedascore conservationareasinpreviousstudies. This is because theyare large,biologicallydiverse,containadiversityof habitatsandvegetationcommunities, containhabitats for threatenedspecies,andcontainvegetationcommunitiesthat are significant to New SouthWalesandthe Illawarraregion(MillsandAssociates 2000).There isaclearmandatefor planningfor biodiversity corridorsas shownby the various state, regionaland localpoliciesandplanspromoting them includingAustralia’s Biodiversity ConservationStrategydraft(Commonwealthof Australia2009),The SouthernRiversCatchment ActionPlan(SouthernRiversCMA2006), IllawarraNRMPlan(SouthernRiversCMA2010), and the IllawarraRegional Strategy(DoP2006).This Strategy hasresponded tothesehigh order targets and regional plans byconsulting withlocalexperts, andreviewof previous studiesto delineate andmapboundaries inorderto define aregionalcorridornetwork. Thiswasdone to facilitate improvedincorporation of thecorridorsinto planninginstruments, andto guidebiodiversity planningandconservationpriorities.The proposedobjectivesof the Illawarrabiodiversity corridorsareto:• Delineate areasof high quality habitat;• Conserve andprotectareas of high quality habitat;• Enhance existingconnectivitywithin corridorsby regenerating orrevegetatingmissing linkswhere possible;• Consolidate andmanage these continuous linksto provide large scale connectivity through thelandscape;• Implementeffective planningcontrols to prevent further fragmentation;• Maintainviability of nativevegetationandprovide dispersalcorridorsforfauna;• Minimising further clearing within these areas;andILLAWARRA BIODIVERSITYSTRATEGYVol.2Background document 26