Nature conservation
Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife
Your gift will help protect our parks for future generations - Donate nowDECC is responsible for protecting and conserving biodiversity, including threatened species, in NSW.
Biodiversity is the variety of all life forms: different plants (from lichens and mosses to shrubs and trees), animals (invertebrates, frogs, reptiles, birds and mammals), the genes they contain and the ecosystems they form.
Biodiversity is vital in supporting human life on Earth. Biodiversity also ensures clean air and water and fertile soils, provides opportunities for recreation, tourism, scientific research and education, and is a source of cultural identity for many Australians.
Australia is home to more than one million species of native plants and animals, many of which are found only in Australia. About 82 per cent of our mammals and 93 per cent of our frogs are found nowhere else in the world. Over the past 200 years, the Australian environment has been modified dramatically. Australia has lost 75 per cent of its rainforests and has the world's worst record of mammal extinctions.
In NSW, there are more than 1000 native species, populations and ecological communities listed as threatened with extinction.
The role of DECC
Conserving the state's biodiversity is a major challenge. It can't just be done by setting aside land in national parks and reserves; it needs the people of NSW to be involved in conservation across the landscape. Conservation efforts from now on also need to take account of the implications of climate change for ecosystems and native species.
DECC coordinates the NSW Government's Biodiversity Strategy, which commits all government agencies to working towards conserving biodiversity. The strategy focuses on conservation on both public and private land, promotes partnerships between government and local communities and improved decision-making and priority-setting.
To protect native vegetation, DECC in collaboration with CMAs, develops and promotes incentive programs for native vegetation conservation. DECC also protects native vegetation through a range of program areas including policy, science, compliance, monitoring and reporting. DECC manages a network of protected areas including more than 6 million hectares of national parks and reserves as well as supporting other conservation options for land. The reserve system aims to:- protect the full range of habitats and ecosystems, plant and animal species, and significant geological features and landforms found across the state
- protect the largest and most diverse collection of cultural heritage on public land, including places, objects and features of significance to Aboriginal people, as well as rural, vernacular and working heritage
- protect other areas important to people, such as places of scenic beauty, landscapes and natural features of significance, wilderness areas, wild rivers, water catchments, popular places for nature-based recreation, and icons and sites of national significance.
DECC also supports the Marine Parks Authority in the management of the state's marine parks system.
Threatened species in NSW are protected by the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995, which is administered by DECC. The key tasks include developing recovery actions for threatened species, managing threats to biodiversity, certification of environmental planning instruments, and developing BioBanking, an innovative market creation approach to biodiversity conservation. The new Priorities Action Statement identifies key actions to recover threatened species.