Management strategies for ecosystems at risk, including traditional, contemporary, and integrated approaches

What this dot point is asking

NESA expects you to know the full range of management strategies available for ecosystems at risk and to evaluate their effectiveness. Modern environmental management is rarely about choosing one tool; it involves layering protected areas, regulation, market mechanisms, restoration, and stakeholder engagement. Strong responses recognise this integration and ground each tool in named examples.

Protected areas

Set aside land or water from significant human impact. The dominant biodiversity-conservation tool globally.

Categories under IUCN

• Category Ia (strict nature reserve). No public access. Reference areas.
• Category Ib (wilderness area). Minimal management for ecological process.
• Category II (national park). Public access for compatible use.
• Category III (natural monument). Protected geological or biological features.
• Category IV (habitat management). Active management for species.
• Category V (protected landscape). Cultural landscapes with conservation outcomes.
• Category VI (sustainable use). Managed for both conservation and sustainable resource use.

Australian protected area estate

Around 19.6 percent of Australia's land is in protected areas (National Reserve System). This includes:

• 685 national parks (Kakadu 19,800 km2, Daintree, Blue Mountains, Kosciuszko, Karijini).
• Indigenous Protected Areas: over 80 IPAs covering more than 50 percent of the protected area estate.
• State conservation reserves and nature reserves.

Marine protected areas cover around 45 percent of Australia's marine jurisdiction, including the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (344,400 km2) and the Australian Marine Parks network.

Limitations

• Migratory species cross park boundaries.
• Diffuse threats (climate change, atmospheric pollution) cross all borders.
• Park boundaries do not contain fire, weeds, or pests.
• Underfunded parks (less than $5/ha/year management in many cases) lose biodiversity even within the protected boundary.

Regulation

Laws restricting harmful activity.

Federal

• Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). The main federal environmental statute. Approval required for actions affecting Matters of National Environmental Significance (threatened species, World Heritage, Ramsar wetlands, etc.). Around 6,500 applications since 1999; very few refused. Reform discussions ongoing.
• Water Act 2007. Established the MDBA and the Basin Plan.
• Climate Change Act 2022. Sets emissions reduction targets.
• Safeguard Mechanism reforms (2023). Requires Australian large emitters to reduce baseline emissions by 4.9 percent per year.

State

• Native Vegetation Acts. Per state; rules on clearing.
• National Parks and Wildlife Acts. Per state.
• State EPA legislation. Pollution control.
• Water Sharing Plans. Allocate water within Basin Plan ceilings.

Effectiveness

Regulation is only as effective as enforcement and political will. Queensland land clearing rates fell after 2018 Vegetation Management Act amendments and rose again from 2020. EPBC Act referrals are very rarely rejected. Climate Change Act targets are aspirational until sectoral policy bites.

Market mechanisms

Putting a price on ecosystem services or environmental harms.

Water markets

The Murray-Darling Basin water market is one of the most developed in the world. Around 1,000 GL of water entitlements trade annually. Allowed water to move to higher-value uses but also concentrated entitlements in fewer hands and reduced flow predictability for downstream users.

Biodiversity offsets

NSW Biodiversity Offsets Scheme (Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016). Developers pay into a trust fund for habitat restoration to offset impacts. Around $300 million held by the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust. Effectiveness debated; restoration takes decades to match cleared mature habitat.

Carbon credits

Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) under the Emissions Reduction Fund (now Climate Solutions Fund). Around 200 Mt ACCUs issued since 2015. The 2022 Chubb Review identified integrity concerns with some method types; reforms underway.

Payment for ecosystem services

Smaller scale but growing. Reef Credits scheme pays farmers for reduced sediment runoff to the Great Barrier Reef.

Restoration

Active rebuilding of degraded ecosystems.

Examples

• Tree planting. LandCare planted over 1 billion trees since 1989 across Australia. CSIRO restoration ecology research underpins the science.
• Fish ladders and barrier removal. Allow fish migration past dams and weirs.
• Wetland rewetting. Releasing environmental water to restore wetlands.
• Cultural burning. Aboriginal land managers using fire to restore vegetation structure.
• Coral seeding. Producing larvae in labs for reef restoration. Research scale at present.
• Pest control. Predator fencing, baiting programs, biological control.

Limitations

Restoration is slow. A planted forest takes 30-100 years to approach natural function. A restored wetland may never fully recover species composition. Costs are high (around $5,000-50,000/ha for native revegetation).

Indigenous co-management

Recognising and integrating First Nations knowledge and ownership.

Tools

• Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs). Voluntary dedication of Indigenous-owned land for conservation. Over 80 IPAs covering more than 80 million ha. The largest single contributor to Australia's National Reserve System.
• Indigenous Ranger programs. Around 130 ranger groups employing 1,800-plus rangers. Land management, weed and pest control, fire management, cultural site protection, monitoring.
• Sea Country agreements. Joint management of marine and coastal areas. Around 70 ILUAs on the Great Barrier Reef.
• Cultural water entitlements. Aboriginal Water Entitlements Program ($40 million).

Evidence base

Indigenous-led management produces strong outcomes. Cape York Indigenous Fire Management has reduced wildfire damage and generated carbon credits. WA Kimberley fire abatement has reduced late-dry-season burning. Conservation outcomes on IPAs compare favourably with state-managed reserves.

Monitoring and science

Effective management requires data. Key Australian programs:

• Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) environmental accounts.
• State of the Environment Report (every 5 years; 2021 release was the most recent).
• CSIRO national environmental modelling.
• AIMS Long-Term Monitoring Program (GBR coral cover since 1985).
• TERN ecosystem research network.
• BirdLife Australia bird surveys.
• iNaturalist Australia citizen science.

International frameworks

• Ramsar Convention (1971). Wetlands of international importance. 67 Australian listings.
• CITES (1973). Trade in endangered species.
• Convention on Biological Diversity (1992). Conservation, sustainable use, equitable sharing of benefits. 2022 Kunming-Montreal Framework includes 30x30 target (30 percent of land and sea protected by 2030).
• UNFCCC and Paris Agreement (2015). Climate change.
• World Heritage Convention (1972). GBR, Tasmanian Wilderness, Kakadu, Daintree, and others.

Integration: the ecosystem approach

Modern conservation has shifted from species-level (saving one threatened species) to ecosystem-level (managing the entire system) and landscape-level (managing across protected and unprotected areas).

The Convention on Biological Diversity's Ecosystem Approach has 12 principles emphasising decentralisation, recognition of multiple values, long-term objectives, adaptive management, integration of conservation and use, and use of local knowledge.

In practice, integrated management combines:

1. Spatial planning. Protected areas plus zoned use.
2. Regulation. Backed by enforcement.
3. Market incentives. Carbon credits, biodiversity offsets, water markets.
4. Restoration. Active rebuilding where needed.
5. Indigenous co-management. Recognising traditional ownership and knowledge.
6. Monitoring. Adaptive feedback.
7. Stakeholder engagement. Communities, businesses, NGOs, scientists.

The Great Barrier Reef and the Murray-Darling Basin both demonstrate the integrated approach. Effectiveness depends on funding, enforcement, and political stability.