The role of individuals, groups, governments, and international agencies in managing ecosystems at risk

What this dot point is asking

NESA expects you to recognise that ecosystem management is multi-stakeholder. No single actor can address the full set of pressures on an ecosystem at risk. Strong HSC responses identify multiple stakeholders, name their specific tools, and recognise both individual contributions and the integration challenge.

Individuals

Personal choices

• Reducing personal environmental footprint (diet, transport, energy use, consumption).
• Composting, recycling, water conservation.
• Bushcare, beach clean-ups, bushwalking with care.

Citizen science

• BirdLife Australia bird surveys (200,000-plus surveys per year).
• iNaturalist Australia species observations (over 5 million records).
• ClimateWatch phenology monitoring.
• TurtleSAT sea turtle tracking.

Citizen science contributions provide data at spatial and temporal scales that professional science cannot match.

Donor and consumer power

Choosing certified products (FSC for timber, MSC for seafood, RSPO for palm oil). Donating to conservation NGOs. Investing in ESG-aligned funds.

Activism and voting

Climate strikes (2019 mobilised 300,000+ Australians). Voting on environmental policy. Submission to government consultations and EPBC reviews. School Strike for Climate.

Community groups

Landcare

The largest community-based environmental movement in Australia. Around 6,000 Landcare groups nationally with 100,000 active members. Over 1 billion trees planted since 1989. Federal Landcare Program funding around $40 million per year.

Bushcare and Coastcare

Local volunteer groups working on weed control, native planting, beach care, and revegetation in their specific area. Around 5,500 Bushcare groups nationally.

Friends groups

Friends of specific places (Friends of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Friends of Kosciuszko, Friends of the Coorong) raise funds, advocate, and provide volunteer labour.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations

The most extensive land managers in Australia (see traditional-ecological-knowledge.md for detail).

• 80-plus Indigenous Protected Areas covering more than 50 percent of the National Reserve System.
• 130-plus Indigenous Ranger groups, more than 1,800 rangers.
• Joint management of major national parks.
• Traditional Owner partnerships across Sea Country (Great Barrier Reef).

Non-government organisations

Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF)

Founded 1965. The largest environmental NGO in Australia. Advocacy on climate policy, biodiversity, water, and EPBC reform. Around 100,000 members and supporters.

WWF Australia

Branch of the global WWF network. Coral reef research, koala conservation, anti-deforestation campaigns. Worked with Reef Foundation on Reef Trust Partnership.

Bush Heritage Australia

Founded 1991 by environmentalist Bob Brown. Buys and manages private conservation reserves. Owns or co-manages over 1.3 million ha across 12 reserves, with focus on connectivity (Great Eastern Ranges).

Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC)

Manages over 6.5 million ha across feral-cat-free sanctuaries (Mt Gibson, Faure Island, Newhaven). Operating the largest fenced predator-free area in mainland Australia. Reintroducing 12 mammal species to areas they had become locally extinct.

Greenpeace Australia Pacific

International NGO with strong campaigns on climate and forestry. Active in anti-coal and anti-deep-sea-mining advocacy.

LandCare Australia

National umbrella body for Landcare groups (see Community groups above).

Indigenous-led NGOs

The Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation. Reconciliation Australia. Local Aboriginal Land Councils across NSW. The Northern Land Council and Central Land Council in NT.

Industry-NGO collaborations

Reef Catchment Solutions (NGO-grazier partnerships in GBR catchments). The Carbon Market Institute (industry body for carbon-related conservation projects). The Climate Council (climate communication, established 2013 by former Climate Commissioners).

State governments

State governments hold most ecosystem management authority under Australia's constitutional division.

Tools

• Statutory protected areas. State national parks, conservation reserves.
• Native vegetation regulation. Native Vegetation Act NSW, Vegetation Management Act QLD, Native Vegetation Management Act WA.
• Water management. Water Sharing Plans, dam operations, irrigator licensing.
• Pollution control. State EPAs.
• Land use planning. Local council and state-level planning controls.

State EPAs

NSW EPA, EPA Victoria, EPA SA, EPA WA, Department of Environment and Science (QLD), EPA Tas. Pollution control, environmental licensing, enforcement.

Park agencies

NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Parks Victoria, Department of National Parks (QLD), Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions (WA), and counterparts. Manage state-owned protected areas.

Federal government

Tools

• EPBC Act 1999. Approval for actions affecting Matters of National Environmental Significance.
• National Reserve System. Federal funding for conservation land acquisition.
• Climate Change Act 2022. National emissions targets.
• Safeguard Mechanism. Industrial emissions baseline regulation.
• Federal environmental funding. National Heritage Trust, Reef Trust, Climate Solutions Fund.
• MDBA and MDB Plan. Murray-Darling Basin management.
• International treaties. Australia is signatory to Ramsar, CBD, UNFCCC, CITES, World Heritage.

Agencies

• Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW). Lead federal agency.
• Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA). Basin water management.
• Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA). Reef management.
• Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS). Marine research.
• CSIRO. Land, climate, and biosecurity research.
• Bureau of Meteorology (BOM). Weather, climate monitoring.
• Parks Australia. Federal national parks (Kakadu, Uluru-Kata Tjuta, Booderee, Christmas Island).

International agencies

Multilateral

• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Global environmental policy and analysis.
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Climate science assessments.
• Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Global biodiversity assessment.
• UNESCO. World Heritage administration, scientific cooperation.
• Ramsar Secretariat. Wetlands of International Importance.
• Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariat.
• CITES Secretariat. Trade in endangered species.

Treaty obligations

International treaties shape national obligations. Paris Agreement targets drive Australian climate policy. Ramsar obligations require management of Australian wetlands of international importance. CITES restricts trade in protected species.

Donor and research

International organisations support conservation through funding (Global Environment Facility, World Bank, Green Climate Fund), research collaboration (CGIAR, IUCN), and standards (FSC, MSC, RSPO).

How stakeholders integrate

Effective ecosystem management requires alignment across stakeholders. The Great Barrier Reef Reef 2050 Plan demonstrates this:

• Federal government. Sets framework; provides $3 billion funding.
• Queensland Government. Catchment management; reef-adjacent terrestrial parks.
• GBRMPA. Marine Park management.
• Traditional Owners. Sea Country agreements; cultural site protection.
• NGOs. Reef Catchment Solutions, WWF, ACF advocacy.
• Tourism industry. Reef Tourism Operators (most are RECC certified).
• Agriculture. Sugar cane, beef, banana growers under Reef 2050 Water Quality Plan.
• International. UNESCO World Heritage monitoring; IPCC climate framework.

When alignment breaks down (e.g. weak catchment enforcement; climate policy disagreement), ecosystem outcomes deteriorate. When alignment holds, integrated management can succeed at scale.