Latest news
Welcome to the latest news page for the National Reserve System. As you can see, there is always lots going on! Feel free to pass these stories around or contact us if you would like more information.
Climate change and the National Reserve System
A landmark study by the CSIRO has found that climate change is likely to have a major impact on Australia's plants, animals and ecosystems that will present significant challenges to the conservation of Australia's biodiversity. The study found the National Reserve System will continue to be an effective conservation tool under climate change, but conserving habitat on private land will be increasingly important to help species and ecosystems adapt.
Read the CSIRO report | CSIRO media release
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19 July 2012
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Get all the latest exciting news from Parks Australia!
Protected area data now updated
4 July 2012
Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA)
IBRA classifies Australia's landscapes to identify regions with common climate, geology, landform, native vegetation and species information. The latest version - IBRA7 - is the primary bioregionalisation model for Australia - as endorsed by national, state and local governments, natural resource management agencies and scientific, research and education institutions.
Updated IBRA7 data, maps and information can be found here.
Collaborative Australian Protected Areas Database (CAPAD)
Every two years, the Australian Government collects information on protected areas from state and territory governments and other protected area managers. This information is published in the Collaborative Australian Protected Areas Database (CAPAD).
Updated CAPAD10 data, maps and information can be found here.
Fish River Station video
Watch the video
3 May 2012
Fish River Station, a stunning 178,116 hectare property on the mighty Daly River, is breaking new ground in nature conservation in remote Australia.
In recognition of its outstanding natural values, Fish River Station was last year purchased for conservation in a ground-breaking collaboration by the Indigenous Land Corporation (ILC), the Nature Conservancy and the Pew Environment Group with assistance from the Australia Government's Caring for our Country Initiative and support by Greening Australia. The ILC owns and manages the property and will eventually hand it back to traditional owners to manage its magnificent biodiversity for future generations.
Watch the video | More about Fish River
What's out there? - looking for creatures on Tasmania's ancient Skullbone Plains
Skullbone Plains | Matt Newton
27 February 2012
A team of about 20 Bush Blitz scientists will this week conduct the most comprehensive biodiversity survey yet of the evocatively-named Skullbone Plains in Tasmania's central highlands.
They'll be looking for new species as well as documenting the plants and animals that inhabit this spectacular 1,650 hectare property which has been recently added to Australia's National Reserve System.
See the media release (PDF file on the Bush blitz website) | Read the factsheet | See the photo album on Facebook
Stunning array of species found on Neds Corner Station
28 November 2011
Pobblebonk frogs and puffball mushrooms are just some of the species that are emerging in response to rains in the desert country of northwest Victoria where a team of Bush Blitz scientists are surveying Neds Corner Station in search of new species.
See the media alert for more information (PDF file on the Bush blitz website) | Find out more about Neds Corner Station
Blitzing Neds Corner Station for new species
23 November 2011
A team of top biodiversity scientists are spending more than 2,000 hours 'blitzing' Neds Corner Station in Victoria's mallee country, surveying the reserve's plants and animals in the hope of finding species that are new to science.
Bush Blitz is a three-year multimillion dollar partnership between the Australian Government, BHP Billiton and Earthwatch Australia to document the plants and animals across Australia’s National Reserve System.
See the media release for more information (PDF file on the Bush blitz website) | Find out more about Neds Corner Station
Fish River — conservation helps close the gap
6 October 2011
Fish River Station, a stunning 178,116
hectare property on the mighty Daly
River, is breaking new ground in nature
conservation in remote Australia.
Fish River Station will now be protected forever as part of the National Reserve System - Australia's most secure way of protecting native habitat - and is creating new conservation jobs for Indigenous people in Australia's remote Top End.
Read more | Media Release | Factsheets
Chasing mayflies | Earthwatch
Bush Blitz - new species and fossilised remains found on Credo Station
21 September 2011
Creepy crawlies including pseudoscorpions, trapdoor spiders, true bugs and bees were among the swag of new species discovered during a recent Bush Blitz at Credo Station in the Western Australian goldfields - the first comprehensive biodiversity survey conducted on Credo.
See the media release for more information (PDF file on the Bush blitz website)
Henbury Conservation Project - new model for nature conservation
Running Waters, Finke River
26 July 2011
A spectacular property in Australia's arid Red Centre is the location of an exciting environmental pilot, where an innovative Australian company, R.M.Williams Agricultural Holdings, is seizing the opportunity of emerging carbon economy to fund nature conservation. At more than 500,000 hectares - 5,000 square kilometres - Henbury is the largest property ever purchased for the National Reserve System with Australian Government support.
Henbury's purchase is a great win for biodiversity - but this project is exciting attention around the country for its innovative private sector approach to funding ongoing conservation - a potential model across the landscape.
Leading the way in carbon farming
R.M.Williams Agricultural Holdings will manage Henbury to enhance carbon sequestration. With cattle removed, the company will actively manage fire, water, weeds and feral animals to encourage natural revegetation. The process of natural revegetation will remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, storing carbon in the soil and native plants.
The company plans to sequestrate up to 1.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year for the next 10-15 years. The aim is to establish a model for generating biodiverse carbon credits to fund ongoing conservation management and to generate new sustainable income streams.
Read more | Preserving biodiversity and habitat | Leading the way in carbon farming | Media release | Factsheets | Images | Video
WWF praise for Australia's natural safety net
6 July 2011
An independent audit by WWF-Australia has praised efforts to build the National Reserve System as 'arguably the Australian Government's biggest conservation success story'.
Environment Minister Tony Burke today launched the WWF-Australia Building Nature's Safety Net 2011 report in Canberra. "Almost 20 years since former Prime Minister Bob Hawke first championed the idea of a National Reserve System, this independent report describes its critical role in protecting biodiversity and saving threatened species from extinction," Mr Burke said.
Today the National Reserve System is a vibrant network of some 9,415 reserves, covering a range of ecosystems across the nation. The WWF report describes the National Reserve System as 'excellent value for money' - costing an average of only $47 a hectare to buy wildlife habitat and protect it forever through the National Reserve System, or just $5 a hectare to support the declaration and management of Indigenous Protected Areas.
Read the media release | See the WWF-Australia website
Conservation milestone in the Kimberley
23 May 2011
Today is a historic day for the Wunambal Gaambera people of the northern Kimberley.
The Federal Court of Australia has granted them Native Title rights over 25,909 square kilometres of the Kimberley coastline - one of the most spectacular and remote coastlines in the world.
Right after the Native Title determination the traditional owners made a commitment to conservation by declaring 343,515 hectares of their country as the Uunguu Indigenous Protected Area. Uunguu means living home - it is everything in Wunambal Gaambera country - the plants and animals, the people, the natural and cultural places.
There are many diverse habitats here - from rainforest-filled gorges to freshwater holes, culturally-significant coastal islands and saltwater country. Uunguu is home to many threatened plants and animals - dugong, marine turtles, dolphins and the smallest rock wallaby in the world, called monjon, are all found here.
Uunguu also forms one of the biggest open air galleries in Western Australia - world-famous rock art is found here, speaking of the Wanjina spirits and Wunggurr spirits who made the language and the law for each family to look after a traditional part of country.
Uunguu Indigenous Protected Area is now part of Australia's National Reserve System - our nation's most secure way of protecting our cultural heritage and native habitat for future generations.
Indigenous Protected Areas are one of Australia's most successful conservation stories - they protect Australia's biodiversity while providing training and employment for Aboriginal people doing work that they love on their own country.
Find out more about Uunguu | Media release | Find out more about Indigenous Protected Areas
Stygofauna are aquatic animals that live in the pitch black waters of underground caves. Photo: Julian Finn, Museum Victoria
Blind cave-dwelling crustaceans found during Bush Blitz at Lake Condah
29 March 2011
A team of more than 40 scientists, Indigenous rangers and volunteers surveying plants and animals on several Indigenous protected areas near Heywood in south-western Victoria have discovered species that are likely to be new to science as well as populations of species that are threatened elsewhere.
The Bush Blitz currently underway at Lake Condah in the Budj Bim National Heritage Landscape, which covers several Aboriginal-managed properties, has found two new species of blind crustaceans from the pitch black waters of underground caves.
See the media release for more information (PDF file on the Bush blitz website)
Bush blitz explores an ancient volcanic landscape for new species
23 March 2011
A team of more than 40 scientists, Indigenous rangers and volunteers today begin the most comprehensive plant and animal survey yet on Aboriginal-owned lands in the Budj Bim National Heritage Landscape in south-western Victoria.
The expedition is part of Bush Blitz - a three-year continental scale project to document plants and animals protected in Australia's National Reserve System.
See the media release for more information (PDF file on the Bush blitz website)
Southern hairy-nosed wombat
Photo |
bumblesweet
Wombats at Bon Bon Station Reserve
At Bon Bon Station Reserve in South Australia, the southern hairy-nosed wombats toughen it out here in one of the hottest and driest places in Australia.
Bush Heritage have captured these wombats with night vision cameras and discovered that they share their cool burrows during the summer heat. Feel free to leave any comments on our blog.
