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1. Introduction

The overall goal of the Australian Terrestrial Biodiversity Assessment was to assess the condition and trend of a number of key attributes at a landscape scale and to detail landscape management priorities for conserving biodiversity at both Australia-wide and regional scales. In doing so, the objective was to assess the conservation values and opportunities for improved management for all regions of Australia so that planning and works can be undertaken in a more systematic and costeffective fashion. This systematic approach would help focus investment more effectively and efficiently to meet Australia-wide conservation priorities. It would also provide information for monitoring progress towards national biodiversity targets.

Australia's biodiversity

The term biological diversity or biodiversity refers to the variety of life of earth - plants, animals, microorganisms - as well as the variety of genetic material they contain and of the ecological systems in which they occur. The Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 defines biodiversity as:

. the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are a part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.

Biodiversity is a simple concept, but one which also has great complexity and significance. The National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia's Biological Diversity (ANZECC 1996) expands on the three levels at which biodiversity occurs:

• genetic diversity—the variety of genetic information contained in all of the individual plants, animals and microorganisms that inhabit the earth. Genetic diversity occurs within and between the populations of organisms that comprise individual species as well as among species;
• species diversity—the variety of species on Earth; and
• ecosystem diversity—the variety of habitats, biotic communities and ecological processes.

These different elements of biodiversity occur at a number of scales. For example, genes vary at the scale of individual organisms, whereas species and ecosystems can vary from patches, to landscapes and through to the Australia-wide scale. The emphasis in this report is placed on the landscape scale because it is the scale at which many ecological processes operate and often reflects historical and current land uses and associated threatening processes.

The recognition that species rely on functioning ecosystems is particularly important as it demonstrates the need for integrated regional strategies that encompass protective conservation and natural resource management measures. This assessment includes the role of traditional reservedbased conservation measures as well as the contribution of integrated natural resource management measures for biodiversity conservation. Likewise the assessment recognises that it is not sufficient to focus attention on a few icon ecosystems such as rainforests and wet eucalypt forests. Indeed, one of the key messages arising from this assessment is the large number of threatened ecosystems found across Australia and the numerous processes that threaten them. Many of these ecosystems and their condition receive little attention, yet may represent critical areas for the conservation of biodiversity.

Society places different values on biodiversity and these values often overlap. Elements of biodiversity that have aesthetic or recreational values make an economic contribution through the arts and tourism. Nature based tourism is estimated at 4.7% of the gross domestic product in direct returns and up to 11% indirectly. In addition, Indigenous and many other Australians have a spiritual association with the land. Distinctive landscapes have created a unique cultural heritage for all Australians.

Australia State of the Environment 2001—lessons learnt so far

The 2001 State of the Environment Report (Environment Australia 2001) concluded that many of the key threats to biodiversity identified in the 1996 report (SEAC 1996) still exist. Some of the key issues identified in the 1996 and 2001 State of the Environment reports and the ways they have been addressed in this assessment are listed in Table 1.1.

The reports concluded that the prognosis for biodiversity in Australia in the immediate future is continuing decline. Many pressures that undermine biodiversity conservation are still to be effectively dealt with.

Both the 1996 and 2001 State of the Environment reports identified clearance of native vegetation as the most significant threat to terrestrial biodiversity. Dryland salinity, a major legacy of changes to water balance following broad-scale clearing, was also identified as a threat to terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity.

Table 1.1 Some of the key issues identified in the 1996 and 2001 State of the Environment reports that are addressed in the Australian Terrestrial Biodiversity Assessment.

KEY ISSUES IDENTIFIED IN THE 1996 AND 2001 STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT REPORTS	ASSESSMENTS IN THIS REPORT
Effects of human population and consumption.	Impacts on observed patterns of some taxa.
Condition of ecosystems.	Listing of Australia's threatened ecosystems, condition and trend of wetlands and riparian zones.
Distribution and abundance of species.	Bioregional distribution of threatened species, and detailed analysis of eucalypts, acacias, birds and mammals.
Land clearance and related activities.	Threatening process detailed at subregional scale.
Effects of introduced species.	Threatening process detailed at subregional scale.
Lack of knowledge of biodiversity.	Adequacy of data examined for fauna surveys; vegetation mapping, floristic and ecological attributes.
Effectiveness of conservation measures outside reserves.	Conservation actions off-park such as recovery plans for species and ecosystems and integrated natural resource management detailed at bioregional and subregional scales.
Adequacy of protected areas.	Gap analysis undertaken on the Comprehensiveness, Adequacy and Representativeness of the protected area system; reserve consolidation priorities and constraints identified.
Adoption of integrated ecosystem-based management of natural resources.	Natural resource management actions identified and assessment of constraints and capacity at subregional scale.
Altered fire regimes (new in 2001 SoE report).	One of the threatening processes examined at subregional scale.

In the arid and semi-arid rangelands, invasive species and altered fire and grazing regimes were identified as the major threats in the 2001 State of the Environment report. Freshwater aquatic systems comprising wetlands and riverine systems continue to be degraded, especially by salinity and other hydrological changes (Environment Australia 2001). Knowledge of the type and number of species in Australia, especially of less visible groups such as invertebrates and microbes, was identified as extremely limited. Emerging issues identified in the State of the Environment report include the potential effects of climate change and genetically modified organisms on biodiversity.

Some progress was noted between 1996 and 2001 (Environment Australia 2001). For example, the Comprehensiveness and Adequacy of the nation's reserve system was reported to have improved, though some important gaps in the reserve system remained and a range of tenures were needed. The increased involvement of the broader community, corporate Australia, local government and Indigenous Australians in biodiversity conservation was recognised as positive.

The State of the Environment report contended that further progress was restricted by issues such as dysfunctional State-Commonwealth arrangements in respect to data gathering and the level of community commitment. Data and its availability was a key planning issue for State of the Environment reporting.

The Terrestrial Biodiversity Assessment represents a major step forward in planning for biodiversity conservation and for future State of the Environment reporting.

Other Initiatives and this Assessment

The Terrestrial Biodiversity Assessment will inform the development of the National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia's Biodiversity objectives and targets for 2001-2005 (ANZECC 1996, 2001a). This strategy aims to bridge the gap between current activities and those measures necessary to ensure the effective identification, conservation and ecologically sustainable use of Australia's biodiversity.

Recent national programs such as the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality and the extension of the Natural Heritage Trust are significant investment initiatives. Both of these programs are based on the development of integrated regional management plans that include biodiversity. These initiatives are reliant on access to data on a range of biodiversity-related attributes that can be linked to landscapes and regions. The Terrestrial Biodiversity Assessment provides comprehensive regional information for management.

Earlier this year, a Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council working group presented its report on biodiversity (Morton et al. 2002). It stressed the need for strategic investment in conservation, particularly the need to address threatening processes rather than focussing only on remedial actions. The prevention of broad-scale vegetation clearing to protect multiple ecosystem services and biodiversity, and the positive costbenefit to Australia of protecting these values versus the cost of repair, are some issues that were identified.

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