Major biodiversity conservation projects in the Southwest Australian Ecoregion

Ecoregion Projects

A large number of agencies, organisations, individuals and community groups are conducting a wide variety of projects aimed at conserving the rich biodiversity of the Southwest Australia Ecoregion. These projects vary in scale and duration addressing everything from threatened species conservation at specific sites to broad scale landscape conservation and restoration over visionary huge scales.

Wetland Watch

Wetland Watch is a wetland conservation initiative of WWF-Australia in partnership with local governments, state government agencies, the Water Corporation and the WA Museum. The aim of the project is to improve the management and increase the long-term conservation of wetlands on the Swan Coastal Plain, focusing on high value wetlands located on private land. This will be achieved by increasing community and landowner awareness of the value of wetlands and secondly by providing personalised advice to private landowners. In order to engage landowners in improved wetland management, the project will broker a range of incentives including training, devolved grants, voluntary management agreements and conservation covenants.

In its pilot year, which began in April 2004, the project has worked within three local government areas namely the Cities of Armadale and Cockburn and the Town of Kwinana on the southern Swan Coastal Plain.

Wetland_Watch_Brochure.pdf

Western Shield

The Department of Conservation and Land Management's leading nature conservation program, is safeguarding Western Australia's native animals. Launched in 1996, it is now the biggest wildlife conservation program ever undertaken in Australia.

More info: http://www.calm.wa.gov.au/projects/west_shield.html

The Gondwana Link project

This project aims to build a network of core wilderness areas, linked by continuous wide belts of habitat that is itself surrounded by supportive land uses across Australia. As a first step, the partners in this multi-stakeholder project plan to restore ecological connectivity between the Fitzgerald and Stirling Ranges in the south of the Ecoregion.

More info: http://www.greeningaustralia.org.au/GA/WA/OngroundAction/Integratedlandmanagement/GL.htm

Carnaby’s Black-Cockatoo Recovery Project

The Carnaby’s Black-Cockatoo Recovery Project began in 1999 when it was realised that the Wheatbelt icon was undergoing a drastic population decline that could still result in the species becoming extinct.

More info: http://birdswa.iinet.net.au/projects/carnaby/carnaby.htm

Malleefowl Preservation Group

The Malleefowl Preservation Group aims to protect and if possible, re-establish sustainable and secure populations of malleefowl in their natural habitat in Western Australia. Once common, malleefowl numbers have seriously declined over the last 100 years.

More info: www.malleefowl.com.au

Perth Biodiversity Project

The Perth Biodiversity Project (PBP) is a partnership project between 29 metropolitan local governments, the Western Australia Local Government Association, Natural Heritage Trust and the West Australia Department of Planning and Infrastructure (DPI)., It aims to increase local government actions and capacity to conserve Perth's biodiversity.

More info: www.walga.com.au

Threatened Species Network

The Threatened Species Network (TSN) assists community groups to protect locally-important threatened species – through a community grants scheme, which in the past has helped protect species such as the mallefowl and red-tailed phascogale. The Threatened Species Network works with catchment and regional groups to integrate threatened species conservation with soil, water, and bushland conservation.

More info: http://www.wwf.org.au/About_WWF_Australia/How_we_work/In_the_field/TSN/index.php

Woodland Watch

WWF’s Woodland Watch project aims to protect the precious remaining area of tall eucalypt woodlands in the Wheatbelt. The project works with rural landholders, local government authorities and community groups to increase awareness of the importance of woodlands, best-practice management, and long term conservation measures.

More info: http://www.wwf.org.au/About_WWF_Australia/How_we_work/In_the_field/West/woodland_watch.php