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Download

For comment

• Draft preliminary description of plant communities on ferricrete-ironstone in South-West Western Australia (PDF - 751 KB) |  Draft preliminary description of plant communities on ferricrete-ironstone in South-West Western Australia(Word - 98 KB)
• Draft map of plant communities on ferricrete-ironstone in South-West Western Australia (PDF - 396 KB)

About the nomination

The Threatened Species Scientific Committee (the Committee) is considering a nomination to list the "Plant Communities on Ferricrete - Ironstone in South-West Western Australia" as a threatened ecological community, in the category of endangered, under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999.

Guided by expert technical input, a preliminary description of the ecological community has been drafted that encompasses the assemblage of flora, and associated fauna, occurring on ironstone-ferricrete substrates in the South West Botanical Province of Western Australia, with shallow overlying soils and subject to a winter rain inundation.

The proposed ecological community is composed of five Regional Types, with variation in species composition, soils, and hydrology among Types and among occurrences within each Type. Two of five Regional Types are already listed as Endangered national ecological communities separately and each in their own right under the EPBC Act. These two Regional Types and two other of the five Regional Types are also recognized separately within Western Australia as Threatened Ecological Communities endorsed by the Western Australian Minister for the Environment with conservation statuses of: Critically Endangered (2), Endangered, and Vulnerable. The remaining Regional Type is listed by Western Australia's Department of Environment and Conservation as Priority 1, indicating a high importance for assessment by the State as a possible Threatened Ecological Community. The preliminary draft description for comment includes the five Regional Types as a larger combined entity comprising a proposed national ecological community with a status of endangered under the EPBC Act. However, the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (the Department) and the Committee have yet to make a final decision whether or not these five Regional Types comprise a distinct national ecological community, or whether a narrower definition may apply. A narrower definition would then seek to list only some of the five Regional Types as a distinct national ecological community.

The key threats to the ecological community and proposed priority conservation actions are also discussed in the document provided for comment through the above link.

Invitation to comment

The Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (the Department) on behalf of the Threatened Species Scientific Committee (the Committee) is seeking and welcomes comments on a draft preliminary description of this terrestrial ecological community as per regulations of the EPBC Act.

Comments should focus on the draft preliminary description, threat analysis, and priority conservation actions as well as the proposal to list the ecological community as 'Endangered' under the EPBC Act. As well, specific input is sought on:

• Does the combination of the five component Regional Types accurately represent the ecological community in terms of both its geographic extent and distribution, and typical species composition?
• Are the diagnostic characters included adequate to reliably distinguish the community from related and possibly adjacent formations in the field? If not, can the diagnostic characters be improved and how?
• If the proposed combined entity of five Regional Types does not accurately reflect the ecological community, then which, if any, Regional Types ought to comprise the community and why? - that is, on what basis should that/those Regional Types form the described national ecological community?
• Are all the relative threats and priority conservation actions covered in the document? If not, please make suggested additions and changes, and provide appropriate references.
• If one or more of the Regional Types should be listed separately from the others, which are they, what is the justification for separating them from the others, and what would be the respective category in each case (Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable)?

A description of the ecological community and the comments received from this public consultation are important in developing the advice from the Committee, which are required as per the regulations under the EPBC Act. The information will be used by the Committee to advise the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities on whether or not to amend the list of threatened ecological communities under the EPBC Act.

If this ecological community is listed under the EPBC Act, actions which are likely to have a significant impact on the threatened ecological community will need to be referred for potential environment assessment and approval. However, it is important for consultees to be aware that pre-existing land uses (e.g. agriculture), man-made infrastructure, and water infrastructure operations are unlikely to be affected due to 'prior authorisation' and 'continuous use' exemptions under the EPBC Act (i.e. Section 43A and 43B).

The public comment period closes on 10 February 2013.

If you wish to comment, please send your comments quoting the ecological community name to:

Email: epbc.nominations@environment.gov.au

Mail:
Ecological Community Section
Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities
GPO Box 787
Canberra ACT 2601

Fax: (02) 6274 1600

See also

• Threatened species under the EPBC Act
• Making a nomination
• Listing assessments