Australia's bioregions
The systematic development of a comprehensive, adequate and representative National Reserve System rests on a bioregional framework.
The Australian land mass is divided into 85 bioregions. Each bioregion is a large geographically distinct area of similar climate, geology, landform, vegetation and animal communities. For example, the Australian Alps, the Nullabor Plain and the Wet Tropics are distinct bioregions.
IBRA - Australia's 85 bioregions
Source: CAPAD 2006 Download the bioregion map (PDF - 292 KB)
The bioregions are described in a bioregional map, the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA). IBRA is the National Reserve System's planning framework, the fundamental tool for identifying land for conservation. IBRA is a more refined and detailed subset of the global ecoregions.
The main priority for the National Reserve System is to address gaps in comprehensiveness at the national scale. Australia is working towards a target of ten per cent of our bioregions to be part of the National Reserve System.
The top priority is the protection of ecosystems that are currently poorly reserved (less than ten per cent) or not protected at all.
A secondary priority is to conserve:
- key habitats for nationally listed threatened species or migratory species and/or Ramsar sites or wetlands of national importance
- areas that contribute to whole-of-landscape conservation outcomes, such as places that offer refuge or contribute to the adaptation of biodiversity to changing climate.
All 85 Australian bioregions have some representation in the National Reserve System, with 50 regions exceeding the target and 35 thirty-five regions currently at less than 10 per cent.
Of the 403 subregions, 120 have more than 15 per cent representation in the National Reserve System, 144 have less than five per cent and 44 have no representation at all.
See Australia's bioregion maps |
Monitoring growth: the Collaborative Australian Protected Area Database
Assessing the level of protection assists governments to decide how to best prioritise funding to meet national protection targets. This assessment and monitoring of Australia's bioregions is supported by the Commonwealth, state and territory agencies who regularly provide statistics on the protected areas within their jurisdictions. The statistics are compiled in a database - the Collaborative Australian Protected Area Database commonly known as CAPAD