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Impacts to Threatened Species reduced

Adaptation Pathway

This pathway presents actions for gathering information, prioritising threatened species and targeting hotspots in conservation efforts. This will require a coordinated and cross-sector approach for landscape-scale conservation of species and habitats, including sea turtles and mammals. The work will include long-term monitoring and systematic surveys of species and ecosystems.

How was it identified

Cape York has several hundred threatened species listed on state, national and international lists. This issue is voiced through the engagement work over several years on Cape York, including engagement with western Cape York communities through the delivery of the Western Cape Turtle Threat Abatement Alliance. Cape York NRM staff also have expertise in conservation issues, understanding impacts to threatened species and have analysed threatened species records over several years.

Scale

Regional

Change

Incremental

Listen

  • Collate and analyse databases and information on species distribution and ecology.

  • Develop and present climate models for species refugia.

  • Work together to discuss the status, distribution and threats to species to inform targetted conservation actions.

  • Conduct surveys to discover or understand distributions of species (eg. Jardine River Turtle).

  • Monitor species populations.

Learn

  • Conduct workshops and projects to prioritise areas and species, involving people across sectors and specialties.

  • Learn about the key areas and species to target, including cultural and social connections.

  • Refine monitoring tools and techniques through shared learning.

  • Exchange knowledge and identify values (eg. totems) of the species and ecosystems.

  • Provide mapping services for documenting ecological knowledge, species locations and threats.

  • Trial recovery actions to learn what works for recovering populations.

Look

  • Develop partnerships with research institutions and other sectors to implement threat abatement strategies.

  • Conduct systematic reviews of specific ecological and conservation topics to inform management.

  • Collaborate on grant writing among organisations and landholders to seek large investments for the protection of species and ecosystems.

Example Monitoring Indicator

  • Long-term systematic surveys.

Assumptions

  • There is funding available to work on threatened species.

  • Threatened species are able to be recovered before declining further.

  • Conservation actions will reverse the declining population trends.

  • Collaborating across landscapes, with multiple interest groups and specialties, is the most effective approach to conserve species.

  • There are hotspots where landscape scale actions will work best.

  • Land managers of threatened species habitats are supportive of the conservation actions.

  • Reducing the impacts of fire, pests and infrastructure development are critical to conserve species.

  • People are able to implement long-term monitoring of species populations and habitats.

Opportunities

  • Comprehensive and useable databases on threatened species populations, distributions and habitats.

  • Generation of public interest in conserving species.

  • Building relationships with existing experienced regional ecologists and conservation groups.

  • Building clear climate models to understanding future distributions and refugial areas.

  • Emulating the WCTTAA model for other species and ecosystems.

  • Working across sectors, specialties and interest groups will build social cohesion.

Implications

  • Species protected.

  • Improved ecological resilience.

  • Keeping the species for future generations.

  • Maintaining ecosystem services.

  • Building skills, capacity and social outcomes.

  • Protecting Indigenous ecological knowledge.

  • Improved long-term understanding of ecosystem and species health.