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An interim biogeographic regionalisation for Australia: a framework for setting priorities in the National Reserves System Cooperative Program

Authors:
Richard Thackway at Australian National University
Richard Thackway
Ian Cresswell at University of Western Australia
Ian Cresswell
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Abstract and Figures

The National Reserves System (NRS) encompasses the existing protected areas which are managed and / or administered by the State, mainland Territory or Commonwealth nature conservation agencies. One of the primary goals of the NRS is the conservation of biodiversity. Conservation may be achieved at a regional scale through a range of management measures ranging from strict protected areas to off-reserve alternate conservation management measures. In order to provide a framework for establishing priorities for delivering the National Reserves System Cooperative Program (NRSCP) it was necessary to have general agreement on the broadest level break-up of the Australian environment into biogeographic regions. A consensus on biogeographic regions across jurisdictions provides a fundamental starting point for building a cooperative approach to the identification and management of a truly national reserves system. Agreement on the broad biogeographic regions of Australia also provides a basis for establishing common criteria for identifying deficiencies in the existing protected areas system. The October 1993 meeting of Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC) agreed to discussions between Australian Nature Conservation Agency (ANCA) and the State and Territory nature conservation agencies regarding technical issues surrounding the development of the NRS. Recognition of the need to develop an agreed biogeographic regionalisation was an outcome of those discussions. As a result, it was decided to hold technical meetings between the Commonwealth and State and Territory nature conservation agencies. The format of the meetings comprised workshop and syndicate sessions. This is a report of two technical meetings held in Adelaide on 7 - 11 February 1994 and in Alice Springs on 25 - 28 July 1994 to develop an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation of Australia (IBRA) for use in planning the NRS. Each State and mainland Territory nature conservation agency has participated in the development of the IBRA. Description of the IBRA Prior to the development of the IBRA the total number of existing biogeographic regions defined by nature conservation agencies across their respective jurisdictions was 130. Two methods were used to rationalise these existing regions and to derive the IBRA regions, region names and region descriptions: 1. map unit boundaries and descriptions were interpreted / integrated and transferred onto paper maps or drafting film, and then these boundaries were digitised; and 2. where finer scale GIS data were available, that is, map unit boundaries and descriptions, regions and their descriptions were interpreted and aggregated. Using the procedures outlined in the report 80 IBRA regions across Australia were derived by compiling the best available data and information about each State and Territory including specialist field knowledge, published resource and environmental reports, and biogeographic regionalisations for each State and Territory, as well as continental data sets. Names and descriptions for the IBRA utilised existing common names and referenced published source documents. Where no descriptions were available specialist field knowledge was used to generate appropriate names and descriptions. Where region names were restricted to a particular State or Territory, eg Midlands (Vic), these names were revised to provide a more meaningful name in the IBRA context eg Victorian Midlands. The IBRA represents a 'milestone' product, meaningful to both field based ecologists and land managers. It is acknowledged that validation of the regions is required and subsequent revisions will be necessary. A range of issues are discussed regarding the use and misuse of the IBRA given its assumptions and limitations. IBRAs Conservation Planning Attributes In order to provide a systematic framework for identifying the deficiencies in the existing system of protected areas, as well as establishing priorities for filling these gaps, four conservation planning attributes have been developed based on the IBRA. Reservation status and the bias in the degree of comprehensiveness. Estimates of the natural environments represented within protected areas were calculated for each IBRA region respectively. Estimates of the constraints and limitations to planning the national reserve system. That is, the degree of alteration to the biodiversity at a landscape scale which has occurred due to European land management influences were assessed. This attribute was derived for each biogeographic region to provide a knowledge base for ranking NRSCP funding proposals according to the degree of risk or threat to the conservation of biodiversity. Alternative conservation management measures. That is, those measures other than strict protected areas for conserving biodiversity across the range of land tenures within a biogeographic region, were also identified. These measures may include land acquisition, binding legal agreements, planning instruments, and non-binding conservation activities. This information will provide a knowledge base for ranking NRSCP funding proposals, and make a valuable contribution to ongoing discussions about the 'real' level of funding necessary to address the deficiencies in the NRS in the medium and long terms. Applications of the 1BRA for reserve design and selection The developers of the IBRA acknowledge that to work at the regional scale it will be necessary to collect and analyse data at a finer scale within each IBRA region. For example, such an hierarchical approach is being implemented jointly between the Commonwealth, State and Territory forest management agencies under the auspices of the National Forest Policy Statement (NFPS). The IBRA in this application provides the hierarchical ecological framework to assess and develop a comprehensive, adequate and representative system of forest reserves to conserve old growth forests, wilderness areas and biodiversity values.
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... The bioregional location of the study area is at the boundary between the northern Geraldton Sandplains and southern Carnarvon Basin bioregions (Thackway & Cresswell 1995) and hence the meeting point of the state's southwest and eremaean provinces . Storr and Harold (1980) provide a summary description of the environment which they divided into three longitudinal zones of western, central and eastern. ...
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Full-text available
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A natural regions map for Tasmania
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4751 ISSN Tasmania has been divided into 13 regions for the purpose of mapping plant distribution. Eleven of these regions are large ecogeographic zones, the other two being defined to accommodalc historic and administrative requirements of the Tasmanian Herbarium. The boundaries of all regions are defined on natural features, principally rivers and a Ititudinal contours. The region names are being routinely added to labeL; of specimens in the Tasmanian Herbarium. Very similar regions are recognised in a scheme being used by other agencies in Tasmania for nature conservation purposes, and the differences between the two schemes are discussed.
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Coastline digital data set
  • Jan 1993
AUSLIG (1993). 'Coastline digital data set'.
Australian Nature Conservation Agency, Canberra.' For information on assumptions, limitations and caveats regarding use of this mapIBRA digital data set
  • Jan 1995
An Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation of Australia, Australian Nature Conservation Agency, Canberra.' For information on assumptions, limitations and caveats regarding use of this map. SOURCES: ANCA (1995). 'IBRA digital data set'.