Journal Article

Vulnerable species and ecosystems are falling through the cracks of environmental impact assessments

Stone, Zoe, Simmonds, Jeremy S., Maron, Martine, Reside, April E., Walsh, Jessica C., Ward, Michelle S.

2020

Overview

Proponents of development projects (e.g., new roads, mines, dams) are frequently required to assess and manage their impacts on threatened biodiversity. Here, we propose that the environmental legislation and standards that mandate such assessments are failing those threatened species and ecological communities listed as vulnerable. Using a case study of Australia's key environmental legislation, we highlight that vulnerable ecological communities receive no statutory protection, while vulnerable species are held to a less stringent standard in the impact assessment process compared with those that are endangered or critically endangered. In the 19 years since Australia's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 was enacted, four times as many vulnerable species have declined in their threat status than have improved. Beyond Australia, we demonstrate the global relevance of this issue, as it applies to internationally recognized best practice impact assessment guidelines. These cases provide a cautionary tale: without greater attention and stricter assessment criteria in the impact assessment process, the vulnerable species of today risk becoming the endangered species of tomorrow, with all the attendant costs and missed opportunities for recovery that this implies.

• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc,Wiley
• Subject: Assessments / Australia / Best practice / Biodiversity / biodiversity conservation / case studies / Community ecology / Cracks / Development projects / ecological communities / ecosystems / EIA / Endangered & extinct species / Endangered species / Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act / Environmental impact / Environmental impact assessment / Environmental law / Environmental legislation / Environmental protection / EPBC / Extinction / guidelines / infrastructure development / Legislation / performance standards / Population / Population decline / Protected species / red list / risk / roads / threatened ecological communities / threatened ecosystems / Threatened species / vulnerable species / Wildlife conservation