New South Wales Government

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Conserving biodiversity in NSW

What is biodiversity?

Biodiversity is the variety of all life forms: different plants (from lichens and mosses to shrubs and trees), animals (invertebrates, frogs, reptiles, birds and mammals), the genes they contain and the ecosystems in which they live.

 

Biodiversity is vital in supporting human life on Earth. It provides many benefits, including all our food, many medicines and industrial products, and it supplies clean air and water, and fertile soils.

 

Australia is home to more than one million species of plants and animals, many of which are unique. About 82 per cent of our mammals and 93 per cent of our frogs are found nowhere else in the world. But over the past 200 years, the Australian environment has been modified dramatically. Australia has lost 75 per cent of its rainforests and has the world's worst record of mammal extinctions.

How can we conserve biodiversity?

Conserving the biodiversity of NSW is a major challenge. It can't just be done by setting aside land in national parks and reserves; it needs the people of New South Wales to be involved in community conservation across the landscape.

The NSW Government's Biodiversity Strategy sets out a plan of action to achieve this. The strategy was launched by the Minister for the Environment in 1999. As a 'whole of government' strategy, it commits all government agencies to working towards conserving biodiversity in New South Wales.

More information

• Find out more on the NSW Biodiversity Strategy website.
• The impacts of climate change, predicted to be the greatest long-term threat to biodiversity.
• The three advisory bodies established under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 to advise the government on the strategic management of biodiversity.
• The Biodiversity Research Network, which aims to facilitate communication and cooperation among biodiversity-related researchers in NSW.
• The characteristics and conservation status of each of the 17 NSW bioregions.