Biodiversity

Plants form the basis of most ecosystems and play a vital role in supporting all life on earth. They provide environmental services that support the environment and our everyday lives, such as filtering water and air, as well as supporting many recreational activities.

Plants are important sources of food, medicine and cultural material for Aboriginal peoples. Ensuring the ongoing health of plants is a critical part of caring for Country.

Ecosystems function as the habitat for all species, interconnecting all living organisms. Reduction in the number of plant species will directly affect other species. For example, the disappearance of a plant species from its ecosystem can break the food chain, eventually leading to ecosystem collapse.

Forests are known as the lungs of the earth. They mainly consist of trees and shrubs. They offer myriad ecosystem services, regulate global climate and provide habitat for countless species.

Identifying and protecting threatened plant species is vital to protect local biodiversity.

Land clearing, pollution, invasive species and climate change are major threats to plant biodiversity.

Key findings from the 2024 report

• The extent of native vegetation cover declined during 2021–24. Woody native vegetation extent fell from 49.8% in 2021 to 49.6% in 2024; and non woody vegetation fell from 19% in 2021 to 17.9% in 2024. These figures relate to vegetation cover where the plant community structure has not been substantially altered.
• The Australian National University's Australia's Environment 2023 report noted that woody native regrowth in NSW has been favourable in wet years.
• The clearing rate of woody native vegetation remains significantly higher than before the regulatory reforms of 2016–17.
• The ability of remaining habitats in NSW to support native plants, animals and ecosystems has dropped to 29% of their original capacity since pre-industrialisation. The 2019–20 bushfires accelerated the loss in affected areas.
• Modelling undertaken in the assessment of the NSW Biodiversity Indicator Program predicts that, without effective management, only 50% of the 657 plant species listed as threatened are predicted to survive in 100 years’ time.
• Rates of native forestry harvesting have declined by 61% since 2017.
• This topic's 'extent of native vegetation' and 'clearing of native vegetation' indicators align to the 'land system change' planetary boundary. Globally, this boundary has been crossed (see ).
• This topic's 'ecological carrying capacity' and 'number of threatened species listed' indicators align to the 'biosphere integrity' planetary boundary. Globally, this boundary has been crossed (see ).

Animals are closely linked to the overall health and functioning of ecosystems. The loss of any animal species will destabilise ecosystems and affect other species. For example, a plant may rely on an insect species to pollinate its flower. Pollination cannot occur if that insect species declines or dies out.

Many animals living in Australia are found nowhere else.

Native animals hold significant cultural values for Aboriginal peoples, serving as vital totems that embody their connection to Country. Protecting these totems is a cultural obligation, as the survival of native animals and their cultural values contributes to the balance and harmony of Country and culture.

Many of these native animal species are threatened. This means they are at high or very high risk of becoming extinct. This number increases every year as population and distribution decline.

The main threats to the survival of species are habitat destruction through the clearing of native vegetation, competition and predation by invasive species, pollution from human activities and climate change.

Key findings from the 2024 report

• The number of threatened animal species listings in NSW continues to increase, with 18 species added between December 2020 and June 2024, bringing the total to 343.
• Across NSW, the distribution of native land mammals is continuing to decrease.
• Australia has lost more mammal species than any other continent in the last 200 years, contributing to about one-third of mammal extinctions globally.
• While native birds have been more resistant to declines than native mammals, their populations are also declining.
• The number of critically endangered native fish in NSW has increased.
• After 30 years of work, invasive mammals have been successfully controlled on all NSW offshore islands, with continued monitoring and ecosystem recovery now taking place.
• Modelling in the assessment of the NSW Biodiversity Indicator Program undertaken in 2017 predicts that only 496 (or 50%) of the 991 land species listed as threatened are predicted to survive in 100 years’ time
• Invasive species continue to exert pressure on native plants and animals. New threats, such as red fire ants, will continue to pose significant biodiversity risks if not eradicated. They also bring substantial economic costs of managing and controlling infestations
• Some good outcomes have been reported, including:
  • Northern populations of the Booroolong frog are recovering following captive breeding and reintroduction efforts.
  • Yellow-footed rock wallaby numbers are rebounding from 100 animals in 2003 to 299 in 2023.
  • For the first time in 20 years Glossy black cockatoos have been discovered in their previous distribution on the mid-north coast.
  • Koalas are recolonising unburnt and partially burnt sites from the 2019 bushfires.
  • The density of certain bat species (amount of bats per hectare) is increasing in the Chichester State Forest.
• This topic's indicators (apart from 'invasive animals species: distribution and impact') align to the 'biosphere integrity' planetary boundary. Globally, this boundary has been crossed (see ).

Country is everything in the landscape, the people, plants and animals as well as the air, soil and rocks. It is also the relationships between them, the connection of ecological systems and biodiversity. Caring for Country is more than just caring for the environment, it is taking care of Country as if it is kin.

Aboriginal people value biodiversity. Culturally significant species provide food and medicine and signal the health of Country. Greater inclusion of Aboriginal knowledges will help to manage these species and safeguard the biodiversity of Country.

Aboriginal knowledges about seasons and Cultural Fire practices have shaped the management of land for tens of thousands of years. Aboriginal peoples’ involvement in caring for Country continues to increase, using cultural knowledge and practices to protect biodiversity and maintain cultural sites and practices.

Key findings from the 2024 report

• Truth telling is an important part of healing. Country needs the truth to be told.
• Many Aboriginal people, organisations and community are leading the way in how biodiversity should and could be better managed.
• Cultural Fire practices are being revived by Aboriginal communities to improve the health of Country and communities. Their value in reducing risk of bushfires and improving ecosystem health is increasingly understood across government agencies and within the broader mainstream community, though there are still significant barriers.
• There is currently very limited formal recognition of the rights and interests of Aboriginal peoples in environmental protection and biodiversity conservation in NSW including protection of culturally significant species. However, some notable innovative programs that partner with Aboriginal peoples to protect cultural values on public and private lands have been developed in the past three years.
• Community based Indigenous Rangers programs have been highly successful in ecological, and socio-economic outcomes over the past 25 years. In NSW all community rangers are funded by the Commonwealth. NSW is one of only two jurisdictions in Australia that does not fund an Indigenous Ranger program.