Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L01094:body:0:p15
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L01094
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 45796–48878

national parks. It is essential that the locations where the species regularly occurs are given the highest protection and conservation measures target these productive habitats.

Increasing the extent and quality of habitat critical to the survival of the species through protection and management of currently occupied habitat, and habitat suitable for potential or planned future reintroductions or translocations, would assist to increase the area of occupancy and population size of the forty-spotted pardalote.

No Critical Habitat as defined under section 207A of the EPBC Act has been identified or included in the Register of Critical Habitat.

2.9.1 Key considerations in environmental impact assessments
When considering habitat loss, alteration or likely degradation to habitat in any part of the forty-spotted pardalote's range, including in areas where the species 'may occur', surveys for occupancy and identifying preferred habitat remain an essential tool in refining understanding of the area's relative importance for the species. Both recent survey data and historical records need to be considered when assessing the relative importance of a local area or region for the forty-spotted pardalote, and on-site assessments by experienced ornithologists are essential.

Habitat critical to the survival of the species should not be destroyed or modified. Actions that have indirect impacts on habitat critical to the survival should be minimised and adequately mitigated. Actions that compromise adult and juvenile survival should also be avoided, for example, actions that increase the transmission and introduction of diseases, or actions that might increase predation threat from either native or introduced predators. Actions should not be assessed in isolation, and consideration must be given to existing and future activities that may impact the species to ensure conservation outcomes on a landscape scale are achieved.

Actions that remove, fragment and/or degrade habitat critical to the survival of the species would interfere with the recovery of the forty-spotted pardalote, and potentially reduce the area of occupancy of the species. It is important for the recovery of the species to retain wet and dry sclerophyll forests or woodlands that contain white gum as described above (see 2.8 Relevant biology and ecology). If removal, fragmentation or degradation of habitat critical to the survival of the species cannot be avoided, then any offset must be consistent with state and Commonwealth policies.

3. Threats

3.1 Historical causes of decline
Loss, degradation and fragmentation of suitable habitat (dry sclerophyll forests and woodlands supporting white gum) through clearing for agriculture, forestry, industrial and residential development has been identified as the primary reason for the species' historical decline (Bryant 1991; Bradshaw 2012).

3.2 Current threatening processes
The major current threats to the species are habitat degradation and inappropriate fire regimes (Bryant et al. 2021). Over 80% of currently occupied habitat