Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L00270:body:0:p54
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L00270
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 148405–151466

likelihood of extinction over a 50–100-year timeframe. Furthermore, the extent and location of suitable habitat for Leadbeater's possum will vary substantially over time, depending upon the type and extent of disturbance and successional processes in its habitat.
Given some still existing substantial uncertainties about population size, the scale and impact of future threats and the likely benefits and practicality of potential actions, it is challenging at this stage to prescribe 'acceptable' and plausible target levels for the probability of long-term persistence of Leadbeater's possum. No matter what set of conservation actions are taken, it is unlikely that its long-term fate can be guaranteed (i.e., that those actions would result in a 0% probability of functional extinction over the next 100 years). A reasonable and realistic long-term target to help frame the short-term objectives in this Plan is that those actions should collectively benefit this species so that its probability of extinction over a 100-year period becomes less than 1%.
Performance criteria are listed in the section below for a set of objectives operating over the lifetime of this Plan. It is less meaningful to attempt to provide comparable criteria for the period beyond this plan, but the long-term objective described above would require the following outcomes:
    * the total population size of Leadbeater's possum stabilises and then increases over the next 20–50 years;
    * risks to Leadbeater's possum from catastrophe (notably extensive, severe bushfire) are managed effectively through securing viable subpopulations across an area that is at least as extensive as its distribution immediately prior to the 2009 bushfires;
    * the extent and continuity of suitable habitat is increased or at least maintained across the Central Highlands;
    * landscape planning ensures climate modelling (1) informs identification and protection of climate refugia, and (2) is integrated with other modelling approaches such as PVA and connectivity analysis to determine the overall extinction risk for Leadbeater's possum;
    * there is an ongoing commitment, with appropriate resourcing, to effective and enduring management of threats to this species, including effective management that results in a pattern of bushfire frequency and severity that is less detrimental to this species (and its forest environment);
    * the subpopulation in the lowland swamp forest is retained and its population size and the extent and suitability of its habitat are substantially greater than at present.

7.2.2             Objectives, actions, outcomes and performance criteria
The objectives and actions proposed in this section should be considered as an integrated and coherent package. These objectives and actions span a broad gamut of policy, management, research, monitoring, governance and other components, recognising the high profile but complex conservation context for this species. The set of objectives and actions described here includes all, or components of,