Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2012L02359:body:0:p2
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2012L02359
Segment Type: other
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Character Range: 4026–7074

compiled using a range of source materials and is valid as at September 2012.

While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the contents of this publication are factually correct, the Commonwealth does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the contents, and shall not be liable for any loss or damage that may be occasioned directly or indirectly through the use of, or reliance on, the contents of this publication.

Introduction

This national threat abatement plan (TAP) has been developed to address the key threatening process (KTP) 'Ecosystem degradation, habitat loss and species decline due to invasion of northern Australia[1] by introduced gamba grass (Andropogon gayanus), para grass (Urochloa mutica), olive hymenachne (Hymenachne amplexicaulis), mission grass (Pennisetum polystachion) and annual mission grass (Pennisetum pedicellatum)'. This KTP was listed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) in 2009. The introduced grass species that are the subject of this KTP and of this TAP will be referred to in this document as 'the five listed grasses'.

This TAP should be read in conjunction with its associated background document, which provides information about each of the grasses, their impacts on the environment, their social and economic impacts and values, and their current management. The background document also includes details about recent changes to the names of P. polystachion and P. pedicellatum to Cenchrus polystachios and C. pedicellatus, respectively. For clarity, the common name 'perennial mission grass' has been adopted for C. polystachios, to avoid confusion with annual mission grass.

This TAP is considered to be a feasible, effective and efficient approach to abating the threat to Australia's biodiversity from the five listed grasses spreading across northern Australia. It provides a framework for prioritising investment in threat abatement and identifies management and other actions required to ensure the long-term survival of native species and ecological communities affected by these grasses. It is appreciated that considerable progress has already been made in the coordinated management of some of these grasses and in the development of policies, tools and management procedures relating to them. This TAP will use and adapt existing mechanisms, where appropriate, to ensure efficient implementation and avoid duplication.

The focus of this TAP is on identifying and protecting key environmental assets (threatened species and ecological communities listed under the EPBC Act and other matters of national environmental significance). Such an asset-based management approach to widespread weeds has been endorsed by the Australian Weeds Committee (AWC). While this TAP aims primarily to abate the threat to key assets, it also recognises that these grasses have wider environmental impacts as well as social, cultural and economic impacts.

This TAP further acknowledges that the five listed grasses may