Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2019L00153:body:0:p3
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2019L00153
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 6270–9506

Recovery Plan to provide for the long term survival and protection of the Littoral Rainforest and Coastal Vine Thickets of Eastern Australia ecological community (hereafter referred to as Littoral Rainforest or the ecological community), listed as Critically Endangered under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).
Littoral Rainforest was listed as Critically Endangered because its geographic distribution is severely fragmented and primarily consists of numerous small and disjunct patches, there are demonstrable threats impacting upon it and there have been very severe reductions in the integrity of the ecological community.
The key historic and ongoing threat to Littoral Rainforest is coastal development and, given its distribution, Littoral Rainforest is also highly susceptible to the interacting effects of climate change and sea level rise, both of which exacerbate the existing threats of habitat fragmentation and invasion by transformer weeds (Lavorel et al. 2015). Littoral Rainforest also continues to be reduced and fragmented by land clearance, weed invasion, recreational disturbance, animal browsing/grazing, fire and natural disturbance.
The objectives of the National Recovery Plan for the Littoral Rainforest and Coastal Vine Thickets of Eastern Australia Ecological Community (hereafter referred to as the Recovery Plan) are that by 2029:
      * The management actions necessary to stop the decline of the ecological community across its distribution are well understood and being implemented;

      * The known extent (area) of Littoral Rainforest has been maintained or extended;

      * The condition of the ecological community has been improved across its distribution; and

      * The chances of the long term persistence of Littoral Rainforest in nature have been maximised.

The Recovery Plan will be implemented through a series of hierarchical objectives, strategies and actions across both specific bioregions and the entire ecological community collectively. The key strategies designed to meet the objectives of the Recovery Plan are to:
      * Implement planning, regulatory policies and actions to protect Littoral Rainforest;

      * Implement management strategies and actions to reduce threats to Littoral Rainforest;

      * Improve and extend Littoral Rainforest through active restoration;

      * Engage with the broader public to increase awareness and community involvement in management and rehabilitation; and

      * Improve knowledge on the distribution and condition of Littoral Rainforest, and monitor and report on the status of the ecological community.

Critical to the success of these objectives is the implementation of active management through natural regeneration and restoration using best practice standards and systems (as set out in the 'National Standards for the Practice of Ecological Restoration in Australia' (SERA 2015)) to prevent further degradation of the remaining patches of Littoral Rainforest within the fragmented landscape, and to promote recovery within those degraded patches. Without active management, detrimental activities like coastal development and vegetation clearing,