Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L00775:front:0:p2
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L00775
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 3453–6785

for Environment (Western Australia)

There are over 100 species of seabird that occur naturally or regularly visit Australia
during the course of their lifecycle. Australia's coastal and oceanic habitats, particularly
offshore islands and surrounding waters are critically important areas for seabirds
during the breeding and non-breeding season as places to breed, rest and feed.
For long-distance migratory species, these habitats also provide resources so birds
can build enough energy reserves to travel the long distance to complete their
annual migration.

Commonwealth listed marine and migratory seabird species that inhabit Australia receive national protection as a matter of national environmental significance under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). Under the EPBC Act, wildlife conservation plans can be prepared to provide for research and management actions necessary to support the survival of listed marine and migratory species. This mechanism also supports Australia's domestic obligations under our current bilateral migratory bird agreements with the Governments of Japan, China and the Republic of Korea, as well as multi-lateral environment agreements including the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

The Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment has prepared a Wildlife Conservation Plan for Seabirds in consultation with Commonwealth agencies, state and territory governments, local government, natural resource
management bodies, industry, research institutions, non-government organisations and other relevant stakeholders. The Plan aims to provide a national framework for the research and management of listed marine and migratory seabirds and to outline national activities to support the conservation of listed seabirds in Australia and beyond. The Plan includes a summary of Australia's commitments under international conventions and agreements, and the identification of important habitats within Australia. This Plan can be used as an over-arching framework to develop sub-national or regional plans and should be used to ensure seabird conservation, research and management are integrated and remain focused on the long-term survival of seabirds and their habitats.

This is the first wildlife conservation plan developed under the EPBC Act for seabirds and the Department encourages the implementation of actions identified in the plan in partnership with all relevant stakeholders. The Plan will be in place for a period of ten years and will be reviewed in 2025. It is available for download from the Department's website at http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity.

                                    Wildlife Conservation Plan for Seabirds 1

 The seabird diversity of Australia, its islands and external territories is remarkable. The majority of species feed in coastal or oceanic waters and many migrate beyond Australian jurisdiction to complete their lifecycle. For these species, efforts to conserve seabirds in one country can only be effective with the cooperation and complementary actions of all countries in which they occur, including the high