Threatened species assessment

A report commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund estimates that almost 3 billion native animals (vertebrates) were killed or otherwise affected by the 2019/20 bushfires. With an overall estimate like this, it’s clear that re-assessing the conservation status (i.e vulnerable, endangered, critically endangered etc.) of Australian native species will be critical to receiving formal conservation support and EPBC Act protection for affected species.

We must first understand the damage done to develop a roadmap for where recovery efforts should be focused - and this is a huge job!

The ZAA Threatened Species Assessment and Coordination project will employ and train three experts as ZAA Threatened Species Assessors (ZAA TSAs) to assist the Australian Federal Government and the Threatened Species Scientific Committee with this assessment and communicate with government to identify conservation needs, help plan effective and coordinated measures, and mobilise action.

ZAA TSAs would be trained to the Federal Government Standard, using the Common Assessment Method, and would also undergo training to ensure that assessments meet the requirements for IUCN Red Listing, as well as any state/territory requirements. The recruitment process is currently underway for these assessment roles.

This work on assessment plays a major role in recovery and is essential to all the recovery works that follows.