The Flora & Fauna Guarantee Act

A species or community of flora and fauna is eligible to be listed under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act if it can be demonstrated that:

1. a species or community of flora and fauna is in a state of decline which it is likely to result in extinction or;
   
   
2. a species or community of flora and fauna is significantly prone to future threats which are likely to result in extinction.

Threatening processes, such as habitat fragmentation, are also listed under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act.

The Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act requires Action Statements to be completed for each listing. An Action Statement sets out management prescriptions to protect endangered species. An Action Statement must be completed 'as soon as possible' after listing.

See list of endangered species and communities, and threatening processes under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act.

Failings of the Flora & Fauna Guarantee Act

A lack of State Government resources has resulted in poor administration of the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988.

The main administrative failings of the Act are:
A. Long process to get threatening processes listed.
B. Failure to complete Action Statements.
C. Failure to complete Action Statements undermines RFA process.
D. Forestry Victorian influence on Action Statement design.
E. Flora exemptions to Native Forest Logging Industry.
F. Otway Forest Management Plan breached.

A. Long process to threatening processes listed

Referring to Table 2, nominations 377 and 453 took three years to get nominated. The delay resulted in the West RFA failing to consider management issues associated with these threatening process.

B. Failure to complete Action Statements.

Section 19 of the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 outlines mandatory requirements for the preparation of Action Statements.

Section 19
(1) The Director-General must prepare an action statement for any listed taxon or community of flora or fauna or potentially threatening process as soon as possible after that taxon, community or process is listed.

(2) The action statement must set out what has been done to conserve and manage that taxon or community or process and what is intended to be done and may include information on what needs to be done.

Source Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988

Of the ten items listed in Table 1 & 2, only two Action statements have been prepared (Tiger Quoll & Tall Astelia), despite some nominations being gazetted into the FFG Act as far back as 1991. The requirement for the Director General to prepare an Action statement "as soon as possible" should actually read "as long as you like".

For example: The Action Statements for the Slender Tree Fern ( Nomination 191) has been in draft for over 11 years. The final Recommendation for listing of Nomination 191 refers to logging operations and regeneration burns being the greatest threat.

An Action Statement for the Slender Tree Fern would place prescriptions on logging practices to protect its habitat. This Action Statement was not available for consideration during the West RFA process for the Otways.

C. Failure to complete Action Statements undermines RFA process

All Victorian RFA's including the West Regional Forest Agreement(RFA) recognise the completion of Action Statements as being critical in providing management strategies to protect endanger species.

(See Section 48,55,56 57 58,59 and Attachment 2, West RFA.)

The failure to complete Action Statements renders the RFA Reserve System inadequate for the protection of endangered species due to lack of information and management strategies. Link RFA

D. Forestry Victorian influence on Action Statement design.

The drafting and implementation of the few Action Statements that have been completed require approved by Forestry Victoria before public release. Opportunity for public participation in drafting up Action Statements has been limited. Without public participation, prescriptions regarding logging practices are watered down or deleted.

Example
The first Tiger Quoll Action Statement has no prescriptions to protect Quolls from logging practices despite the primary Quoll habitat being within forest available for logging. Link quolls

E. Flora exemptions to Native Forest Logging Industry

Under section 48(3) of the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988, the Governor and Council have published an Order in the Victorian Government Gazette (17 December 1998, page 3088).

"The purpose of this Order is to authorise the taking of protected flora in State Forest and Crown land where that taking is a result of or incidental to Forest produce (including timber) harvesting operations or associated roadworks authorised under the Forests Act 1958."

The Native forest timber industry and DNRE are exempt from complying with legislation which is in place to protect flora species listed in the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988.

The existence of this Order for exemption is an admission that logging practices in State Forest threaten and destroy listed flora in the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988.

F. Otway Forest Management Plan breached

Section 6.2.3 of the 1992 Otway Forest Management Plan requires flora to be managed in accordance with Action Statements prepared as a part of the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988.

With most action statements still not complete after 10 years, Forestry Victoria is breaching prescriptions set out in the plan.

Section 6.2.3 Significant Plant Species
"Manage flora listed under Schedule 2 of the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 in accordance with approved Action Statements and Flora and Fauna Management Plans." Medium Priority

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