What we do

As the state’s leading environmental advocacy organisation, it is our mission to protect nature in NSW and create the conditions it needs to thrive.

For more than 60 years, we have been at the centre of the state’s most important conservation battles and have notched up countless wins for wildlife, bushland, marine life, and local communities.

We run campaigns, mobilise communities, and advocate passionately for the protection of our unique wildlife and bushland.

We also play a leading role in fire policy, education, and ecology through our Healthy Ecosystems Program.

What we are fighting for

NSW is home to an astonishing variety of plants, animals and living landscapes, from our forests and woodlands to our deserts and oceans.

This kaleidoscope of life includes almost 5,500 species of plants and animals, many of which exist nowhere else on the planet.

State of play

Sadly, this intricate web of life is fraying under pressure from climate change, industrial development, deforestation and exploitation.

In a little over two centuries, 75 species have become extinct in NSW and 1000 more – about 20% of all the species – face the same fate unless we act. Koalas and 60% of all native mammals – our gliders, quolls, and rock wallabies – are under threat.

On land, the destruction of wildlife habitat by 200 years of deforestation and land clearing is the primary threat.

Almost 40% of the state’s native bushland has been cleared, and only 9% of what is left is thriving, most of it in national parks and reserves.

At sea, marine life is suffering from over-fishing, water pollution and a tsunami of plastic. And now climate change is multiplying the threats, both on land and at sea.

But we have hope

While the challenges are daunting, we have hope. There are many instances where humanity has applied its intelligence, tenacity, and compassion to solve seemingly insurmountable problems.

We know that nature faces threats on many fronts, but we have confidence that by working together we can turn things around. We have done it before and we can do it again.

Our wins

We take inspiration from our past wins. Since we were formed in 1955, we have driven the expansion of the state’s national parks system, which now protects millions of hectares of precious bushland and wildlife habitat on land and at sea.

We have helped formulate laws that preserve our unique native plants and animals and protect stunning landscapes and wildernesses areas. We have been the driving force behind better bushfire management, new measures to control pollution and deforestation, and strong laws that protect the water we drink and the air we breathe.