The Nature Conservation Council welcomes Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s decision to give the Wollemi Pine greater protection by designating it an Asset of Intergenerational Significance. [1]
NCC Acting Chief Executive Jacqui Mumford said: “This is a very welcome development. The conservation movement has for years been calling for ecological assets to be included in local bushfire management plans, which now protect mostly buildings and infrastructure.
“The creation of Assets of Intergenerational Significance as a new category deserving special protection is a great precedent.
“The Wollemi Pine is a critically endangered iconic species that must be conserved at all costs.
“We hope this new designation will also be applied to the other 100 species in NSW that are listed as critically endangered. [2]
“Species and ecosystems are irreplaceable, priceless natural assets. It is time that we started accounting for and protecting these in the same way that we do built assets.
“This is a step in the right direction.”
Other critically endangered species [3] that deserve greater conservation effort include:
- Bellinger River Snapping Turtle
- Northern Corroboree Frog
- Southern Corroboree Frog
- Regent Honeyeater
- Red-tailed Cockatoo (Coastal subspecies)
- Beach Stone‐curlew
- Long‐footed Potoroo
- Little Mountain Palm
- North Rothbury Persoonia
- Megalong Valley Bottlebrush
REFERENCES
[1] ‘Dinosaur tree’ declared Asset of Intergenerational Significance, 15-1-20
[2] See Table 11.1a on the NSW State of the Environment Report 2018 web page.