BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION

The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA (15:06): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Environment and Conservation a question about biodiversity conservation.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA: South Australia's ancient natural environment has evolved over millions of years and adapted to some of the harshest conditions in the world. Despite this natural hardiness, the state's outback environment still requires careful management. Can the minister inform the council about moves to better manage South Australia's arid lands?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Environment and Conservation, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister Assisting the Minister for Health) (15:06): I thank the honourable member for his important question, and I am pleased to inform the council that the Department for Environment and Heritage has today released a draft South Australian Arid Lands Biodiversity Strategy for public comment.

Obviously, all South Australia's natural environment requires careful management—which is why this government has established a number of concrete targets in relation to the no-species-loss strategy and South Australia's strategic plan—but it is, perhaps, the arid regions that require some serious attention. That is the reason this draft management strategy was the first region-specific strategy under no-species-loss, given that the affected areas make up huge tracts of the state—including the Gawler Ranges, the Far North, and the north-east of the Flinders Ranges.

Many plants breed only after rare heavy rain or after bushfires, and animals that call these areas home are just as dependent on that very fragile balance. We are already working to protect individual animals and plants such as the yellow-footed rock wallaby and the spidery wattle, and fish such as the purple-spotted gudgeon; however, under the strategy launched today, we can now better plan to protect the entire ecological communities they are part of, helping to prevent other species in the region from becoming threatened.

The strategy is also about responding to future threats. Of course, traditional threats to biodiversity such as loss of habitat, invasive pests and grazing are part of the strategy, but climate change is also now a factor in future conservation initiatives, and one example of this is our Nature Links program to establish biodiversity corridors to link fragmented habitats across the state. This holistic form of management is a practical way of dealing with large-scale threats such as climate change.

The South Australian Arid Lands Biodiversity Strategy has been prepared by DEH in partnership with the South Australian Arid Lands Natural Resources Management Board. To obtain a copy of the draft of the strategy one can simply telephone DEH, and public comments on the draft strategy need to be submitted by 30 June 2008. I look forward to receiving that public comment, and I am pleased that this government continues to forge ahead with conservation initiatives.