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Home , Bramble Cay melomys, Charismatic megafauna, Gondwana Rainforests, Ningaloo Coast, Purnululu National Park, Shark Bay

Australian World Heritage Advisory Committee C/o [email protected]

Mr Stephen Palethorpe Committee Secretary Senate Inquiry into Australian Faunal PO Box 6100 Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 [email protected]

13 August 2019

Dear Mr Palethorpe

RE: Senate Inquiry into Australian Faunal Extinctions

The Australian World Heritage Advisory Committee (AWHAC)* commends the Senate for initiating this Inquiry and notes the Interim Report. It is a very timely Inquiry given the serious threats to World Heritage Properties from and to threatened within them. AWHAC, the peak advisory body for World Heritage Properties, welcomes the opportunity to comment, at this critical time for the world’s .

The AWHAC notes the Interim Report of the Inquiry recognises Commonwealth obligations under the World Heritage Convention and that world heritage properties are listed as a Matter of National Environmental Significance under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).

A significant percentage of EPBC Act-listed threatened species (critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable) occur in one or more World Heritage properties. World Heritage status adds an international level of protection and scrutiny to the protected area systems established under Commonwealth and State/Territory laws.

The AWHAC wishes to make the following points for consideration by the Inquiry:

1. World Heritage properties in Australia are refugia and natural laboratories for endemic and often threatened faunal species.

For example, two species previously thought to have been extinct: the Hastings River Mouse (Pseudomys oralis) and Parma Wallaby (Macropus parma) were ‘re-discovered’ in the of Australia. This is a vitally important role given the accelerating species rate in the world and Australia. The recent report by the UN in May 2019 has highlighted a dangerous global trend in species extinction. Australia’s endemic fauna and flora are facing the same threats, accelerated by the vulnerability of the historically isolated island evolution (IPBES 2019). In Australia, there are serious threats to vertebrate fauna from invasive introduced predators such as cats (Kearney et al. 2018).

2. World Heritage properties are at risk from climate change.

In a recent survey of Australian World Heritage Properties climate change was identified as a specific threat to the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the properties, both those listed for cultural criteria as well as those listed for their natural and cultural values. For many sites, climate change is affecting the structuring species and habitats that support threatened and vulnerable faunal species. Threats to endemic species can occur directly through predation from or indirectly through agents such as fire or floods, which increase in intensity and frequency through climate change. World Heritage property management can identify vulnerabilities to species within their property and take some remedial actions but may not be able to avoid faunal extinctions due to external forces arising from climate change.

3. The protection afforded by World Heritage listing for threatened faunal species within World Heritage properties is not sufficient in the face of global climate change.

Modelling of future scenarios has predicted that the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, could be facing the extinction of more than half of its endemic species by the end of this century. The Wet Tropics has a high proportion of threatened species, many of which are also rare or endemic. They include some iconic species such as the southern cassowary and the mahogany glider, but most of them are little known, particularly the plants, frogs and invertebrates. The white lemuroid possum (Hemibelideus lemuroides) in this World Heritage Area is facing extinction because of rising temperatures and the diminishing cloud canopy habitat.

In , Northern Territory 31 fauna species, of which 16 are listed under the EPBC Act are listed as threatened under national and Northern Territory legislation. These include the endangered northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus). Quolls were declining due to habitat loss, frequent burning, and predation, but the recent advance of the cane toad (Rhinella marina) has also been catastrophic for Kakadu’s northern quolls.

In , , the Gouldian finch, purple-crowned fairy wren, northern quoll and greater bilby are all EPBC Act-listed as endangered and a lack of survey information increases their vulnerability to extinction. The arrival of cane toad to this area several years ago has undoubtedly added to these concerns.

Budj Bim, Australia’s newest World Heritage-listed property in Victoria, reports that the spotted-tailed or quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) hasn't been officially recorded for at least a decade, with some Indigenous elders believing the last quoll was shot there in the late 1950s. The eastern barred bandicoot (Perameles gunnii) is also noticeably absent. Work is already underway through the ‘Restoring ' project to return trees to 400 hectares of Aboriginal land and provide habitat for the region's native and endangered plants and .

The , Queensland has been the focus of much marine work for the last decade, but even its terrestrial species are apparently at risk from climate change. The , or Bramble Cay mosaic-tailed rat (Melomys rubicola), is a recently

extinct species of in the family and subfamily . It was an endemic species of the isolated Bramble Cay, a vegetated cay located at the northern tip of the Great Barrier Reef. Described by researchers as having last been seen in 2009 and declared extinct by the and researchers in 2016, it was formally declared extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in May 2015 and the in February 2019. Considered the only mammal endemic to the reef, its extinction was described as the first extinction of a mammal species due to anthropogenic climate change.

In Bay, Western Australia, forecasts of increasing temperature, runoff and sediment deposition threaten foundational OUV (NESP 2018). A recent assessment of climate change vulnerability (Heron and Day 2018) demonstrated that major impacts were predicted for the OUVs foundational to the function and its World Heritage listing, such as loss, and the associated charismatic , such as , , turtles and dolphins, as well as the . ’s terrestrial species are similarly predicted to be impacted having the only remnant wild populations of several threatened or vulnerable species such as rufous hare wallaby, banded hare wallaby, mala (endangered), woma Python, Hamelin and Baudin skinks, Shark Bay mouse and Shark Bay bandicoot, black and white fairy wren ( Island), as well as several species of conservation dependent fauna.

The , Western Australia, has three EPBC Act-listed species of subterranean fauna; (two species Miyeringa veritas, Ophisternon candidum, and one Remipedia; Kumonga exleyi). All three are aquatic but the remipede is especially vulnerable as it inhabits only the anchialine system and at one location is susceptible to sea level change. The Cape Range endemic Milyeringa veritas inhabits both saline and fresh water so is more susceptible to change in temperature rather than sea level. Ophisternon candidum inhabits freshwater and is similarly most vulnerable to temperature change. Subterranean species occur in Ningaloo Coast and other Australian world heritage properties and globally are particularly sensitive to climate change (Mammola et al 2019b).

Decline of the greater glider (Petauroides volans) in the Greater Blue Mountains, (Smith and Smith, 2018) is only one of some 73 terrestrial vertebrate fauna species (28 mammal, 34 bird, four reptile and seven frog species) in the GBMWHA now listed as threatened under NSW and Commonwealth legislation (Smith and Smith, 2019). Dr Ian Baird (2019) suggests invertebrates are also expected to be at risk such as the giant dragonfly (Petalura gigantea). Other species, with main threats in brackets, include the smoky mouse and Eastern pygmy possum (cat and fox predation, climate change, fire regime); eastern and spotted-tailed quolls; gang-gang and glossy-black cockatoos, Regent honeyeaters and swift (habitat loss, climate change, fire regime); booroolong, green and golden bess, giant barred and stuttering frogs (disease, carp and trout); squirrel and yellow-bellied gliders (feral predation, habitat loss, climate change, fire regime); koala (dogs, fire regimes, disease); Blue Mountains water skink (climate change / long-wall mining); brush-tailed rock- wallaby (fox predation); and grey-headed flying fox (climate change, government management policies).

The endangered black-tailed dusky antechinus (Antechinus arktos) is another example, this time from the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia (New South Wales and Queensland). The species is restricted to the high elevation rainforests/cloud forests of the Border Ranges, and Queensland Herbarium modelling suggests that its distribution is highly sensitive to moisture stress. Bureau of Meteorology climate change modelling predicts drying of these forests due to a decline in cloud water inputs (Narsey et al.) and researchers have recently noticed such declines.

Other species at risk in Gondwana include (in the New South Wales sites) multiple species of frogs: Philoria richmondensis, P. kundagungan, P. pughi, Litroria daviesae, L. boorolongensis, L. piperata, Mixophyes balbus, M. Iteratus and M. fleayi. From the Queensland sites the spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus maculatus), eastern bristlebird (Dasyornis brachypterus) and rufous scrub-bird (Atrichornis rufescens).

A recent study by Geyle et al. (2018) has identified likelihood extinction for 20 birds and 20 across Australia. Identified mammals include the critically endangered Southern bent-wing bat (Miniopterus orianae bassanii) which uses one cave located at Fossil Mammal Site Naracoorte Caves in South Australia as a major breeding site. There has been little research effort, recognition and funding for species recovery. Current research focuses on tracking the movement and survival of this critically endangered southern bent-wing bats across South East Australia and Western Victoria.

On (K’gari), Queensland, 55 fauna species are considered rare or threatened under the EPBC Act, including the black-breasted button quail (Turnix melanogaster) and water mouse (Xeromys myoides). Both are threatened by habitat loss associated with climate change including increasing bush fires and .

There are examples from each World Heritage property, highlighting the richness of our fauna contained within each area for maintenance and protection under UNESCO, yet now facing impacts of climate change.

In conclusion, the AWHAC offers its assistance to the Inquiry in assisting in identifying issues related to potential faunal extinctions and threats to endemic species that form part of the Outstanding Universal Value of Australia’s World Heritage properties.

We would welcome the opportunity to discuss this further with the Senate committee. If you require clarification of any of the issues raised in this submission, or further information, please call me on or email .

Yours sincerely,

Sue Sargent Chair - Australian World Heritage Advisory Committee

AWHAC*

The AWHAC is a peak body made up of the Chairs and Executive Officers of the individual Ministerial advisory committees for Australian world heritage properties, both cultural and natural. Its role is to contribute to Australia meeting its World Heritage Convention obligations through the following functions, i.e.to i) “advise Australian governments on policies, programs and appropriate cultural protocols which benefit World Heritage properties in areas of common interest and on national or cross-cutting issues; ii) identify and consider matters that require agreement or a common approach between multiple jurisdictions; iii) facilitate the sharing of knowledge and experience in the development and implementation of World Heritage property management and the development of planning instruments among World Heritage properties; iv) identify priorities and provide advice in relation to the management and restoration of the World Heritage properties; v) advise on research, monitoring, evaluation and reporting and other information requirements for World Heritage properties; vi) advise on the presentation, promotion and transmission of Australia’s World Heritage at the local, national and international levels; and vii) provide an Indigenous perspective on the management of World Heritage properties and advice on how best to incorporate Indigenous traditional knowledge and values into management.”

References:

Baird, I. (2019) Vulnerability of selected fauna and their specialized habitats in the GBMWHA to a rapidly changing climate

Geyle, H. M., Woinarski, J. C., Baker, G. B., Dickman, C. R., Dutson, G., Fisher, D. O. & Legge, S. (2018) Quantifying extinction risk and forecasting the number of impending Australian bird and mammal extinctions. Pacific Conservation Biology, 24(2), 157-167. https://doi.org/10.1071/PC18006

Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) 2019 Nature’s Dangerous Decline ‘Unprecedented’ https://www.ipbes.net/news/Media- Release-Global-Assessment

Kearney S. G., Cawardine J., Reside A. E., Fisher D. O., Maron M., Doherty T. S., Legge S., Silcock J., Woinarski J. C. Z., Garnett S. T., Wintle B A., Watson J. E. M. (2018) The threats to Australia’s imperilled species and implications for a national conservation response. Pacific Conservation Biology. https://doi.org/10.1071/PC18024

Mammola, S., et al. (2019b). Scientists’ Warning on the Conservation of Subterranean . Bioscience 69(8): 641-650.

Narsey, S., Laidlaw, M., Colman, R., Brown J., Moise, A., and Delange, F. Cloud forests are in danger: A case study on the future climate of the Gondwana rainforests of Australia. Earth Systems and Climate Change Hub, National Environmental Science Program.

Smith J. and Smith P. (2019) The outstanding diversity of the terrestrial vertebrate fauna in the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. Abstract to the Linnaean Society.

Smith, P. and Smith, J. (2018) Decline of the greater glider (Petauroides volans) in the lower Blue Mountains, New South Wales. Australian Journal of Zoology 66, 103-114. https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO18021

UN Report. May 2019: Nature's Dangerous Decline 'Unprecedented'; Species Extinction Rates 'Accelerating' - Sustainable Development https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline- unprecedented-report)