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The barriers to the Rewilding of Australia April 2015 The Rewilding Concept Farmer Dave thinks that ‘Restoration’ should be reserved for furniture Ben’s not really happy though. So what exactly is ‘Rewilding’? •  ‘Rewilding’ is subjective and interchangeable term. •  To the conventional ecologist it’s ‘ecological restoration’. •  Much of the ‘ecological restoration’ focus over >30 years has concentrated on plant communities. •  Rewilding Australia aims to move beyond conservation of existing ecosystems towards actively rebuilding ecosystems, with a focus on re-­‐establishing top-­‐order predators that evolved in Australia. A background to our biodiversity declines •  Australia’s ecosystems are in a mess! •  Ecosystems have lost key species to the various key threatening processes that have been introduced into ecosystems over the past 30,000+ years: A background to our biodiversity declines •  Australia’s ecosystems are in a mess! •  Ecosystems have lost key species to the various key threatening processes that has been introduced into ecosystems in the past 30,000+ years: •  intensiSication of hunting regimes (small tool tradition), dingo arrival = extinction of thylacine and devil from mainland A background to our biodiversity declines •  Australia’s ecosystems are in a mess! •  Ecosystems have lost key species to the various key threatening processes that has been introduced into ecosystems in the past 30,000+ years: •  Arrival of Europeans, loss of aborigines, Sire regime changes, land clearing and habitat fragmentation, agriculture, introduced pests, persecution (poisoning, shooting, trapping), disease = Major range decline of all marsupial carnivores and extinction of many species within the critical weight range of 35g – 5.5kg So why hasn’t Australia been ‘rewilded’ already?...The conservative ecologist •  Australia’s ecosystems are now fragile and it’s species are vulnerable to small disturbances. This vulnerability results in inherent risk of further collapse of an ecosystem, when modifying any component. •  Sometimes ecologists and people they advise are paralysed from action because they worry about unintended consequences of doing something rather than nothing… “The risk averse, or slow to take up the challenge, and these were/are in the conservation 8ield, were my main obstacles over the 7 years it took me to get this project implemented” … ‘As my wife often reminded me -­‐ "Remember Dave that it is about the quolls.”’ Dr David Peacock, 2015 So why hasn’t Australia been ‘rewilded’ already?...The conservative ecologist “When the Western Australian fox baiting programme started, there was a big drop in foxes and a real bounce back in rock wallabies. But there were people jumping up and down saying the results of the baiting were inconclusive because we didn’t have any control sites…
but who really gives a shit – there were wallabies everywhere” Andy Murray 2015 So the bad news is, there's RISK involved! •  The risk of doing nothing is greater, however •  We’ve got ourselves into such a mess that we have very fragile ecosystems. •  Australian’s now need to take some calculated risks to build a level of resilience into our ecosystems. •  Australian ecologists are now starting to understand this. But we also have a problem with…. So why hasn’t Australia been ‘rewilded’ already?...The bureaucrat An example: •  Tasmanian Government does not want Tasmanian devils on mainland Australia because it would be ‘bad for tourism’. •  A 90% decline in the wild population since 1996 is Sine – but establishing wild insurance populations in suitable mainland habitats– NOT OKAY! An example of an ineffective wildlife management decision An example of an ineffective wildlife management decision The Save the Tasmanian Devil Program’s key strategy is to effectively kill off lines of future Tasmanian devils via contraception, because they don’t have anywhere safe to put them in Tasmania – and they don’t want to reintroduce them to safe mainland habitat Source: http://www.tassiedevil.com.au/tasdevil.nsf/downloads/
DF1C161FEB608E6BCA257DB700107BD0/$Sile/Maria%20Island%20Devil
%20Population%20Update,%20December%202014.pdf Alternatives to ineffective wildlife management decisions We spend approximately $6,000,000.00 per year to manage 550 devils in captivity and 120 on an island. Alternatives to ridiculous management decisions We spend approximately $6,000,000.00 per year to manage 550 devils in captivity and 120 on an island. The alternative is to spend approximately $0 per year, by re-­‐establishing wild populations of devils on the mainland. But why devils? But why devils? Because they evolved on mainland Australia Because if they can become extinct on mainland Australia they can become extinct in Tasmania Because they may predate upon, compete with, or change the behaviour of cats and foxes So why hasn’t Australia been ‘rewilded’ already?...The ‘average’ Aussie •  As long as animals have habitat, then they’ll be okay •  A lack of awareness of what undamaged ecosystems look like. •  Placental chauvinism -­‐ why bother investing into species that can’t ‘adapt’ to a human modiSied environment. •  The ‘scary animal factor’ “To look forward, we must look back” Why should Australians care? •  Because unique fauna equals a unique tourism opportunity. •  Wildlife creates a component of our identity •  Ecosystem engineering by wildlife is important to our health – bettongs have been implicated in bushSire mitigation •  Because without wildlife society will become ‘ecologically bored’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBDVhRu4-­‐4I So what have we been doing for the past 30 years?! •  Australian scientists have been busy thoroughly documenting the decline of our native wildlife. So what have we been doing for the past 30 years?! •  Australian scientists have been busy thoroughly documenting the decline of our native wildlife. Recovery Plan Objectives (abbreviated version, 2004) • To assess current population and distribution trends • To determine the roosting requirements of the Christmas Island Pipistrelle, including seasonal and distributional differences. • To assess the potential for the Common Wolf Snake to prey on bats in roosts and if it is considered that they impact on pipistrelles, devise management actions to reduce predation. • To examine dietary specialisation as a contributing factor in the species’ decline. • To clarify the taxonomic status of the Christmas Island Pipistrelle. • To review the conservation status of the species. So what have we been doing for the past 30 years?! •  Australian scientists have been busy thoroughly documenting the decline of our native wildlife. Recovery Plan Objectives (abbreviated version, 2004) • To assess current population and distribution trends • To determine the roosting requirements of the Christmas Island Pipistrelle, including seasonal and distributional differences. • To assess the potential for the Common Wolf Snake to prey on bats in roosts and if it is considered that they impact on pipistrelles, devise management actions to reduce predation. • To examine dietary specialisation as a contributing factor in the species’ decline. • To clarify the taxonomic status of the Christmas Island Pipistrelle. • To review the conservation status of the species. So what have we been doing for the past 30 years?! •  Australian scientists have been busy thoroughly documenting the decline of our native wildlife. They had done their best to warn the federal government about the looming catastrophe, but they might as well have been talking to a brick wall. The bureaucrats and politicians prevaricated for three years, until it was too late. The pipistrelle's extinction was painful for me. In an attempt to avert it I met Peter Garrett, then the environment minister, and warned him of the impending loss. I had brought offers of assistance and expertise from the Australian Mammal Society to his attention…But Garrett was convinced by the orthodoxy that ecosystems rather than species should be the focus of the national conservation effort, and I got the message that nothing would be done. Saving the bat wasn't an impossible mission. It's just that the government and the people of Australia -­‐ one of the richest countries on earth -­‐ decided it wasn't worth doing”. Tim Flannery 2012 So what have we been doing for the past 30 years?! Legislation & policy that has been written from a European perspective. So what have we been doing for the past 30 years?! Legislation & policy that has been written from a European perspective. An example: NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service •  NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service own website states that people are not permitted to keep native animals in captivity because: ? An example: NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service •  NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service own website states that people are not permitted to keep native mammals in captivity because: “They generally cannot be enjoyed in the same way as a dog or cat”. The outcome of bad policy and legislation… Outcome: 3 million households in Australia have a cat or cats (1994 ABS) Approximately 6 persons / organisations breeding eastern quolls. Total eastern quolls in captivity in on mainland Australia in 2015 is <100 Summary •  Our policies, legislation, ecologists, bureaucrats and an uninformed society skew decision making towards perceived ‘low-­‐risk’ environmental management solutions that ‘protect existing populations of wildlife in the bush’ -­‐ often resulting in perverse outcomes •  Australian’s now need to take some calculated risks to build a level of resilience into our ecosystems. Now for the good news… Many ecosystems are so damaged that, it doesn’t really matter if we trial novel techniques of ecosystem management!...(A NZ example) More good news is… A novel and exciting future… “A new wave of leadership and management, reintroducing species to areas from which they have been long lost, is presenting new inspiration and a new layering of safeguard for our precious biodiversity. There are a suite of reintroduction programs underway around the nation” Jason Cummings – GM, Mulligans Flat -­‐ 2015 •  Eastern Bettongs – “have doubled their numbers since being reintroduced to Mulligans Flat (Canberra) from Tasmania”. •  The Numbat – reintroduced to Scotia by Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) from Western Australia and now “well established”. •  The Western Quoll – reintroduced to the Flinders Ranges (SA) by Dr David Peacock, the Foundation for Australia’s Most Endangered (FAME) The Quolls. Most Australians have never seen a live quoll Recovery Plan for the Spotted-­‐tailed Quoll •  SpeciSic objectives of the plan include: • 
Determine the distribution and status of Spotted-­‐tailed Quoll populations throughout the range. • 
Increase knowledge of the biology and ecology of the Spotted-­‐tailed Quoll throughout its range to reSine management of the species and its habitat. • 
Reduce the rate of habitat loss and fragmentation on private land. • 
Evaluate and manage the risk posed by silvicultural practices. • 
Determine and manage the threat posed by introduced predators, such as Foxes (Vulpes vulpes), Cats (Felis catus) and Wild Dogs (Canis lupus familaris), and predator control practices on Spotted-­‐tailed Quoll populations. • 
Determine and manage the impact of Sire regimes on Spotted-­‐tailed Quoll populations. • 
Reduce deliberate killings of Spotted-­‐tailed Quolls. • 
Reduce the frequency of Spotted-­‐tailed Quoll road mortality. • 
Assess the threat Cane Toads pose to Spotted-­‐tailed Quolls and develop threat abatement actions if necessary. • 
Determine the likely impact of climate change on Spotted-­‐tailed Quoll populations. • 
Increase community awareness of the Spotted-­‐tailed Quoll and involvement in the Recovery Program. • 
Link suitable habitat fragments with corridors. • 
Continue predator and competitor control (eg. The Cat Threat Abatement Plan (Environment Australia 1995b). What is Rewilding Australia doing about it? -­‐Tiger Quolls Rewilding Australia’s Plan for the Spotted-­‐
tailed Quoll Population Augmentation Strategy (‘breed and release’) Population augmentation is the active introduction of genetically similar animals to a natural population that is below or in danger of falling below a minimum viable size •  High likelihood of success – as tiger quolls occur naturally at low densities, low numbers will be required to ‘rewild’ regions. •  Because of their large home range, they are well suited to being translocated into habitat that they are unfamiliar with •  Does not rely on an absence of key threatening processes to work Rewilding Australia’s Plan for Eastern Quoll Wild-­‐Wild/Captive-­‐Wild Translocation Strategy Rewilding Australia’s Plan for the Eastern Quoll Wild-­‐Wild/Captive-­‐Wild Translocation Strategy Last seen on mainland Australia in 1963 Considered locally common in Tasmania however in past decade have experienced rapid declines Evidence that cats are suppressing their recovery Urgent need to expand their population across their former range Rewilding Australia’s Plan for the Eastern Quoll Wild-­‐Wild/Captive-­‐Wild Translocation Strategy This species is at signiOicant threat from cats and foxes: Reintroduction sites will focus on regions with intensive and ongoing feral predator control These include: •  Predator-­‐proof fenced environments •  Managed islands and peninsulas Want to help break down the barriers to Rewilding Australia? “Mate, if you’ve got money, you can do anything you want” Go to RewildingAustralia.com.au and click ‘donate’ – or become a member!