140 Monitoring Threatened Species and Ecological Communities
there are few appropriately designed national datasets that measure and report on
trends (DEWHA 2009; Morton and Tinney 2012; Commonwealth of Australia
2016; Cresswell and Murphy 2017). The target to establish a national biodiversity
monitoring and reporting system by 2015 was not met; the review of Australia’s
Biodiversity Conservation Strategy noted that its absence, ‘made sourcing reliable
national level information challenging’ (Commonwealth of Australia 2016).
Good, reliable population status and trend data are available for a small
number of the species that are the targets of recovery programs (DEWHA 2009;
Lindenmayer and Gibbons 2012; Cresswell and Murphy 2017). The level of
monitoring and availability of data is variable. For example, there is some
monitoring for 79% of terrestrial threatened (and near threatened and data
deficient) mammal taxa, but the existing monitoring programs are mostly very
limited in their geographic extent, periodicity, integration, design, duration,
reporting, and direct link to management response (Chapter 3). In contrast, there
is some monitoring for only 62% of threatened reptiles (Chapter 4) (Fig. 10.1) and
only 30% of threatened ecological communities (Chapter 8).
Until recently, the only attempt to compile data into a national information set
that could be interpreted and used to inform decision making and policy and
Fig. 10.1. The endangered grassland earless dragon Tympanocryptis pinguicolla is one of 61 threatened
reptile species listed under the EPBC Act. The ACT government in partnership with the University of Canberra
has been monitoring and conducting research on the species in the ACT for more than 20 years. This
partnership has been critical in detecting dramatic population declines and directing appropriate conservation
actions. Populations declined significantly between 2005 and 2009 during a bad drought and resulted in the
establishment of a captive breeding program at the University of Canberra. Actions under the recovery
program now include restoration of habitat and translocation of captive bred dragons to the wild. Photos: Tim
McGrath.