The equivalent of 10 football fields each day are authorized to be cleared of native vegetation in Western Australia, with clearing for the mining and petroleum industries making up the bulk of approvals.
The equivalent of 10 football fields each day are authorized to be cleared of native vegetation in Western Australia, with clearing for the mining and petroleum industries making up the bulk of approvals.
A report by the WA Auditor Heneral on the management of native vegetation clearing, released today, revealed that since July 2005, the Department of Environment and Conservation and Department of Industry and Resources had approved more than 16,500 hectares of native vegetation for clearing, not including illegal clearing.
66 per cent of land approved for clearing during that period was related to mining and petroleum industries, with 15 per cent cleared for agriculture and 12 per cent for road, rail and other infrastructure.
Of major concern, according to the auditor general, was the lack of action on illegal clearing by both government agencies.
He recommended the introduction of a program to investigate potential illegal clearing identified through satellite imagery and public complaints.
"The people of Western Australia can take confidence from the way decisions about clearing are made. However, until the agencies properly examine potential illegal clearing, and test that decisions are being followed, we cannot be sure that the aims behind the legislation are being fulfilled," the audit said.
The audit also found that while applications were being handled appropriately by the DEC and DOIR, in accordance with the Native Vegetation Clearing act, there was an issue surrounding timeliness and output of processing applications.
The DEC said it had been working on processing applications in accordance with target timeframes to resolve the backlog of applications which had developed.
The department said it would redirect staff resources into the areas of compliance monitoring of permit conditions, and the investigation of illegal clearing, when the backlog of applications is reduced.
WA is home to about 12 500 different plant species, or nearly five per cent of all plant species worldwide.
The South West region of the state alone is home to 6 000 plant species, 79 per cent of which occur nowhere else in the world.
The full text of an announcement from the Department of Environment and Conservation is pasted below
An Auditor General's report released today has found that reforms to significantly improve the regulation of native vegetation in Western Australia are on track.
The report into the management of native vegetation clearing in WA was tabled in Parliament today.
Department of Environment and Conservation Director General Keiran McNamara said the Auditor General's report found that Western Australians can take confidence from the way decisions about clearing are made.
The report found that the process for granting native vegetation permits was supported by strong and comprehensive systems with clear principles for assessing applications as well as adequate transparency and accountability.
He said the report also found some deficiencies in compliance monitoring and enforcement action, but acknowledged that DEC had established and was in the process of implementing a program of reforms to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
"The introduction of the Environmental Protection Act amendments in July 2004 presented a number of challenges for the then Department of Environment, particularly in dealing with the large number of native vegetation clearing applications received," he said.
"To tackle these issues the Minister for the Environment in 2006 requested that DEC work with the Office of Development Approvals Coordination and key stakeholders to review operation of the legislation and its processes.
"Following this review the Department began a series of reforms to improve native vegetation clearing assessments, particularly in the areas of timelines and backlogs."
Mr McNamara said the Department welcomed the report and accepted that increased emphasis on compliance monitoring of permit conditions and on enforcement action was needed, and had already begun redirecting staff resources into these areas now that reforms in the area of assessments have reduced backlogs.
"It is important to remember that the new clearing controls were not intended to totally ban clearing of native vegetation, but to prevent clearing of vegetation with high environmental values and to avoid unnecessary clearing," he said.
"Since 2005 clearing permits covering more than 16,500 hectares have been approved, with two thirds of this area related to mining and petroleum development. Excluding this, more clearing has been refused than approved - the total area of clearing refused has been nearly 7000 hectares.
"I remain confident that the clearing control legislation and processes, along with a range of other initiatives to protect habitats, are helping to ensure that Western Australia's native vegetation is being protected and conserved for the future."