Introductory note— This Part contains provisions that set out the objects of this Act and define terms used in this Act. The Part also contains machinery provisions.
(1) In this Act: Advisory Council means the Biological Diversity Advisory Council established under this Act.animal means any animal-life that is indigenous to New South Wales or is known to periodically or occasionally migrate to New South Wales, whether vertebrate or invertebrate and in any stage of biological development, but does not include:
(a) humans, or (b) fish within the meaning of the . Fisheries Management Act 1994 biological diversity means the diversity of life and is made up of the following 3 components:
(a) genetic diversity—the variety of genes (or units of heredity) in any population, (b) species diversity—the variety of species, (c) ecosystem diversity—the variety of communities or ecosystems. council has the same meaning as in the. Local Government Act 1993 critical habitat means habitat declared to be critical habitat under Part 3.Director-General means the Director-General of National Parks and Wildlife appointed under the. National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 ecological community means an assemblage of species occupying a particular area.ecologically sustainable development has the same meaning as under section 6 (2) of the. Protection of the Environment Administration Act 1991 endangered ecological community means an ecological community specified in Part 3 of Schedule 1.endangered population means a population specified in Part 2 of Schedule 1.endangered species means a species specified in Part 1 of Schedule 1.endangered species, populations and ecological communities means species, populations and ecological communities specified in Schedule 1 andendangered species, population or ecological community means a species, population or ecological community respectively specified in that Schedule.exercise a function includes perform a duty.function includes a power, authority or duty.habitat means an area or areas occupied, or periodically or occasionally occupied, by a species, population or ecological community and includes any biotic or abiotic component.harm has the same meaning as in the. National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 joint management agreement means an agreement entered into under Division 2 of Part 7.key threatening process means a threatening process specified in Schedule 3.land includes:
(a) buildings and other structures permanently fixed to land, and (b) land covered with water, and (c) the sea or an arm of the sea, and (d) a bay, inlet, lagoon, lake or body of water, whether inland or not and whether tidal or not, and (e) a river, stream or watercourse, whether tidal or not. landholder of land means a person who owns land or who, whether by reason of ownership or otherwise, is in lawful occupation or possession, or has lawful management or control, of land.list means a list set out in Schedule 1, 2 or 3 and includes a list in one or more of those Schedules that does not contain any entries.pick has the same meaning as in the. National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 plant means any plant-life that is indigenous to New South Wales, whether vascular or non-vascular and in any stage of biological development, and includes fungi and lichens, but does not include marine vegetation within the meaning of the. Fisheries Management Act 1994 population means a group of organisms, all of the same species, occupying a particular area.public authority means any public or local authority constituted by or under an Act, a government department, a statutory body representing the Crown, or a State owned corporation, and includes a person exercising any function on behalf of the authority, department, body or corporation and any person prescribed by the regulations to be a public authority.recovery plan means a plan prepared and approved under Part 4.region means, for the purposes of the provision in which it is used, a bioregion defined in a national system of bioregionalisation that is determined (by the Director-General under subsection (4)) to be appropriate for those purposes. If the bioregion occurs partly within and partly outside New South Wales, the region consists only of so much of the bioregion as occurs within New South Wales.Scientific Committee means the Scientific Committee constituted under Part 8.species of animal or plant includes any defined sub-species and taxon below a sub-species and any recognisable variant of a sub-species or taxon.species impact statement means a statement referred to in Division 2 of Part 6 and includes an environmental impact statement, prepared under the, that contains a species impact statement. Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 species presumed extinct means a species specified in Part 4 of Schedule 1.Strategy means the Biological Diversity Strategy referred to in section 140.threat abatement plan means a plan prepared and approved under Part 5.threatened species means a species specified in Part 1 or 4 of Schedule 1 or in Schedule 2.threatened species, populations and ecological communities means species, populations and ecological communities specified in Schedules 1 and 2 andthreatened species, population or ecological community means a species, population or ecological community specified in either of those Schedules.threatening process means a process that threatens, or may have the capability to threaten, the survival or evolutionary development of species, populations or ecological communities.vulnerable species means a species specified in Schedule 2.
Introductory note— This Part provides for the identification, and classification, of the species, populations and ecological communities with which this Act is concerned. It also provides for the identification of key threatening processes that are most likely to jeopardise the survival of those species, populations and ecological communities. To this end, this Part provides for the listing:
• in Schedule 1, of endangered species, endangered populations and ecological communities and species that are presumed to be extinct, and • in Schedule 2, of vulnerable species, and • in Schedule 3, of key threatening processes. The initial lists of threatened species, that is, species that are endangered, presumed extinct or vulnerable are contained in this Act on its commencement. Responsibility for inserting lists of endangered populations and endangered ecological communities and threatening processes, and for adding items to, omitting items from or amending items in the lists of threatened species, populations and ecological communities and threatening processes rests with the Scientific Committee. Division 1 makes provision with respect to Schedules 1–3 that are to contain lists of the species, populations and ecological communities and key threatening processes with which this Act is concerned. Division 2 deals with eligibility for listing. Division 3 describes the process by which the items may be added to or omitted from lists and by which items in lists may be amended, and makes provision for public participation in that process. Division 4 describes the process by which species that are endangered may be listed provisionally in Schedule 1, on an emergency basis, before the formal listing process described in Division 3 has been undertaken or completed, and makes provision for public participation in that process. Offences relating to the harming of threatened species, populations and ecological communities (being animals) and the picking of threatened species, populations and ecological communities (being plants) are contained in the . National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974
(1) A public authority must not exercise a function in a manner that is inconsistent with the implementation of measures included in a recovery plan unless:
(a) in the case of a public authority other than the Director-General—it has given written notice of the proposed exercise of the function to the Director-General, or (b) in the case of the Director-General—the Director-General has given written notice of the proposed exercise of the function to the Minister.
(1) A public authority must not exercise a function in a manner that is inconsistent with the implementation of measures included in a threat abatement plan unless:
(a) in the case of a public authority other than the Director-General—it has given written notice of the proposed exercise of the function to the Director-General, or (b) in the case of the Director-General—the Director-General has given written notice of the proposed exercise of the function to the Minister.
(1) A species impact statement must include a full description of the action proposed, including its nature, extent, location, timing and layout and, to the fullest extent reasonably practicable, the information referred to in this section.
(1) The person applying for the licence (or, if the species impact statement is being prepared for the purposes of the , the applicant for development consent or the proponent of the activity or, if the species impact statement is being prepared for the purposes of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 , the applicant for authorisation under that Act) must request from the Director-General and must, in preparing the species impact statement, comply with any requirements notified to the person by the Director-General concerning the form and content of the statement. Plantations and Reafforestation Act 1999
(1) If the Director-General is of the opinion that any action is being, or is about to be, carried out that is likely to result in one or more of the following:
(a) harm to a threatened species, population or ecological community (so far as animals are concerned), (b) picking of a threatened species, population or ecological community (so far as plants are concerned), (c) damage to critical habitat, (d) damage to habitats of threatened species, populations or ecological communities, the Director-General may order that the action is to cease and that no action, other than such action as may be specified in the order, is to be carried out in or in the vicinity of the critical habitat or the habitat of the threatened species, population or ecological community within a period of 40 days after the date of the order. (2) An order takes effect on and from the date on which:
(a) a copy of the order is affixed in a conspicuous place in the critical habitat or other habitat the subject of the order, or (b) the person performing or about to perform the action is notified that the order has been made, whichever is the sooner.
Introductory note— This Part establishes, and describes the functions, membership and procedure of, and the manner of service of documents on, the Scientific Committee. The Part provides that the Scientific Committee is not subject to Ministerial control or direction.
(1) The Director-General is to prepare a Biological Diversity Strategy within 9 months after the commencement of this Part setting out how the objects of this Act are to be achieved.
(1) The Director-General is to prepare a draft Strategy and publish notice of the draft Strategy in a newspaper circulating generally throughout the State. (2) A notice is to:
(a) be in the form prescribed by the regulations, and (b) state the date by which submissions may be made to the Director-General, which is to be at least 30 days after the date on which the notice is published, and (c) specify the manner in which submissions may be made, and (d) fix a time and place at which a copy of the draft Strategy will be available to the public for inspection. (3) Any person may make submissions to the Director-General about the draft Strategy.
Introductory note— This Part makes provision for a number of miscellaneous matters relating to the operation of the Act. These include:
• a statement that the Act binds the Crown • a requirement that the Director-General report on the operation of the Act in the Director-General’s annual report to Parliament • a provision enabling third parties to bring proceedings in the Land and Environment Court for orders remedying or restraining breaches of the Act • a statement that the Act is not intended to affect native title rights and interests • a provision providing that the Director-General may decline to disclose the location of critical habitat (or proposed critical habitat) other than to specified persons if the Director-General is of the opinion that disclosure would be likely to expose the critical habitat (or proposed critical habitat) to a significant risk and that withholding of the location is in the public interest, and if affected landholders have requested, or are agreeable to, the withholding of the location • a provision enabling third parties to bring proceedings in the Land and Environment Court for orders remedying or restraining breaches of the Act • provisions as to the form and service of notices and other documents under the proposed Act • a provision concerning review of the operation of the Act as soon as possible after the period of 18 months after the date of assent to the proposed Act. The Part also authorises the making of regulations, and contains formal provisions giving effect to the Schedules amending other Acts and inserting savings, transitional and other provisions.
(1) Any person may bring proceedings in the Land and Environment Court for an order to remedy or restrain a breach of this Act, whether or not any right of that person has been or may be infringed by or as a consequence of that breach.
(Section 6)
(Section 7)
(Section 8) Alteration to the natural flow regimes of rivers and streams and their floodplains and wetlands (as described in the final determination of the Scientific Committee to list the threatening process) Anthropogenic Climate Change Bushrock removal (as described in the final determination of the Scientific Committee to list the threatening process) Clearing of native vegetation (as defined and described in the final determination of the Scientific Committee to list the key threatening process) Competition and grazing by the feral European Rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.) High frequency fire resulting in the disruption of life cycle processes in plants and animals and loss of vegetation structure and composition
(Section 156)