Parks

National Reserve System

Monitoring Progress

National Targets

National targets for building the NRS are set collaboratively by the Australian Government with the States and Territories. The targets are part of the strategic national approach to make measurable progress towards the establishment of a comprehensive, adequate and representative protected area system.

The Directions for the National Reserve System - A Partnership Approach (NRMMC, 2005) set two key targets:

Monitoring progress

Progress in the establishment of protected areas is monitored through IBRA and the Collaborative Australian Protected Area Database (CAPAD), in conjunction with updated biological information gathered by mapping native ecosystems and the location of threatened plants and animals. A report is currently being prepared and will be available soon.

Monitoring management effectiveness

Measures are being developed to monitor how effectively protected areas in the National Reserve System are managed. The goal is to develop nationally consistent performance measures, to provide assessment at a variety of scales and over every tenure, no matter what the ownership.

With funding from the Australian Research Council, the University of Queensland is working with the Australian Government, NSW and Victoria on a three-year project to develop improved systems for monitoring and evaluation. The report, due in 2008, will allow the rollout to all protected areas of new effective systems to build capacity in adaptive management.

Meanwhile, the Australian Government, Victoria and NSW produce 'State of the Parks' reports, where the respective conservation agencies measure performance against international best practice. These reports identify areas for improvement in the development and management of the National Reserve System. State of the Parks financial reporting allows members of the public to appreciate how public funds are spent.

Other monitoring

A number of other activities are underway to continue to monitor the progress of the NRS:

Adequacy: The NRS Scientific Advisory Sub Group is undertaking further work on adequacy principals and criteria to assist site selection and assessment.

Information from climate change studies is being reviewed and incorporated into our protected area planning and management processes.

IBRA regions and subregions are continuing to be refined in response to better information becoming available.

The special needs of aquatic ecosystems being included in the NRS are being defined by the NRS Scientific Advisory Sub-group.

The states and territories are continuing to improve vegetation mapping to assist development of the NRS and describe in a standardised notation for inclusion in the National Vegetation Information System.

A monitoring and evaluation program is being developed to assess progress towards a CAR NRS.

A work program to identify, acquire and manage core data required for the NRS is being developed.