Australia’s Strategy for Nature is a shared roadmap to care for and sustainably manage nature over the years to 2030. It provides a long-term vision for nature in Australia and identifies goals and objectives to guide the collective efforts of governments and other sectors.

Australia has updated its national biodiversity strategy and action plan, known as Australia’s Strategy for Nature 2024-2030, to bring together existing work across the country and guide the development of new and innovative approaches to implementing the Global Biodiversity Framework.

Read Australia's Strategy for Nature 2024-2030.

Goal 1

Connect all Australians with nature

Objective 1

Encourage Australians to get out into nature

Australians can be encouraged to get out into nature by diversifying nature experiences, appropriately increasing access and growing nature-based tourism, or increasing promotion of human health benefits from nature-based activities. Access to nature should be undertaken with consideration to the fragile nature of some of our ecosystems.

Progress measures
Name
1A

Promotion of human health benefits from nature-based activities

Name
1B

Visitation rates to public nature conservation areas (land and sea)

Name
1C

Value and diversity of nature-based tourism

Objective 2

Empower Australians to be active stewards of nature

All Australians, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women, individuals, communities and organisations, have an important role in caring for nature. Individuals may volunteer for nature-based activities, contribute to citizen science programs or enter land covenant or stewardship agreements. The capacity of community groups to participate in stewardship programs can be increased. Looking after nature through Indigenous ranger programs, public–private partnerships and cross-sector collaborations are also avenues that can be pursued.

Progress measures
Name
2A

Number and diversity of volunteers for nature-based activities

Name
2B

Number of people contributing information through citizen science programs

Name
2C

Number and extent of lands managed for conservation under other effective conservation measures (privately managed protected areas, covenants or stewardship agreements)

Name
2D

Number and scope of public-private partnerships and cross-sector collaborations to look after nature

Objective 3

Increase Australians’ understanding of the value of nature

Australians’ understanding of the value of nature, and its role in health and wellbeing can be improved through increasing adults’ and children’s learning about nature, encouraging organisations and businesses to report their performance against environmental measures, or using environmental-economic accounts to more clearly demonstrate the value of nature.

Progress measures
Name
3A

Activities to increase awareness of the importance of nature, including to human health and wellbeing

Name
3B

Quantification of natural capital and its benefits, such as through environmental-economic accounts

Objective 4

Respect and maintain traditional ecological knowledge and stewardship of nature

Traditional ecological knowledge can be a valuable tool for assessing changes to the environment and identifying appropriate management strategies. Traditional stewardship of land and sea country can be supported and promoted through programs and initiatives to increase participation and engagement under the guidance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Progress measures
Name
4A

Work with Indigenous communities to support the protection, documentation and retention of Indigenous ecological knowledge

Name
4B

Recognition and use of Indigenous ecological knowledge in interpretation, practices and decisions relating to environmental management

Name
4C

Indigenous rangers and Indigenous ranger programs managing land and seascapes

Name
4D

Number and extent of terrestrial and marine areas managed by Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) or other co-management arrangements

Goal 2

Care for nature in all its diversity

Objective 5

Improve conservation management of Australia’s landscapes, waterways, wetlands and seascapes

Conservation management of landscapes, waterways, wetlands and seascapes can be improved in a number of ways. These include through enhancing the representativeness, extent, connectivity and condition of government- and non-government-managed protected areas and conservation reserves, Indigenous protected areas and marine protected areas. Other measures include supporting landowners’ protection of significant ecosystems through stewardship or other effective conservation measures, or retaining and restoring native vegetation and connecting habitats. The restoration and connection of habitats should aim to maximise the genetic diversity and complexity of restored ecosystems, requiring the maintenance of viable seed supplies.

Progress measures
Name
5A

Extent and representativeness of government-managed reserve estate and, where available, their condition

Name
5B

Extent and representativeness of marine protected areas, including marine Indigenous protected areas

Name
5C

Number and extent of significant ecosystems protected by private landowners through stewardship or other arrangements

Name
5D

Explicit consideration of future climate scenarios in the planning and management of protected area networks

Name
5E

Retention, protection and/or restoration of wetland systems to maintain or improve ecological integrity and ecosystem function

Objective 6

Maximise the number of species secured in nature

Maximising the number of species secured in nature requires action in native habitats and in off-site (ex-situ) conservation efforts such as captive breeding programs, seed banks and other managed environments. Maximising the diversity of species and ecosystems secured in nature needs action through the protection and restoration of native habitats, mitigation of threats, management of risks to environments and management of environments and their species. Conservation efforts could include improved cross-boundary and cross-border collaboration and the provision of consistent, robust and transparent approaches for assessing and listing species. Protection of species could also involve increased support for landowners and custodians who protect threatened or vulnerable species, establishment of predator- and threat-free ‘safe havens’ for threatened species, effective, targeted reductions in the intensity of key threats, programs for captive breeding, storage of living plants and seed, and emergency intervention for the most at-risk species.

Progress measures
Name
6A

Consistent, robust and transparent assessment and listing of threatened species applied across all jurisdictions

Name
6B

Number of populations of threatened or near-threatened species protected in government-managed reserves

Name
6C

Number of populations of threatened or near-threatened species protected by private landowners through stewardship or other arrangements

Name
6D

Number and success of strategic ex-situ conservation programs and emergency interventions implemented for the most at-risk species

Name
6E

Number and area of ‘safe havens’ for threatened species (eg. threat-free islands, predator-free enclosures)

Objective 7

Reduce threats and risks to nature and build resilience

Major threats to nature include habitat loss and degradation, invasive species, overharvesting, pollution, climate change and disease. Options for joint action to reduce threats and their impacts include ensuring the design and management of the protected area network considers and accommodates future threat scenarios, and establishing robust mechanisms to respond effectively to new and emerging threats. There are opportunities to improve planning, regulation, environmental impact assessment and approvals processes. In addition, threat abatement activities could include targeted pest management, ecosystem restoration (integrated fire management, revegetation), pollution control, greenhouse gas emissions management and climate change adaptation.

Progress measures
Name
7A

Explicit consideration of climate change adaptation and resilience, including in the management of species and ecosystems that are vulnerable to climate change

Name
7B

Extent and success of management programs to implement appropriate fire regimes that reduce impacts of fire on species and/or ecosystems that are vulnerable to this threat

Name
7C

Extent and success of management programs for established invasive species that pose a significant threat to species and/or ecosystems that are vulnerable to this threat

Name
7D

Extent and success of management programs to minimise incursion and spread of new and emerging invasive species

Name
7E

Retention, protection and/or restoration of landscape-scale, native vegetation corridors

Name
7F

Retention, protection and/or restoration of native vegetation in urban, peri-urban and agricultural contexts

Objective 8

Use and develop natural resources in an ecologically sustainable way

All businesses and industries use and therefore have an impact on natural resources, either directly or indirectly. Ecologically sustainable use and management of natural resources can be achieved through valuing impacts and dependencies, strategic planning and, if necessary, trade-offs between use and protection. Sustainable consumption and production has the potential to generate multiple benefits to the environment, society and the economy, including enhanced predictability of raw materials and products within supply chains. Other options include encouraging innovation in agricultural practices to maintain and restore soil and water health as well as incorporating robust and accurate measures of natural capital.

Progress measures
Name
8A

Explicit consideration of environmental flow requirements in catchment-scale water management plans and decisions

Name
8B

Development and implementation of agricultural practices that maintain and restore soil and water health

Name
8C

Development and implementation of fisheries management practices that ensure sustainability and minimise impacts on other marine or freshwater biodiversity

Name
8D

Explicit consideration of measures of natural capital in the sustainable development of Australia’s natural resources

Objective 9

Enrich cities and towns with nature

Australia’s cities and towns can be enriched with nature by prioritising inclusion of ecologically diverse green spaces in design and planning and encouraging their use. Some options include increasing the tree canopy in our urban areas, transforming old rail lines into greenways, and gardens on rooftops. Initiatives such as these can help reduce carbon emissions, alleviate heat stress, increase energy efficiency and leave a positive effect on residents’ wellbeing. Urban ecology and biodiversity policies should be better integrated into land use planning, transport and other key urban policy and statutory planning requirements. Individuals and communities can help by encouraging residential wildlife gardening programs and sharing information on effective ways to engage residents in meaningful landscape-scale conservation.

Progress measures
Name
9A

Number and extent of urban greening initiatives

Name
9B

Inclusion of ecologically diverse green spaces in the design and development of urban areas

Name
9C

Promotion of urban nature-based initiatives

Close X

Goal 3

Share and build knowledge

Objective 10

Increase knowledge about nature to make better decisions

There are opportunities to target research to reduce gaps in knowledge and improve planning and management strategies, to support development and implementation of innovative tools and techniques, and to build connections between environmental disciplines and social sciences. A sustained and strategic effort across all levels of government and within academia is required to enhance our knowledge about nature, including improved partnerships with community groups and business.

Progress measures
Name
10A

Explicit science and knowledge programs to support effective management of biodiversity

Name
10B

Understanding of the likely impacts of climate change on, and effective methods to promote adaptation and resilience of, terrestrial, aquatic and marine systems and species

Name
10C

Systems capturing data on the diversity of Australian nature and how ecosystems function

Objective 11

Share and use information effectively

Much information about Australia’s environment and biodiversity is already publicly available. Access to this information can be enhanced by ensuring it is properly collected, maintained, supported and appropriately and effectively shared so that all Australians have confidence that decisions are made with the best available evidence. There are opportunities to enhance connections among scientists, policy developers, decision makers, and land and water managers to enable well-informed decision-making and the development of targeted management strategies.

Progress measures
Name
11A

Public accessibility to information on Australia’s nature, through a variety of platforms

Name
11B

Citizen science programs providing robust data on Australia’s nature to public information sets

Name
11C

Collaboration and coordination between jurisdictions and research agencies in the collection, collation and publication of data about Australia’s nature

Objective 12

Measure collective efforts to demonstrate our progress

Robust measures of natural capital and ecosystem services that are integrated into monitoring and reporting systems can effectively demonstrate whether our efforts in managing nature are, in fact, achieving our vision of a healthy and resilient environment. There are opportunities to streamline and coordinate already existing reporting mechanisms, to design new and intuitive measures of success, and to increase participation in reporting to develop a coordinated national picture of our success.

Progress measures
Name
12A

Development of options for using measures of natural capital and ecosystem services in monitoring and reporting systems

Name
12B

Number of organisations and businesses reporting their performance against environmental measures

Name
12C

Document biodiversity-related intervention and investment, and measure and report on outcomes