The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) is the Western Australian government department responsible for managing lands and waters described in the Conservation and Land Management Act 1984, the Rottnest Island Authority Act 1987, the Swan and Canning Rivers Management Act 2006, the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority Act 1998, and the Zoological Parks Authority Act 2001, and implementing the state's conservation and environment legislation and regulations. The Department reports to the Minister for Environment and the Minister for Tourism.
As of 30June2018[update] the total area under Parks and Wildlife's care is 31,590,422 hectares (78,061,630 acres). The land area managed by the Department (25,001,213 ha) is about 9.45 per cent of the land area of Western Australia.
WA national parks and reserves had 20.39 million visitors in 2017–18,[4] with a visitor satisfaction level of 92.5 per cent. Each year, Parks and Wildlife and its predecessors aimed for a satisfaction rating above 85 per cent, a figure it had achieved for more than 10 consecutive years.
Volunteers continued in 2017–18 to make a significant contribution to the Department's work, with the number of Parks and Wildlife Service registered volunteers reaching 15,797, of whom 5657 contributed 781,766 hours to projects across the State.[5]
Parks and Wildlife is responsible for the wildlife conservation project Western Shield,[6] a pest animal and weed control program that included 4 million hectares of conservation reserves and State forests baited for feral animal control, as well as weed control on more than 89 million hectares of unallocated Crown land and unmanaged reserves.[7]
There are a number of internationally recognised biodiversity hotspots within Western Australia and in particular in the south west of the state.[8]
Parks and Wildlife Service also manages two long-distance trails: the 1,000km Bibbulmun Track for walkers,[9] and the 1,000km Munda Biddi Trail for mountain bikes.[10]
An important duty of the Department (with the help of the Forest Products Commission crews) is to be responsible for bushfire prevention and suppression on its lands as well as fire prevention in unallocated Crown land and unmanaged reserves. This includes: conducting controlled burns to reduced fuel load, and research into the behaviour and effects of bushfires.[11]
The Department achieved 218,965 hectares of prescribed burning in the south-west forest regions in 2017–18, marking the first time the nominal target of 200,000 hectares was achieved in consecutive years since 1996–97. A further 4,692,079 hectares was burnt in the Department's other six regions: the Kimberley, Pilbara, Goldfields, Mid West, Wheatbelt and South Coast.
Departmental staff attended and monitored 688 bushfires, which burnt approximately 2,780,972 hectares in 2017–18.
Rottnest Island Authority
Rottnest Island chest logo on a Ranger polo, 2018
Rottnest Island is an A Class Reserve situated in the Indian Ocean, 18 kilometres west of Fremantle, and includes 3,800 hectares of Marine Reserve with five sanctuary zones. The island is 11 kilometres long and 4.5 kilometres at its widest point. It has 63 sheltered beaches and 20 bays with a land area of 1,900 hectares.[12]
Rottnest Island is one of the most popular recreation and holiday destinations in Western Australia, valued for its scenic natural environment with iconic protected quokka population. It is also the state's largest holiday resort, attracting 734,637 visitors per year during the financial year 2017-18 (+14% year growth). During that period, the Visitor Centre checked in 24,670 visitors to RIA-managed accommodation. The Rottnest sustainability action plan defines a set of short to long-term sustainability goals for the island community. As an example, this last financial year was the first year that zero water was extracted from the Wadjemup Aquifer.[according to whom?][when?]
Botanic Garden and Parks Authority
The Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority (BGPA) is responsible for the care, control and management of Bold Park and Kings Park, including the Western Australian Botanic Garden.[13]
Zoological Parks Authority
The Perth Zoo has a notable expertise in conservation, research, animal husbandry, community engagement and education.[14] In 2017–18, the Perth Zoo:
was the custodian of more than 1,300 individual animals from 171 species
has an average level of visitor satisfaction of 97%
has a number of threatened species offspring bred for release into natural habitats of 47 western swamp tortoise and 19 numbats
has a collection of 121 natives species (100 from WA / 21 from the rest of Australia) and 50 exotic species
has an entire collection of 5 species of invertebrates, 8 of fishes, 6 of amphibians, 53 of reptiles, 46 of birds and 53 of mammals
The Department maintained and coordinated a range of specialist equipment and emergency response vehicles. This included pumpers and tankers and other equipment relating to operations involving search and rescue and firefighting.
Light unit pumper fire appliance Ford Ranger 3.2 / 6 at Kings Park, BGPA, March 2018
Uniforms and equipment
Parks and Wildlife Service has 3 types of uniforms:[17]
a standard khaki shirt and bottle green (or khaki) trousers uniform with appropriate badging is supplied to and worn by staff whose duties included the monitoring of legislative compliance (National Park and Marine rangers, Conservation and Land Management officers, forest officers, wildlife officers and authorised CALM officers under Bush Fire Act)
a work wear (khaki or high visibility yellow and bottle green shirt and bottle green trousers) for those that work in the field and personal protective equipment or clothing (TecaSafe gold overshirt, TecaSafe dark green trousers and vest, Kevlar helmet with goggles, gloves, belt and fire boots) for staff who are involved in fire management activities
a corporate apparel worn by employees who are in regular contact with the public or members of other departments (sand, grey or white shirt, black or charcoal trousers)
Notes
↑ The Public Sector Commissioner has released the list of agency heads to lead the new departments in the medium term on 28 April 2017. This follows the Premier's announcement on significant public sector reform and structural changes across the public sector.
↑ "The department". Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
↑ Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions 2017–18 Annual Report, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, 2018. ISSN2203-9198 (Print), ISSN2203-9201 (Online), September 2018.
↑ Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions 2017–18 Annual Report, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, 2018. ISSN2203-9198 (Print), ISSN2203-9201 (Online), September 2018.
↑ Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions 2017–18 Annual Report, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, 2018. ISSN2203-9198 (Print), ISSN2203-9201 (Online), September 2018.
Protected areas of Australia include Commonwealth and off-shore protected areas managed by the Australian government, as well as protected areas within each of the six states of Australia and two self-governing territories, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory, which are managed by the eight state and territory governments.
Porongurup National Park is a national park in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. It covers 26.21 square kilometres (10.12 sq mi), and is 360 kilometres (220 mi) southeast of Perth and 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Albany.
Rottnest Island, often colloquially referred to as "Rotto", is a 19-square-kilometre (7.3 sq mi) island off the coast of Western Australia, located 18 kilometres (11 mi) west of Fremantle. A sandy, low-lying island formed on a base of aeolianite limestone, Rottnest is an A-class reserve, the highest level of protection afforded to public land.
The Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) was a department of the Government of Western Australia that was responsible for implementing the state's conservation and environment legislation and regulations. It was formed on 1 July 2006 by the amalgamation of the Department of Environment and the Department of Conservation and Land Management.
Penguin Island is a 12.5-hectare (31-acre) island off the coast near Perth, approximately 660 metres (722 yd) from Shoalwater. It was found to be home to a colony of 120 little penguins in 2024. Since 2007, the island has experienced a 92 percent decline in penguin numbers, from a peak of 1,600 that year.
The Wildlife Conservation Act 1950 is an act of the Western Australian Parliament that provides the statute relating to conservation and legal protection of flora and fauna. It was replaced by the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (WA) on 3 December 2016, and finally repealed as of 1 January 2019 when the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 and the Biodiversity Conservation Regulations 2018 became current.
The Horizontal Falls, or Horizontal Waterfalls, nicknamed the "Horries" and known as Garaanngaddim by the local Indigenous people, are an unusual natural phenomenon on the coast of the Kimberley region in Western Australia, where tidal flows cause waterfalls on the ebb and flow of each tide. The Lalang-garram / Horizontal Falls Marine Park is a protected area covering the falls and wider area.
The Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM) was a department of the Government of Western Australia that was responsible for implementing the state's conservation and environment legislation and regulations. It was created by the Conservation and Land Management Act 1984, also known as the CALM Act, which is still in force as of 2020.
The Western Australian Herbarium is the State Herbarium in Perth, Western Australia.
The Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority is a Western Australian Government authority charged with the administration of Kings Park and Bold Park.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is a directorate of the New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment and responsible for managing more than 890 national parks and reserves, covering over 7.5 million hectares of land across the state of New South Wales, Australia. Despite its name the NPWS is a state government agency rather than federal government, likewise as other states and territories National Parks agencies around Australia. However the states and territories agencies around Australia do still work closely together.
Camden Sound is a relatively wide body of water in the Indian Ocean located in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The Sound is bounded by the Bonaparte Archipelago to the north-east, the Buccaneer Archipelago to the south-west, and Montgomery Reef to the south.
Borya is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boryaceae, endemic to Australia.
The Western Australian Zoological Parks Authority was created under the act of the same name in 2001, and under the Minister of Environment for Western Australia. What had previously been the Zoological Gardens Board, on 22 May 2002, became the Zoological Parks Authority.
The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the Conservation and Land Management Act 1984 and implementing the state's conservation and environment legislation and regulations. The minister responsible for the department was the Minister for the Environment.
Director of National Parks is a Commonwealth corporate entity responsible for the management of a portfolio of terrestrial and marine protected areas proclaimed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory is the Northern Territory Government agency responsible for tasks including the establishment of "parks, reserves, sanctuaries and other land", the management of these and the "protection, conservation and sustainable use of wildlife."
Swan Canning Riverpark consists of the waterways and public foreshore reserves in the Swan and Canning Rivers in Perth, Western Australia. Established under the Swan and Canning Rivers Management Act 2006, it has an area of 72.1 square kilometres (27.8 sq mi).
Matuwa Kurrara Kurrara National Park is a national park in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, 160 km (99 mi) east of Wiluna. The national park, with a size of 609,300 hectares, was created in May 2023, alongside the Lake Carnegie nature reserve to the east of it, which is centered around Lake Carnegie, an important wetland. The national park is located south of the Little Sandy Desert.
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