AUSTRALIA: KEY THREATENING PROCESS

Infection of amphibians with chytrid fungus resulting in chytridiomycosis

"The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) provides for the identification and listing of key threatening processes.
A process is defined as a key threatening process if it threatens or may threaten the survival, abundance or evolutionary development of a native species or ecological community.
A process can be listed as a key threatening process if it could: cause a native species or ecological community to become eligible for adding to a threatened list (other than conservation dependent), or cause an already listed threatened species or threatened ecological community to become more endangered, or if it adversely affects two or more listed threatened species or threatened ecological communities.
The assessment of a threatening process as a key threatening process is the first step to addressing the impact of a particular threat under Commonwealth law. Once a threatening process is listed under the EPBC Act a Threat Abatement Plan can be put into place if it is proven to be "a feasible, effective and efficient way" to abate the threatening process.
Before making a decision on the need for a threat abatement plan the Minister for the Environment and Heritage must request advice from the Threatened Species Scientific Committee and must take reasonable steps to seek the advice of any interested Commonwealth, State or Territory agency. (See EPBC Act Section 270A for details)

Threat abatement plans provide for the research, management, and any other actions necessary to reduce the impact of a Listed Key Threatening Processes on a threatened species or ecological community. Implementing the plan should assist the long term survival in the wild of the threatened species or ecological community."

Extracted from Environment Australia website at http://www.ea.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/ktp/index.html.

On 23 July 2002 the Minister for the Environment and Heritage accepted that infection with the amphibian chytrid resulting in chytridiomycosis was a key threatening process. The conclusions of the advice given to the Minister by the Threatened Species Scientific Committee was that:

"The threatening process meets s188(4)(a), s188(4)(b) and s188(4)(c) of the EPBC Act. The threatening process could cause native amphibian species to become listed as threatened, could cause listed threatened species to become listed in another category representing a high degree of endangerment, and adversely affects at least 5 listed threatened amphibian species."
"A Threat Abatement Plan is considered to be a feasible, effective and efficient way to abate the process."

Read the advice to the Minister from the Threatened Species Scientific Committee:

At Environment Australia website
As an Acrobat file.

The document that formed the basis of nomination as a key threatening process is downloadable here as an Acrobat file.

A Threat Abatement Plan is now in the process of development.

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Updated 18 April 2003
Rick Speare