The ''Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988'', also known as the ''FFG Act'', is an act of the

Victorian Government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive, the judicial, and t ...

designed to protect species, genetic material and habitats, to prevent extinction and allow maximum genetic diversity within the Australian state of Victorian for perpetuity. It was the first Australian legislation to deal with such issues. It enables the listing of

threatened species Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of '' critical depen ...

and communities and threats to

native species In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is e ...

, and the declaration of

critical habitat Critical habitat is a habitat area essential to the conservation of a listed species, though the area need not actually be occupied by the species at the time it is designated. This is a specific term and designation within the U.S. Endangered Spe ...

necessary for the survival of native plants and animals. After an extensive review of the Act in 2019, the ''Flora and Fauna Guarantee Amendment Act 2019'' modernised and strengthened the provisions of the Act on 1 June 2020. Enforcement of the ''FFG Act'' is overseen by the Office of the Conservation Regulator (OCR).

Description

The ''Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988'' helps to protect and manage the

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic ('' genetic variability''), species ('' species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity'') ...

of the state of Victoria. It aims to conserve all of Victoria’s native plants and animals. In order to achieve this, the Act enables a number of mechanisms, such as listing threatened species, communities and threats to native species; the establishment of a statewide biodiversity management strategy; declaring certain areas as critical habitat; requiring public authorities to take the Act into account in their operations; and requiring permits for certain activities which may affect native plants and animals.

Criticisms

Lawyers for Forests (LFF) published a review of the act in 2002, and found a lack of resources to enforce the act, a lack of government transparency and accountability, that the act may be and is ignored in government decisionmaking, and that the act is generally unenforceable. The review identified the following factors: * Lack of political will for the implementation of the FFG Act. * Lack of funding and resources to allow the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE) to effectively implement the Act. * Objectives of the FFG Act being overridden by objectives and interests of bodies with conflicting agendas, such as the forestry industry. As well as a general review, the review considers the impact of the Act on the

Leadbeater's possum Leadbeater's possum (''Gymnobelideus leadbeateri'') is a critically endangered possum largely restricted to small pockets of alpine ash, mountain ash, and snow gum forests in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia, north-east of Melbou ...

, the

powerful owl The powerful owl (''Ninox strenua''), a species of owl native to south-eastern and eastern Australia, is the largest owl on the continent. It is found in coastal areas and in the Great Dividing Range, rarely more than inland. The IUCNRed List ...

and the

tiger quoll The tiger quoll (''Dasyurus maculatus''), also known as the spotted-tail quoll, the spotted quoll, the spotted-tail dasyure, native cat or the tiger cat, is a carnivorous marsupial of the quoll genus '' Dasyurus'' native to Australia. With male ...

, as well as on a threatened community and a threatening process. For example, it considers the concern of environmentalists for the small and poorly placed Special Protection and Management Zones for the tiger quoll, the continuing clear-fell logging followed by slash burns in their management zones, and the failure to stop the use of

1080 poison Sodium fluoroacetate is an organofluorine chemical compound with the formula FCH2CO2Na. This colourless salt has a taste similar to that of sodium chloride and is used as a rodenticide. History and production The effectiveness of sodium fluoro ...

, which is a threat to the species. LFF recommended that the NRE should receive appropriate funding to fully implement the FFG Act, and the government commit to NRE fulfilling its obligations under the Act. The group further recommended that the Act should be enforceable, and NRE should be accountable in its efforts to fulfil its obligations under the Act. Other environmental groups have echoed the review; for example, the "delays or lack of implementation of key documents required under the FFG Act" was noted by the Victorian Rainforest Network in 2003.

2019 review and amendment

A major review was undertaken in 2019, resulting in the enactment of the ''Flora and Fauna Guarantee Amendment Act 2019'', by which amendments to the ''FFG Act'' took effect from 1 June 2020. The amendments modernised and strengthened some of the provisions of the Act, such as action preventing species from becoming threatened; adopting the Common Assessment Method, consistent with the national method for assessment and listing of threatened species (as per the ''

EPBC Act The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cultu ...

''}); setting up a reporting requirement on the implementation of the statewide Biodiversity Strategy. It also improved powers for enforcement and increased penalties for breaches of the legislation. Other significant reforms included the introduction of a set of principles to guide decision making (including consultation with traditional owners and the public); a new definition of "critical habitat" to replace the previous one which was too hard to prove and thus implement; the introduction of

habitat conservation Habitat conservation is a management practice that seeks to conserve, protect and restore habitats and prevent species extinction, fragmentation or reduction in range. It is a priority of many groups that cannot be easily characterized in ter ...

orders; setting up a new register; and an obligation for the Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability to report on achievement of targets in the Biodiversity Strategy every five years. Enforcement of the FFG ACT would now be overseen by the Office of the Conservation Regulator (OCR), established in 2019.

Related acts

Related acts include: *''Conservation, Forests and Lands Act 1987'' *''Sustainable Forest (Timber) Act 2004'' *''Forests Act 1958''

References

External links

* - Full text of the act. * {{cite web , title=FFG Threatened List, series=Conserving Threatened Species , website=Department of the Environment, Land and Water Planning, publisher=

Victoria State Government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive, the judicial, and t ...