A global treasure in our backyard
Equivalent to Africa’s Serengeti or South America’s Amazon, the Great Western Woodlands is an internationally significant area of great biological richness.
The area covers almost 16 million hectares, (more than twice Tasmania) and is a continuous band of vegetation spanning the edge of the Western Australian ‘Wheatbelt’ to the Mulga country in north - the inland deserts to the northeast and the Nullarbor plain to the east.
The Great Western Woodlands represents the largest remaining intact temperate Woodland on Earth!
The Great Western Woodlands is extraordinarily biodiverse. It is an Arc for rare and threatened plants and animals, containing thousands of species found nowhere else on the planet. Amazingly, more than 20% of all Australia’s flora species and 25% of Australia’s eucalypt species are found in the Great Western Woodlands area. Dozens of rare and threatened animals such as the Chuditch, Malleefowl, Red-tailed Phascogale and White-Striped Freetail bat call this region home.
Unfortunately Australia has the highest rate of mammal extinctions in the world and, nationally, bird numbers are declining rapidly - especially woodland birds. That’s one reason why big intact regions like this one are so important.
The Great Western Woodlands is threatened
Poor fire management, feral animals, weeds, and habitat fragmentation due to ad hoc infrastructure and development are all combining to have a negative and deteriorating affect on this landscape.
Without a science-based, best-practice plan for managing the Great Western Woodlands, which ensures both conservation and sustainable resource use, we may lose one of the worlds last great wild places.
An intact landscape
Large intact functioning ecosystems are vitally important for healthy environment & communities. The Great Western Woodlands is the largest remaining intact area temperate (or mediteranean) Woodland in the World!
In other areas of southern Western Australia and eastern Australia, similar ecosystems have been replaced with agricultural lands.
Disturbingly over 35% of the Mediterranean habitat in Australia has been cleared for agriculture and urban development. In fact, landscapes that span equivalent climatic conditions in South America, North America, Africa, Asia and Europe have all experienced a heavy human footprint.
Globally more than 30% of the Mediterranean biome has been modified for urban and agriculture development. Less than 5% of the remaining habitats are protected.
In the Great Western Woodlands we have the opportunity to retain a functioning environment with most of its species still present, or able to be reintroduced.
Reconnecting country - Gondwana Link
Gondwana Link is a visionary project which aims to re-connect the now fragmented country form the Karri and Jarrah forests of the Margaret River area through the south west corner to the Great Western Woodlands and into the inland deserts.
Working togther
The Great Western Woodlands Collaboration – an alliance of four conservation organisations - is working with the communities and stakeholders of the Woodlands to have this area protected, managed and promoted.
By looking after the Great Western Woodlands we are benefiting people, nature and future generations.
Read the report - 'The Extraordinary Nature of the Great Western Woodlands"
Photos in order from the top;
Rich biodiversity in sandplain shrubland. Photo: Lochman Transparencies
Beautiful and tiny pygmy possums. Photo: Lochman Transparencies
Large intense and frequent fires are a major threat to the health of the Great Western Woodlands. Photo: Vanessa Westcott
An Intact landscape, the Great Western Woodlands stretches as far as the eye can see in the view from Honman Ridge. Photo: Dane Griffen
The Gondwana Link vision reconnects country
A field trip with visiting scientists from The Nature Conservancy. Photo: Amanda Keesing
