The Great Western Woodland is under threat from significant increases in large, intense fires; climate change; fragmentation and loss of critical habitat; weeds and feral animals. The challenge now and in the coming decades is to maintain the natural values of the Great Western Woodlands, protect the ecological processes that sustain these values, and repair any environmental damage that has already occurred.
If we fail in this challenge, then it is inevitable that much of this unique landscape will be lost.
We will also lose an opportunity to prevent the kinds of environmental problems now dominating most of southern Australia and its people—water security, species extinctions and land degradation.
The challenges associated with climate change illustrate the importance of the Great Western Woodlands on a national and global scale. The Great Western Woodlands has massive carbon stores in its biomass, woody debris and soil. The estimated amount of carbon currently stored in the vegetation and soil is 950 million tonnes - equivalent to more than six times Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions for 2008.
Poor land management, such as allowing the bushland to burn, can release this carbon as greenhouse gas pollution. Proper protection and management of the Woodlands can potentially increase this stored carbon and assist in reducing Australia’s greenhouse gas pollution.
Looking toward a bright future
Conventional conservation planning methodology will not work in the Great Western Woodlands. An alternative approach to landscape management is necessary, one based on partnerships among the organisations, communities, governments and individuals with responsibility for land stewardship in the region.
This type of approach to management does not mean the exclusion of humans from a landscape. However, managing modern, industrial activities will be critical if the Great Western Woodlands is to remain a legacy for the future.
This new model for land management must recognise that conservation can only be successful when it occurs across all land tenures, and when different stakeholders work together with biodiversity conservation in mind.
In this picture - Fire
Frequent and intense wildfires are a major threat to the health of the Great Western Woodlands and an increasing danger to communities. Although fires are a natural phenomenon they are happening too frequently in some areas.
High frequency and high intensity fires can cause dramatic changes to vegetation systems such as the conversion of woodland into a mixture of mallee and shrubland. Better fire management is urgently needed to protect the Great Western Woodlands.
