AIATSIS Submission - Independent review of the EPBC Act 1999

In this submission AIATSIS provides the following key recommendations:

• Indigenous held lands are fundamental to the achievement of Australia’s Aichi Biodiversity Targets under the International Convention on Biological Diversity. This contribution can be positively magnified by addressing the issue of clear rights and responsibilities under the EPBC Act.
• Indigenous communities are very effective in identifying threatened species planning for large scale fire and water management and have been proactive in establishing and implementing country management plans. This planning process should be foregrounded in the review of the EPBC Act’s aims.
• Indigenous engagement on country can create key opportunities to protect Australia’s biodiversity and species threatened by international trade (especially for species listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)). These contributions should be recognised through a review of the legislation.
• Environmental regulation is too narrowly focused on compliance, and fall short of achieving conservation targets without the capacity to support active land management. The operation of the act should be reviewed to include land management.