The State Government is committed to introducing a Biodiversity Conservation Act for Western Australia.

Consultation Paper

In 2003, a consultation paper (1.35MB PDF file) was open for comment from members of the public and interested stakeholders. Written submissions were sought on issues that are consistent with the Government's objectives of conserving biodiversity and promoting the sustainable use of biological resources. Submissions closed on 5 March 2003.

Issues covered in the consultation paper include:

• the need for new legislation,
• what biodiversity the Act should protect,
• special protection and recovery planning for threatened species and ecological communities,
• Habitat protection and controlling Threatening Processes,
• bioregional planning,
• providing assistance for biodiversity management and restoration,
• managing sustainable use of biodiversity,
• bioprospecting,
• nature-based tourism and recreation,
• use of biological resources by indigenous people, and
• compliance, enforcement and penalties.

Public Submissions

The public submissions from the consultation period, which ended in March 2003, have been collated and are presented here in two documents:

• The Summary Analysis of Public Submissions (116kB pdf file)
• The Public Submissions Table (329kB pdf file)

The original Biodiversity Conservation Act Consultation Paper (1.35MB PDF file) can still be viewed or printed using Adobe Acrobat viewer, or you can view a text only version of the Consultation Paper.