THE HON TANYA PLIBERSEK MP

MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER

Tuesday, 22 April 2025

Smart data, safe species: new investment to protect wildlife most at risk

Some of Australia’s species most at risk of extinction will get a lifeline thanks to a nearly $8 million investment in projects to track their pathway to recovery.

The Tracking Species Trajectory funding will back 18 projects across Australia to better protect wildlife most at risk, including the northern hopping-mouse, Canberra Grassland Earless Dragon and Kangaroo Island assassin spider. These projects will use innovative monitoring techniques and conduct extensive surveys to better understand the patterns and needs of each species.

The data gathered will ensure conservation efforts are targeted where they are needed most. This includes updated species distribution maps, population estimates and species abundance data.

Examples of funded projects include:

• Birdlife Australia will receive $770,408 to develop a national monitoring program for the red goshawk and to provide support to Indigenous Rangers to undertake surveys on Country in Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, including the Tiwi Islands.
• CSIRO will assess the abundance and distribution of the freshwater sawfish population across northern Australia, one of the last strongholds for sawfish species globally, thanks to $854,260 in funding.
• Zoological Parks and Gardens Board will receive $451,900 to conduct camera trapping surveys and genetic analysis of the New Holland mouse in NSW and Tasmania.
• Terrain NRM will develop a surveillance and monitoring protocol for the spectacled flying-fox using drone-based thermal surveys and GPS tracking with a $799,506 investment.

Organisations will work closely with First Nations groups to deliver the projects.

This Tracking Species Trajectory funding, under the Saving Native Species program, is part of the Government’s $550 million investment to protect native species and tackle invasive pests.

These grants were signed off on prior to the commencement of the caretaker period.

Quotes attributable to the Minister for the Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek:

“Knowing what’s working when it comes to species recovery is so important. It allows us to target our conservation efforts so we’re doing the right activities to help species thrive in the wild.

“Some of these projects will look at species we know very little about. The freshwater sawfish, for example, is rarely seen and lives in very remote and parts of the country.

“This is just part of what we’re doing to to better protect our threatened plants and animals. We’ve protected more than 100 million hectares of land and ocean, invested more than half a billion dollars we’re investing to protect native species and tackle invasive pests, and supported more than 100 local projects to clean up urban waterways. Plus, a re-elected Labor Government will protect another 30 million hectares of Aussie bushland – an area bigger than New Zealand.

“The choice at the election couldn’t be clearer. Labor will protect nature, fund essential science, invest in threatened species, and act on climate change. Or the climate deniers and wreckers of the Liberal and National parties who haven’t made a single commitment that would help improve nature.”

ENDS