THE GONDWANA LINK VISION IS Gondwana Link Home
 

'Reconnected country across south-western Australia, from the karri forest of the SW corner to the woodlands and mallee bordering the Nullarbor plain, in which ecosystem function and biodiversity are restored and maintained'.


The greatest threat facing the remaining ecological wonders of south-western Australia is fragmentation. The era when agricultural clearing destroyed large areas of biodiversity is over, but in the agricultural areas even the largest areas of bush are mere remnants – isolated from each other with species unable to move across ecologically hostile agricultural landscapes, and the key ecological processes shattered.
 
Two-thirds of the vegetation in south–western Australia has been cleared. Over much of what is now called “the wheatbelt” many areas have less than 5-10% of their original bushland left. Yet these landscapes have proved very fragile under farming. It is now recognised that 30-40% of agricultural Western Australia needs replanting to deep rooted trees and shrubs. Otherwise over 6 million hectares will be severely damaged by dryland salinity.

Clearing was the first wave of destruction - fragmentation, salinity and climate change are driving a second wave.

But in one part of south-western Australia the basic ecological connectivity that enabled the proliferation of the south-west’s biological magnificence can be at least partially restored, slowing salinity and other degradation at the same time.

The satellite photo shows us what can be achieved. The five largest areas of biodiversity left in the entire south-west are along the south coast. One connection remains through to inland Australia, via a massive 6-7 million hectare area of public land saved from the spread of agriculture in the early 1980’s.



We can reconnect these critical bushland areas and strengthen the connection with the inland. This will restore ecological connectivity and, in the cleared areas, restore land that is too fragile to farm. We will have, stretching over hundreds of kilometres, a series of core wilderness areas, linked by continuous belts of habitat and surrounded by supportive land uses.

Gondwana Link will enable the more mobile species to move safely between populations, reducing the current wave of slow localised extinctions from isolated remnants
Many bird and animal species have been reduced to small isolated populations that are under continual stress. With birds, scientists predict we could lose 50% of the remaining species within 50 years. For example the Western Whipbird is now virtually extinct in the main ‘wheatbelt’ and only occurs in the larger south coast remnants. The Western Ground Parrot, a species dependant on long unburnt habitat, is down to a total population of about 200 birds. As far back as 1978 the WA Museum reported that only one area in the southern ‘wheatbelt’ was considered large enough to retain its current assemblage of mammals in the long term. Until these areas are reconnected they will continue to lose even ‘common’ species.


Gondwana Link will restore key areas of habitat needed for nomadic patterns of movement
The transition zone between the dry inland and the wet forests is defined by a variable climate, with extremes of wet and dry being common. Wildlife has responded by moving opportunistically between seasonal feeding areas. Now the smaller mammal and bird species cannot move across farmed landscapes to their seasonal food sources. As a result, population levels have fallen across the entire ‘wheatbelt’. The Gondwana Link project will partially restore this vital pattern of movement into and across south coast plant communities, which provide critical nectar and pollen during the dry late summer and early autumn period.

Gondwana Link will provide some protection against the worst ecological impacts of climate change by enabling gradual genetic and species interchange on a broad front and by retaining elements of the longer term evolutionary forces that shaped the south west biota
Current predictions are for a warming of the south west over the next 50 years, with a significant decline in winter rainfall. The trend is already apparent in rainfall averages over the past four decades. This has profound, but poorly understood, implications for the biota.

In previous (slower) periods of climate change, species and systems have predominantly ‘moved’ along a south-west/north-east pathway, which is exactly the direction Gondwana Link is spanning. To consolidate this we are also seizing opportunities to consolidate north-south linkages, which may also be critical pathways for species and systems affected by greenhouse induced climate change.


Assist in stabilising landscapes where clearing has led to large scale salinity, wind erosion and other degradation
The agricultural areas of south-western Australia are suffering catastrophic land degradation. Current government estimates are that, due to rising saline water tables, over 6 million hectares, more than 30% of WA’s cleared land, will become salinised in the next 50 years and that “without remedial action, up to 80% of small areas of bushland on farms and up to 50% on public lands (including nature reserves) in agricultural areas will be lost over time.” Recent survey work has shown that “without intervention 450 plant species endemic to the region will become extinct, and three quarters of the region’s waterbird species will severely decline”. All water courses are already severely degraded. Some south coast estuaries have received more than 4000 years worth of sediment in the last 40 years.

It is now widely recognised that these landscapes need to be 30-40% covered by perennial woody vegetation to remain stable. Traditional agriculture cannot achieve this.

In our current focus area (Stirlings to Fitzgerald), at least 20-30% of the main catchments need revegetation. This will have significant downstream benefits, and is expected to reduce salt, sediment and agricultural pollution in two main river and estuarine systems, the Pallinup and the Bremer. By removing the least agriculturally suited land from their current use, the Gondwana Link project will substantially reduce degradation on-site and on surrounding lands.


Accelerate the development of new cultural and economic perspectives on how people can live in the region to enrich social and environmental diversity
A document recently produced by the West Australian Department of Agriculture and the Great Southern Development Commission states “The south coast is experiencing extreme economic, environmental and social difficulties. Up to 50% of farmers could be considered at risk and the viability of the supporting rural communities is under threat”.

More diverse communities and land uses are needed. This requires “thinking outside the box” at a huge scale. Gondwana Link has already demonstrated that significant funds can be raised to protect bushland and restore biodiversity values on cleared land. Additionally, Gondwana Link is committed to developing and demonstrating the potential for other land use options that have commercial value and which can reduce social decline (see the people involved). If we can raise the funds, we expect to invest heavily in establishing ecologically and socially supportive enterprises such as sandalwood growing, dry-country forestry (i.e. bush poles and brush fencing), bush foods and similar. We are already supporting research and development work specifically focused on indigenous south coast species.

Programs are being developed with local organisations to increase the level of research and development and to document the economic multipliers.


Achieve improved conservation management for large areas of the south-west biodiversity hotspot
Despite the internationally recognised biodiversity values of the south-west, the management of public lands has been less than adequate. This partly reflects the level of resources provided, historical difficulties in recognising the values of areas marked for clearing as recently as the early 1980s, and the difficulties inherent in managing intensely biodiverse areas.

Through communication, providing practical assistance and some advocacy, Gondwana Link plays a critical role in improving the standard of care given to these areas. The Wilderness Society has already played a pivotal role in protecting old growth forests in the far south-west corner, and is now working with the State Government to secure the recently announced Walpole Wilderness Area - over 200,000ha of forest where the Gondwana Link pathway meets the wetter forest areas.
 
Our next major goal is to secure better management of woodland, mallee and heath east of the main agricultural areas. This area, which is approximately the size of Tasmania, contains only one town, two main roads, a few tracks and some scattered mine sites. Large areas were planned for clearing in the early 1980s but this was halted. Unfortunately only relatively small areas receive any conservation protection or management.

Introduce more effective scientific principles to conservation management
Through its partnership with The Wilderness Society WildCountry program and the establishment of a Science Forum, the Gondwana Link project will develop far more effective approaches to conservation than the current limited focus on protected areas and rare species. It’s the systems, not the species! We are developing a much greater emphasis on the fundamental ecological processes critical for sustaining the biological wealth of the region (see ecological principles).

Inspire other Australians to think about and work on large-scale restoration of the Australian landscape
We are already helping groups elsewhere in Australia to think and act on a grand scale.