Carnaby’s cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus latirostris) is an iconic species that only occurs in the south-west of Western Australia. The species has undergone a significant historical decline, primarily due to the clearing of native vegetation in the Swan Coastal Plain and Wheatbelt and the loss of breeding habitat in the Wheatbelt. Because of this decline, the species is recognised as a threatened species under State and Commonwealth environmental legislation.

Clearing of native vegetation for future development to support the growth of the Perth and Peel regions and harvesting of pines at the Gnangara, Pinjar and Yanchep plantations are predicted to have significant impacts on Carnaby’s cockatoo foraging and breeding habitat. These impacts are described in chapter 15 of the draft EPBC Act Strategic Impact Assessment Report.

In order to compensate for some of the loss of habitat, the State Government has committed to implementing a number of measures to support Carnaby’s cockatoo within and outside the Perth and Peel regions. The measures will focus primarily on avoiding, protecting and restoring foraging and breeding habitat, and are designed to mitigate the anticipated decline in the number of Carnaby’s cockatoo that can be supported within the Perth and Peel regions.

Many of the measures aimed at supporting Carnaby’s cockatoo will also benefit other threatened species.

Avoidance of impactsAvoidance of environmental impacts has been a key consideration in the development of the draft Green Growth Plan, with major reductions in potential environmental impacts in comparison with development contemplated through the Western Australian Planning Commission’s (WAPC) Directions 2031 and Beyond draft sub-regional strategies (August 2010), the Economic and Employment Lands Strategy: non-heavy industrial (April 2012) and the regionally significant basic raw materials mapping (Department of Mines and Petroleum, June 2012 and January 2013).

In relation to Carnaby’s cockatoo, significant collaborative work was undertaken across State Government agencies in developing the draft WAPC sub-regional planning frameworks and draft Green Growth Plan, which resulted in changes to future development areas allowing avoidance of 15,700 hectares of Carnaby’s cockatoo habitat. This work more than halved the projected impacts on Carnaby’s cockatoo native habitat and is an important example of significant benefits of the landscape approach to addressing environmental impacts being undertaken as part of the Green Growth Plan and WAPC planning processes.

In addition, the draft Green Growth Plan commits to avoiding a further 3,000 hectares of Carnaby’s cockatoo feeding habitat through future, more detailed planning within the classes of action such that only 9,700 hectares of Swan Coastal Plain feeding habitat and 4,400 hectares of Jarrah Forest feeding habitat will be cleared over the life of the Green Growth Plan. The draft Green Growth Plan also commits to avoiding the clearing of known roosting and confirmed and possible breeding sites demonstrated to be viable within urban, industrial and rural residential areas. This commitment is expected to lead to the retention of 90 percent of known roost sites and 83 percent of associated roosting habitat within those areas.

Replanting of pinesWidespread clearing of Banksia woodlands, originally the predominant food source for Carnaby’s cockatoo in the Perth and Peel regions, has accelerated since the 1950s. Pine plantations have progressively replaced Banksia woodlands as a major food source for the cockatoos on the Swan Coastal Plain, mitigating some of the loss of native habitat.

In order to increase ground water recharge into the Gnangara Mound, which is Perth’s largest groundwater resource and currently supplies approximately 30% of

Carnaby’s CockatooPerth and Peel Green Growth Plan for 3.5 Million

the creation of Peel Regional Park, expansion of Yalgorup National Park and the establishment of a complex of conservation reserve stepping stones from Boonanarring Nature Reserve north to Bundarra Nature Reserve and Moore River.

Importantly, following the inclusion of these areas in the conservation reserve system, resources will be committed to reduce and minimise risks of fire, feral animals, weeds, dieback and other forest diseases.

Revegetation and rehabilitationRevegetation (reestablishment of native vegetation in degraded areas) and rehabilitation (repair of ecosystem processes) will focus on improving habitat quality for Carnaby’s cockatoo and other species and restoring or improving habitat connectivity and ecological linkages across the landscape within the Perth and Peel regions.

Replanting projects will be undertaken to increase the occurrence of plant species that can be used by cockatoos for feeding and roosting and to increase tree canopy cover across developed areas in the Perth and Peel regions. This work will include native and local species but will also incorporate the use of exotic feed trees with high calorific value as a measure to help compensate for some of the loss of the pines and of banksia woodlands.

the city’s drinking water, the State Government made a decision in 1996 not to replant the 23,000 hectares of pines within the Gnangara, Pinjar and Yanchep pine plantations following harvesting. The draft Green Growth Plan outlines a strategic approach to the future land use of the pine plantations which balances a number of factors, including foraging habitat for Carnaby’s cockatoo, the demand for drinking water supply, timber supply under State Agreement obligations, future urban and industrial land use, basic raw materials supply and the health of ground water dependent ecosystems. See draft Action Plan E for further information.

To compensate for some of the loss of Carnaby’s habitat associated with the harvesting of pines, 5,000 hectares of pines will be replanted and maintained in the Yanchep plantation area on a non-commercial basis for the purpose of Carnaby’s cockatoo foraging habitat.

Under the draft Green Growth Plan it is proposed that the remaining area of the ex-plantations will primarily be transitioned to low water use vegetation (16,875 hectares) to maximise water recharge and 1,175 hectares will be investigated for future urban and industrial land supply.

Expanding the network of reservesUnder the draft Green Growth Plan, the State Government will create and manage 170,000 hectares of new conservation reserves in order to protect matters of national environmental significance and State environmental values impacted by the proposed development in the Perth and Peel regions. This will include the protection and management of at least 116,000 hectares of Carnaby’s cockatoo habitat within and outside the Perth and Peel regions. Phase 1 of these new conservation reserves, to be implemented immediately following the endorsement of the final Green Growth Plan by the Commonwealth Minister for Environment, will increase the area of conservation reserves within the Perth and Peel regions by 50 percent and more than triple the area of Bush Forever protected by conservation reserves.

The proposed extension of the reserves network includes new and expanded conservation areas from Yellagonga Regional Park, north through Neerabup National Park and Yanchep National Park to the coast at Wilbinga Conservation Park and east to Yeal Nature Reserve creating conservation linkages from the coast almost to the Darling Scarp. It also includes

Breeding programsMeasures will be implemented to improve Carnaby’s cockatoo breeding and associated feeding habitat at known breeding sites within and outside the Perth and Peel regions. Measures will include fencing and protecting remnant habitats, breeding hollow repair and control of nest competitors. In addition, 700 artificial hollows will be established from Eneabba to Ravensthorpe to supplement existing breeding hollows.

Research and monitoringResearch and monitoring will be undertaken to improve knowledge about the species and inform conservation measures and adaptive management to provide confidence that an acceptable outcome for Carnaby’s cockatoo will be achieved through the implementation of the Green Growth Plan.

Impacts of clearing on Carnaby’s cockatooThe Perth and Peel regions provide important feeding and breeding habitat for Carnaby’s cockatoo. It is estimated that the two regions support around 20 percent of the total Carnaby’s cockatoo population.

As stated above, the species has undergone a significant historical decline, primarily due to the clearing of native vegetation in the Swan Coastal Plain and Wheatbelt and the loss of breeding habitat in the Wheatbelt. Analysis undertaken by the Department of Parks and Wildlife predicts that, even without further clearing of habitat, the current Perth-Peel subpopulation will continue to decline over the next 35 years.

It is anticipated that the loss of Carnaby’s cockatoo habitat as a result of further clearing of native vegetation and pines for the development proposed under the Green Growth Plan will lead to a further decline in the number of Carnaby’s cockatoo that can be supported within the Perth and Peel regions.

A draft Population Viability Analysis undertaken by the Department of Parks and Wildlife predicts that, prior to taking account of mitigation and conservation measures set out in the draft Green Growth Plan, the clearing of pine plantations and native vegetation proposed under the draft Green Growth Plan would result in an additional 36 percent reduction in the number of Carnaby’s cockatoo that can be supported in

the Perth and Peel regions by 2050 compared to a scenario where no further clearing of pines or native vegetation took place. The analysis indicates that even if no further native vegetation clearing or pine harvesting takes place the population in the Perth and Peel regions is estimated to decline by approximately 20 percent by 2050 due to past clearing and other factors such as climate change.

The modelling predicts a potential decline of the total Carnaby’s cockatoo population of less than ten percent as a result of the loss of habitat from the proposed development. However, estimates of the risks for the total population should be treated cautiously because of uncertainty about the population size, the proportion of the total population that relies on the Perth and Peel regions for foraging and the limited information available about temporal trends in habitat and carrying capacity outside the Perth and Peel regions.

It is important to note that the estimated decline for the Perth and Peel subpopulation and the population as a whole does not take account of the conservation measures to avoid, protect and restore foraging and breeding habitat set out in the draft Green Growth Plan. The conservation measures will support Carnaby’s cockatoo to ensure that an acceptable outcome for Carnaby’s cockatoo will be delivered.

The removal of the pine plantations is likely to occur within the next

ten years. The majority of the loss of other feeding habitat types is also expected to occur within a similar timeframe.

Following this initial decline it is anticipated that the number of

Carnaby’s cockatoo that can be supported within the

Perth and Peel regions will remain relatively

constant.