WA Priority Flora Workshop - Kensington

This workshop is hosted by Plant Conservation Australia, the Western Australian Biodiversity Science Institute and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, with support from Rio Tinto.

Aims and Scope:
Western Australia has over 3,000 plant taxa for which there is insufficient information to undertake a robust conservation status assessment. These are listed as Priority 1-3 taxa by DBCA, equivalent to Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List. While these taxa are afforded some protections under the Environmental Protection Act 1986, it is likely that a portion of these taxa are truly at risk of extinction and with further information may meet the criteria for listing as threatened under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. Others meanwhile may not be at immediate risk and with better understanding could be removed from the Priority list. There are also some 350 Priority 4 taxa that are considered Rare, Near Threatened and some in need of monitoring, that also require consideration as part of Priority Flora assessments.

The aim of this workshop is to foster understanding of the process and information requirements for conservation status assessments and to identify projects, potential collaborators and funding opportunities to attain the information needed to have a meaningful impact in reducing the number of poorly known flora in the state.