ROUNDTABLE CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE GOVERNMENT ACTION FOR BUSHFIRE-AFFECTED FLORA AND FAUNA

Federal Member for Macquarie, Susan Templeman, says a meeting with the Federal Environment Minister provided an opportunity for local environmental experts to outline their priorities, including an urgent survey of the bushfire impact on the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area.

A roundtable event convened by Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley and Chair of the Wildlife and Threatened Species Bushfire Recovery Expert Panel, Dr Sally Box, was held at Western Sydney University’s Richmond campus on Monday, February 17 to receive feedback about the environmental impact the bushfires have had across the Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury regions.

Experts from WSU’s Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, the Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute, NSW National Parks and Wildlife and Blue Mountains Conservation Society joined representatives of Hawkesbury WIRES and the Hawkesbury Environment Network to identify their priorities for the recovery process.

“The roundtable emphasised the urgent need for a survey of the damage to native plants and animals locally as the result of the bushfire crisis, which would be used to identify the priorities for recovery,” Ms Templeman said.

“There was also a call for the Morrison Government to create an emergency research fund based on US and UK models, which would allow funding for research to immediately be allocated following a disaster.

“Normally research grant funding has long lead times and a long evaluation process.

“But we need to get funding to these experts quickly to assess what has happened to populations of native animals and plant species, which will then prioritise what needs to be done in terms of recovery.

“There are a lot of good people around who want to ensure the recovery process is occurring quickly, but there is no access to fast funding to allow them to go out to audit and assess.

“A special emergency fund set up to immediately allow research following a disaster would allow these experts to go straight out into the field and begin their assessments.

“There’s extraordinary talent in these local groups and long-term depth of knowledge. They need to be out in the field updating the data they have about native plants and animals, and ground-truthing what they predict the effects of the bushfires were.

“I am pleased the Government has engaged with these groups and we will be continuing to work with them to ensure there is a decent response, so this particularly vulnerable area of World Heritage has the best chance of re