The National Threatened Species Inventory
With over 1,500 Australian plant species listed as threatened under the EPBC Act 1999, ex situ collections held across botanic gardens, seed banks, and arboreta serve as vital insurance populations against extinction. But how many of these species are currently secured?
The Australian National Botanic Gardens is working with the Office of the Threatened Species Commissioner and Botanic Gardens Australia & New Zealand to collate a national inventory of all EPBC listed species held in ex situ collections across Australia. This inventory will provide a snapshot of current collections, help identify gaps, support conservation practitioners in the strategic planning and management of collections and assist with the prioritisation of future efforts and resources.
Call to action!
We are putting a call out to all Botanic Gardens, Arboreta, and Seed Banks to tell us which EPBC listed plant species you currently hold in ex situ conservation collections.
Contributions can be made by downloading and completing the below survey form. There are 4 tabs on the excel sheet. Further instructions and information about contributing data can be found below.
This work will not be possible without your help.
Image credit: Parks Australia
How you can contribute
The survey is split into three parts, and the level and format of data contribution is flexible to account for varying capacities across institutions. All contributions are highly valued, please read the below information to see how you can contribute.
- Part 1 (Tab 1 on the excel sheet) requests a small amount of information about your institution. This is part of our minimum data requirement.
- Part 2 (Tab 2 on the excel sheet) requests data on taxa held ex situ. Minimum data requirement is presence/absence of taxa held in collections. If available, additional data on quantity and provenance is also requested.
- Part 3 (Tab 3 on the excel sheet) is an optional request for any available data on plant propagation or seed germination.
We are aware that capacity to supply data will be highly varied across institutions and we will accept data in multiple formats including:
- Data on EPBC listed species in the supplied format (Tab 4 in the survey excel spreadsheet)
- Data on EPBC listed species in the format used by your institution, accompanied by Part 1 of the survey.
- Data on all species held in collection in either the supplied format or a format used by your institution, accompanied by Part 1 of the survey. *
* Please note: if you are unable to filter your data in relation to EPBC listing status, we can do this on your behalf. A summary of which EPBC species your facility holds will then returned to you.
The more data we receive, the more accurate an interpretation we can gather. Ex situ conservation is a multi-faceted and complex process. We aim to capture that as best as possible, whilst also minimising the burden on participants.
Once you have completed the relevant parts in the excel survey, please submit your data via email to Freya.brown@dcceew.gov.au.
If you have any issues or questions, do not hesitate to contact Freya using the “Contact Us” form below.
How will your data be used?
The main aim of this project is to report against Target 13 of the Threatened Species Action Plan 2022-2023, which aims for 80% of nationally listed threatened species to be secured in insurance populations by 2027. In addition, we are hoping to provide a national-scale picture of ex situ conservation that can provide multiple benefits:
- Help identify gaps in threatened species conservation and guide the allocation of resources towards those gaps
- Avoid unnecessary duplication
- Support conservation institutions in the strategic management of their collections
- Support the implementation of Threatened Species Action Plan by highlighting areas of need
- Highlight the collective role of regional and state Botanic Gardens and arboreta in conservation of threatened species
- Provide supporting information for institutions to use when applying for grant/research funding
- Identify where challenges may arise that limit institution’s conservation capacity and support future uplift projects
- Help create a national picture of ex situ conservation in Australia that communicates the variety and importance of all conservation institutions.
If you have any questions on this project or data submissions, please use the contact form below.
Data use disclaimer. Data supplied through this survey will not be publicly released in its original or identifiable form. Data will be analysed and may be reported in aggregated form to support the objectives of this project. Any publicly released outputs will have identifying attributes removed or obfuscated so that individual institutions, collections or holdings cannot be identified. If a request is received to share identifiable data with another agency or organisation beyond the scope of this project, contributors will be contacted and their consent sought before any such data is released.
Contact BGANZ
If you have any questions on the project or data submissions, please complete this contact form and address to Freya Brown – Threatened Species Inventory.