Skip to Main Content
Skip Nav Destination

As specified by the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995, the Scientific Committee is responsible for listing threatened species, populations, ecological communities and key threatening processes in schedules of the Act, as well as for several review and advisory tasks. In this paper, I outline the composition, structure and functioning of the NSW Scientific Committee during its first seven years of operation (1996-2002), and then describe the Committee's approach in evaluating five nominations of different entities for listing. Each generated debate about different aspects of the listing process, the amount and quality of information required for the Scientific Committee to be able to make a determination, and about how criteria for listing different entities in the Act should be interpreted. From the debates, the Committee was able to develop robust and effective protocols for review of nominations and assessment of status. These protocols allowed the Scientific Committee to process some 600 nominations for listing and delisting of species, populations, communities and key threatening processes during its first seven years of operation, and should continue to assist the Committee to function in future.

Akçakaya, H. R., Ferson, S., Burgman, M. A., Keith, D. A., Mace, G. M. and Todd, C. R. 2000. Making consistent IUCN classifications under uncertainty. Conservation Biology 14: 1001-1013.
Adam, P. 2004. Opening a can of words. The importance of definitions in the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act. Pp 59-67 in Threatened Species Legislation: is it just an Act? edited by P. Hutchings, D. Lunney and C. Dickman. Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, Mosman, NSW.
Adam, P., Auld, T., Benson, D., Catling, P., Dickman, C., Fleming, M., Gunning, R., Hutchings, P., Kemp, D. and Shields, J. 1997a. The 10 Lords of the Universe respond to Lim. Pacific Conservation Biology 3: 319-321.
Adam, P., Auld, T., Benson, D., Catling, P., Dickman, C., Fleming, M., Gunning, R., Hutchings, P., Kemp, D. and Shields, J. 1997b. The New South Wales Threatened Species Conservation Act. A response to Cardew. Australian Planner 34: 204-207.
Anon. 1997 Report of the Joint Select Committee upon the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. Parliament of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW.
Banks, P. B. 2004. Population viability analysis in urban wildlife management: modelling management options for Sydney's quarantined bandicoots. Pp. 70-77 in Urban Wildlife: More than Meets the Eye, edited by D. Lunney and S. Burgin. Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, Mosman, NSW.
Benson, S. 1997. Urban bush seized - conservation order threatens new homes. The Daily Telegraph, 31 May: 1-2.
Bowen, M. and Goldingay, R. 2000. Distribution and status of the Eastern Pygmy Possum ( Cercartetus nanus) in New South Wales. Australian Mammalogy 21: 153-164.
Brereton, R., Bennett, S. and Mansergh, I. 1995. Enhanced greenhouse climate change and its potential effect on selected fauna of south-eastern Australia: a trend analysis. Biological Conservation 72: 339-354.
Brook, A., Zint, M. and de Young, R. 2003. Landowners’ responses to an Endangered Species Act listing and implications for encouraging conservation. Conservation Biology 17: 1638-1649.
Burgess, B. B. 2001 Fate of the Wild: the Endangered Species Act and the Future of Biodiversity. University of Georgia Press, Athens, USA.
Burgman, M. A. 2004. Expert frailties in conservation risk assessment and listing decisions. Pp. 20-29 in Threatened Species Legislation: is it just an Act? edited by P. Hutchings, D. Lunney and C. Dickman. Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, Mosman, NSW.
Busby, J. R. 1988. Potential impacts of climate change on Australia's flora and fauna. Pp. 387-398 in Greenhouse: Planning for Climate Change, edited by G. I. Pearman. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.
Calver, M. C., Bradley, J. S. and Wright, I. W. 1999. Towards scientific contributions in applying the precautionary principle: an example from southwestern Australia. Pacific Conservation Biology 5: 63-72.
Cardew, R. 1997. Editorial. Australian Planner 34: 68.
Chambers, L. K. and Dickman, C. R. 2002. Habitat selection of the Long-nosed Bandicoot, Perameles nasuta (Mammalia, Peramelidae), in a patchy urban environment. Austral Ecology 27: 334-342.
Dickman, C. R. 1997. The nominations process of the Threatened Species Conservation Act. Pp. 19-25 in On the Brink: Your Bush, Their Habitat, Our Act, edited by H. Webb. Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW.
Dickman, C. R. and Fleming, M. R. 2002. Pest, or Passenger Pigeon? The New South Wales Scientific Committee's assessment of the status of the Grey-headed Flying-fox. Pp. 20-28 in Managing the Grey-headed Flying-fox as a Threatened Species in New South Wales, edited by P. Eby and D. Lunney. Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, Mosman, NSW.
Frankham, R. 1995. Effective population size/adult population size ratios in wildlife: a review. Genetical Research 66: 95-107.
Garkaklis, M. J., Calver, M. C., Wilson, B. A. and Hardy, G. E. St. J. 2004. Habitat alteration caused by an introduced plant disease, Phytophthora cinnamomi: a potential threat to the conservation of Australian forest fauna. Pp. 899-913 in Conservation of Australia's Forest Fauna (second edition), edited by D. Lunney. Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, Mosman, NSW.
Green, K. and Osborne, W. S. 2003. The distribution and status of the Broad-toothed Rat Mastacomys fuscus (Rodentia: Muridae) in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. Australian Zoologist 32: 229-237.
Hughes, W. and Westoby, M. 1994. Climate change and conservation policies in Australia: coping with change that is far away and not yet certain. Pacific Conservation Biology 1: 308-318.
IUCN. 2003 2003 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN Species Survival Commission, Gland, Switzerland.
Jerogin, P. 1997. The developers perspective: working towards a more meaningful outcome. Pp. 136-141 in On the Brink: Your Bush, Their Habitat, Our Act, edited by H. Webb. Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW.
Kearney, R. and Kearney, E. 2000. Significance of the Hygrocybeae community of Lane Cove Bushland Park in listings under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 and under the Australian Heritage Commission Act 1975.Australasian Mycologist 19: 64-70.
Keith, D. A. 1998. An evaluation and modification of World Conservation Union Red List criteria for classification of extinction risk in vascular plants. Conservation Biology 12: 1076-1090.
Lacy, R. C. and Clark, T. W. 1990. Population viability assessment of the Eastern Barred Bandicoot in Victoria. Pp. 131-145 in Management and Conservation of Small Populations, edited by T. W. Clark and J. H. Seebeck. Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield, Illinois, USA.
Lamoreux, J., Akçakaya, H. R., Bennun, L., Collar, N. J., Boitani, L., Brackett, L., Bräutigam, A., Brooks, T. M., da Fonseca, G. A. B., Mittermeier, R. A., Rylands, A. B., Gärdenfors, U., Hilton-Taylor, C., Mace, G., Stein, B. A. and Stuart, S. 2003. Value of the IUCN Red List. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 18: 214-215.
Lim, L. 1997. The 10 Lords of the Universe - the New South Wales TSC Act's Scientific Committee. Pacific Conservation Biology 3: 4-12.
Lindenmayer, D. B., Nix, H. A., McMahon, J. P., Hutchinson, M. F. and Tanton, M. T. 1991. The conservation of Leadbeater's Possum, Gymnobelideus leadbeateri (McCoy): a case study of the use of bioclimatic modelling. Journal of Biogeography 18: 371-383.
Lunney, D., Curtin, A. L., Ayers, D., Cogger, H. G., Dickman, C. R., Maitz, W., Law, B. and Fisher, D. 2000. The threatened and non-threatened native vertebrate fauna of New South Wales: status and ecological attributes. New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service Environmental and Heritage Monograph, series no. 4: 1-134.
Mansergh, I. and Broome, L. 1994 The Mountain Pygmypossum of the Australian Alps. New South Wales University Press, Kensington, NSW.
Millsap, B. A., Gore, J. A., Runde, D. E. and Cerulean, S. I. 1990. Setting the priorities for the conservation of fish and wildlife species in Florida. Wildlife Monographs 54: 5-57.
Minta, S. C., Clark, T. W. and Goldstraw, P. 1990. Population estimates and characteristics of the Eastern Barred Bandicoot in Victoria, with recommendations for population monitoring. Pp. 47-75 in Management and Conservation of Small Populations, edited by T. W. Clark and J. H. Seebeck. Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield, Illinois, USA.
Possingham, H. P., Andelman, S. J., Burgman, M. A., Medellin, R. A., Master, L. L. and Keith, D. A. 2002. Limits to the use of threatened species lists. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 17: 503-507.
Pouliquen-Young, O. 1999 The Implications of Climate Change for Land-Based Nature Conservation Strategies. Australian Greenhouse Office, Canberra.
Ravallion, J. 2000. Review of the monitoring component of the recovery plan for the endangered Long-nosed Bandicoot ( Perameles nasuta) population at North Head, Manly, NSW. Unpublished report, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW.
Reizes, J. 1997. Saving what's left … Manly's struggle achieves a world first for two common species. Pp. 46-52 in On the Brink: Your Bush, Their Habitat, Our Act, edited by H. Webb. Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW.
Scott, L. K. 1995 Preliminary report on the Long-nosed Bandicoot population at the Quarantine Station, North Head, Sydney Harbour National Park. Institute of Wildlife Research, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.
Scott, L. K., Hume, I. D. and Dickman, C. R. 1999. Ecology and population biology of Long-nosed Bandicoots ( Perameles nasuta) at North Head, Sydney Harbour National Park. Wildlife Research 26: 805-821.
Smith, J. 1997. Skinning cats, putting tigers in tanks and bringing up baby: a critique of the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (NSW). Environmental and Planning Law Journal 14: 17-37.
Whelan, R., Brown, C. L and Farrier, D. 2004. The precautionary principle: what is it and how might it be applied in threatened species conservation? Pp. 49-58 in Threatened Species Legislation: is it just an Act? edited by P. Hutchings, D. Lunney and C. Dickman. Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, Mosman, NSW.
Young, A. M. 1999. The Hygrocybeae (Fungi, Basidiomycota, Agaricales, Hygrophoraceae) of the Lane Cove Bushland Park, New South Wales. Austrobaileya 5: 535-564.
Young, A. M., Kearney, R. and Kearney, E. 2001. Additions to the Hygrophoraceae of Lane Cove Bushland Park. Australasian Mycologist 20: 79-86.
Australian Greenhouse Office 1998. The National Greenhouse Strategy. Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.
Brasher, R. E. and Pittock, A. B. 1998. Australasian Impacts of Climate Change. An Assessment of Vulnerability. In Watson, R. T., Zinyowera, M. C., Moss, R. H. and Dokken, D. J. “The Regional Impacts of Climate Change. An assessment of Vulnerability”, IPCC Report. Australian Greenhouse Office, Canberra.
Brereton, R., Bennett, S. and Mansergh, I. 1995. Enhanced Greenhouse climate change and its potential effect on selected fauna of south-eastern Australia: a trend analysis. Biological Conservation 72, 339-354.
Busby, J. R. 1988. Potential impacts of climate change on Australia's flora and fauna. In ‘Greenhouse. Planning for climate change.’ ed. G. I. Pearman, pp. 387-98, CSIRO.
Hughes, W. & Westoby, M. 1994. Climate change and conservation policies in Australia: coping with change that is far away and not yet certain. Pacific Conservation Biology 1: 308-18
NSW Scientific Committee 2000. Final Determination to list High Frequency Fire as a Key Threatening Process in the Schedules of the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. NSW Scientific Committee, Sydney.
Pouliquen-Young, O. 1999. The implications of climate change for land-based nature conservation strategies. Australian Greenhouse Office, Canberra. Gazetted: 17/11/00
This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access.

Contents

Data & Figures

References

Akçakaya, H. R., Ferson, S., Burgman, M. A., Keith, D. A., Mace, G. M. and Todd, C. R. 2000. Making consistent IUCN classifications under uncertainty. Conservation Biology 14: 1001-1013.
Adam, P. 2004. Opening a can of words. The importance of definitions in the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act. Pp 59-67 in Threatened Species Legislation: is it just an Act? edited by P. Hutchings, D. Lunney and C. Dickman. Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, Mosman, NSW.
Adam, P., Auld, T., Benson, D., Catling, P., Dickman, C., Fleming, M., Gunning, R., Hutchings, P., Kemp, D. and Shields, J. 1997a. The 10 Lords of the Universe respond to Lim. Pacific Conservation Biology 3: 319-321.
Adam, P., Auld, T., Benson, D., Catling, P., Dickman, C., Fleming, M., Gunning, R., Hutchings, P., Kemp, D. and Shields, J. 1997b. The New South Wales Threatened Species Conservation Act. A response to Cardew. Australian Planner 34: 204-207.
Anon. 1997 Report of the Joint Select Committee upon the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. Parliament of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW.
Banks, P. B. 2004. Population viability analysis in urban wildlife management: modelling management options for Sydney's quarantined bandicoots. Pp. 70-77 in Urban Wildlife: More than Meets the Eye, edited by D. Lunney and S. Burgin. Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, Mosman, NSW.
Benson, S. 1997. Urban bush seized - conservation order threatens new homes. The Daily Telegraph, 31 May: 1-2.
Bowen, M. and Goldingay, R. 2000. Distribution and status of the Eastern Pygmy Possum ( Cercartetus nanus) in New South Wales. Australian Mammalogy 21: 153-164.
Brereton, R., Bennett, S. and Mansergh, I. 1995. Enhanced greenhouse climate change and its potential effect on selected fauna of south-eastern Australia: a trend analysis. Biological Conservation 72: 339-354.
Brook, A., Zint, M. and de Young, R. 2003. Landowners’ responses to an Endangered Species Act listing and implications for encouraging conservation. Conservation Biology 17: 1638-1649.
Burgess, B. B. 2001 Fate of the Wild: the Endangered Species Act and the Future of Biodiversity. University of Georgia Press, Athens, USA.
Burgman, M. A. 2004. Expert frailties in conservation risk assessment and listing decisions. Pp. 20-29 in Threatened Species Legislation: is it just an Act? edited by P. Hutchings, D. Lunney and C. Dickman. Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, Mosman, NSW.
Busby, J. R. 1988. Potential impacts of climate change on Australia's flora and fauna. Pp. 387-398 in Greenhouse: Planning for Climate Change, edited by G. I. Pearman. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.
Calver, M. C., Bradley, J. S. and Wright, I. W. 1999. Towards scientific contributions in applying the precautionary principle: an example from southwestern Australia. Pacific Conservation Biology 5: 63-72.
Cardew, R. 1997. Editorial. Australian Planner 34: 68.
Chambers, L. K. and Dickman, C. R. 2002. Habitat selection of the Long-nosed Bandicoot, Perameles nasuta (Mammalia, Peramelidae), in a patchy urban environment. Austral Ecology 27: 334-342.
Dickman, C. R. 1997. The nominations process of the Threatened Species Conservation Act. Pp. 19-25 in On the Brink: Your Bush, Their Habitat, Our Act, edited by H. Webb. Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW.
Dickman, C. R. and Fleming, M. R. 2002. Pest, or Passenger Pigeon? The New South Wales Scientific Committee's assessment of the status of the Grey-headed Flying-fox. Pp. 20-28 in Managing the Grey-headed Flying-fox as a Threatened Species in New South Wales, edited by P. Eby and D. Lunney. Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, Mosman, NSW.
Frankham, R. 1995. Effective population size/adult population size ratios in wildlife: a review. Genetical Research 66: 95-107.
Garkaklis, M. J., Calver, M. C., Wilson, B. A. and Hardy, G. E. St. J. 2004. Habitat alteration caused by an introduced plant disease, Phytophthora cinnamomi: a potential threat to the conservation of Australian forest fauna. Pp. 899-913 in Conservation of Australia's Forest Fauna (second edition), edited by D. Lunney. Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, Mosman, NSW.
Green, K. and Osborne, W. S. 2003. The distribution and status of the Broad-toothed Rat Mastacomys fuscus (Rodentia: Muridae) in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. Australian Zoologist 32: 229-237.
Hughes, W. and Westoby, M. 1994. Climate change and conservation policies in Australia: coping with change that is far away and not yet certain. Pacific Conservation Biology 1: 308-318.
IUCN. 2003 2003 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN Species Survival Commission, Gland, Switzerland.
Jerogin, P. 1997. The developers perspective: working towards a more meaningful outcome. Pp. 136-141 in On the Brink: Your Bush, Their Habitat, Our Act, edited by H. Webb. Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW.
Kearney, R. and Kearney, E. 2000. Significance of the Hygrocybeae community of Lane Cove Bushland Park in listings under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 and under the Australian Heritage Commission Act 1975.Australasian Mycologist 19: 64-70.
Keith, D. A. 1998. An evaluation and modification of World Conservation Union Red List criteria for classification of extinction risk in vascular plants. Conservation Biology 12: 1076-1090.
Lacy, R. C. and Clark, T. W. 1990. Population viability assessment of the Eastern Barred Bandicoot in Victoria. Pp. 131-145 in Management and Conservation of Small Populations, edited by T. W. Clark and J. H. Seebeck. Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield, Illinois, USA.
Lamoreux, J., Akçakaya, H. R., Bennun, L., Collar, N. J., Boitani, L., Brackett, L., Bräutigam, A., Brooks, T. M., da Fonseca, G. A. B., Mittermeier, R. A., Rylands, A. B., Gärdenfors, U., Hilton-Taylor, C., Mace, G., Stein, B. A. and Stuart, S. 2003. Value of the IUCN Red List. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 18: 214-215.
Lim, L. 1997. The 10 Lords of the Universe - the New South Wales TSC Act's Scientific Committee. Pacific Conservation Biology 3: 4-12.
Lindenmayer, D. B., Nix, H. A., McMahon, J. P., Hutchinson, M. F. and Tanton, M. T. 1991. The conservation of Leadbeater's Possum, Gymnobelideus leadbeateri (McCoy): a case study of the use of bioclimatic modelling. Journal of Biogeography 18: 371-383.
Lunney, D., Curtin, A. L., Ayers, D., Cogger, H. G., Dickman, C. R., Maitz, W., Law, B. and Fisher, D. 2000. The threatened and non-threatened native vertebrate fauna of New South Wales: status and ecological attributes. New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service Environmental and Heritage Monograph, series no. 4: 1-134.
Mansergh, I. and Broome, L. 1994 The Mountain Pygmypossum of the Australian Alps. New South Wales University Press, Kensington, NSW.
Millsap, B. A., Gore, J. A., Runde, D. E. and Cerulean, S. I. 1990. Setting the priorities for the conservation of fish and wildlife species in Florida. Wildlife Monographs 54: 5-57.
Minta, S. C., Clark, T. W. and Goldstraw, P. 1990. Population estimates and characteristics of the Eastern Barred Bandicoot in Victoria, with recommendations for population monitoring. Pp. 47-75 in Management and Conservation of Small Populations, edited by T. W. Clark and J. H. Seebeck. Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield, Illinois, USA.
Possingham, H. P., Andelman, S. J., Burgman, M. A., Medellin, R. A., Master, L. L. and Keith, D. A. 2002. Limits to the use of threatened species lists. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 17: 503-507.
Pouliquen-Young, O. 1999 The Implications of Climate Change for Land-Based Nature Conservation Strategies. Australian Greenhouse Office, Canberra.
Ravallion, J. 2000. Review of the monitoring component of the recovery plan for the endangered Long-nosed Bandicoot ( Perameles nasuta) population at North Head, Manly, NSW. Unpublished report, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW.
Reizes, J. 1997. Saving what's left … Manly's struggle achieves a world first for two common species. Pp. 46-52 in On the Brink: Your Bush, Their Habitat, Our Act, edited by H. Webb. Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW.
Scott, L. K. 1995 Preliminary report on the Long-nosed Bandicoot population at the Quarantine Station, North Head, Sydney Harbour National Park. Institute of Wildlife Research, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.
Scott, L. K., Hume, I. D. and Dickman, C. R. 1999. Ecology and population biology of Long-nosed Bandicoots ( Perameles nasuta) at North Head, Sydney Harbour National Park. Wildlife Research 26: 805-821.
Smith, J. 1997. Skinning cats, putting tigers in tanks and bringing up baby: a critique of the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (NSW). Environmental and Planning Law Journal 14: 17-37.
Whelan, R., Brown, C. L and Farrier, D. 2004. The precautionary principle: what is it and how might it be applied in threatened species conservation? Pp. 49-58 in Threatened Species Legislation: is it just an Act? edited by P. Hutchings, D. Lunney and C. Dickman. Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, Mosman, NSW.
Young, A. M. 1999. The Hygrocybeae (Fungi, Basidiomycota, Agaricales, Hygrophoraceae) of the Lane Cove Bushland Park, New South Wales. Austrobaileya 5: 535-564.
Young, A. M., Kearney, R. and Kearney, E. 2001. Additions to the Hygrophoraceae of Lane Cove Bushland Park. Australasian Mycologist 20: 79-86.
Australian Greenhouse Office 1998. The National Greenhouse Strategy. Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.
Brasher, R. E. and Pittock, A. B. 1998. Australasian Impacts of Climate Change. An Assessment of Vulnerability. In Watson, R. T., Zinyowera, M. C., Moss, R. H. and Dokken, D. J. “The Regional Impacts of Climate Change. An assessment of Vulnerability”, IPCC Report. Australian Greenhouse Office, Canberra.
Brereton, R., Bennett, S. and Mansergh, I. 1995. Enhanced Greenhouse climate change and its potential effect on selected fauna of south-eastern Australia: a trend analysis. Biological Conservation 72, 339-354.
Busby, J. R. 1988. Potential impacts of climate change on Australia's flora and fauna. In ‘Greenhouse. Planning for climate change.’ ed. G. I. Pearman, pp. 387-98, CSIRO.
Hughes, W. & Westoby, M. 1994. Climate change and conservation policies in Australia: coping with change that is far away and not yet certain. Pacific Conservation Biology 1: 308-18
NSW Scientific Committee 2000. Final Determination to list High Frequency Fire as a Key Threatening Process in the Schedules of the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. NSW Scientific Committee, Sydney.
Pouliquen-Young, O. 1999. The implications of climate change for land-based nature conservation strategies. Australian Greenhouse Office, Canberra. Gazetted: 17/11/00
Close Modal

or Create an Account

Close Modal
Close Modal