Invertebrate conservation in Australia: problems in policy and practice.

Abstract

UNDERTAKING programmes for invertebrate conservation in Australia has always been difficult because of (1) lack of information about the target taxa, (2) the small number of relevant invertebrate specialists, and (3) competition with the better known plants and animals for limited resources to conduct these programmes. The task of invertebrate conservation is both formidable and increasingly urgent, and must be undertaken with very inadequate taxonomic and biological knowledge. The history of insect conservation interest in Australia (summarized by New and Yen 2012) demonstrates many of the problems that may be even greater amongst lesser-known invertebrates. Reviews (New 1984; Yen and Butcher 1997; Hutchings and Ponder 1999; Sands and New 2002; Clarke and Spier 2003), conferences (primarily the series of Invertebrate Biodiversity and Conservation Conferences, or IBCC, that have been conducted every two years since 1993), numerous workshops, and interest groups (such as the Conservation Committee of the Australian Entomological Society), and establishment of recovery teams have collectively publicized invertebrate conservation issues, from basic study and inventory to practical management. They have sought the widest possible inputs to ensure progress and explore the various impediments that retard effective conservation of invertebrates.