Effective Law for Rural Environmental Governance: Meta-Governance Reform and Farm Stewardship

Abstract

Protection of biodiversity is principally concerned with the governance of rural lands and surface waters. This is because intact biodiversity is most likely to be found in rural areas that have not been converted to industry or urbanisation. But Australia's biodiversity performance is not heartening, despite the existence of many legal and other instruments and programs. Threatened species in particular have suffered, with 50 animal species and 48 plant species listed as extinct since the passage of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). Public funding for biodiversity protection is also insufficient and under threat, while the complexity of the biodiversity challenge is increasing.