Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
| Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parliament of Australia | |
Long title
| |
| Citation | Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) No. 91 of 1999 |
| Territorial extent | States and territories of Australia |
| Enacted by | Parliament of Australia |
| Enacted | 16 July 2000 |
| Assented to | 16 July 1999 |
| Commenced | 16 July 2000 |
| Administered by | Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment |
| Legislative history | |
| Introduced by | Bill Heffernan, Ian Campbell |
| First reading | 31 March 1999 |
| Second reading | 31 March 1999 |
| Status: Amended | |
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) is a law made by the Australian Parliament. It helps protect Australia’s environment, including its plants, animals, and important natural and cultural places. The law started on 16 July 2000. It created rules to help protect and bring back endangered species and special natural areas so they do not get worse. As of September 2024, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water takes care of this law. Lists of endangered species are made under this law. These lists are the main source of information about threatened species in Australia and can be found online in the Species Profile and Threats Database (SPRAT).
This law is based on the powers given to the Australian Parliament by the Australian Constitution. Many important parts of the law come from international agreements with other countries. However, several reviews and checks have shown that the law has many problems and does not protect the environment well enough.
The act
This law created rules called the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Regulations. These rules control activities on Commonwealth land and land that affects the Commonwealth. For example, people need a special permit to pick wildflowers for business. If someone breaks the law, they can face punishments like fixing the damage, court orders, or fines.
As of September 2024, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water manages this law.[1]
Matters of National Environmental Significance
Since 2020, the law lists nine important environmental areas called Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES):
- World Heritage sites
- National heritage places, including important historic places overseas
- Wetlands that are important worldwide (Ramsar wetlands)
- Species and ecological communities that are threatened nationally
- Migratory species
- Commonwealth marine areas
- The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
- Nuclear activities, like uranium mining and nuclear waste storage[2]
- Water resources related to coal seam gas and large coal mining
This list is checked every five years, and the government can add new important areas. If a project might harm any of these areas, it needs approval from the Commonwealth before starting. Doing such a project without approval is illegal.[3] There are guidelines to help decide if a project will have a big impact on these protected areas.[4]
Threatened species
The law creates lists of threatened species, like animals at risk of extinction. These lists are the main source of information about threatened species in Australia and can be found online in the Species Profile and Threats Database (SPRAT).[5]
Treaties
This law is based on the powers given to the Australian Parliament by the Australian Constitution, even though the Constitution does not specifically mention the environment. Many important parts of the law come from international agreements, including:[6][7]
- Ramsar Convention (1971) for protecting important wetlands
- World Heritage Convention (1972) for protecting cultural and natural world heritage
- CITES (1973) for controlling trade in endangered animals and plants
- Bonn Convention (1979) for protecting migratory animals
- Convention on Biological Diversity (1992)
There are also agreements with other countries to protect migratory birds:
- Agreement with Japan (JAMBA, 1974)
- Agreement with China (CAMBA, 1986)
- Agreement with South Korea (ROKAMBA, 2006)
References
- ↑ "Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water". Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. 16 July 2000. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
Text was copied from this source, which is available under an Attribution 3.0 Australia (CC BY 3.0 AU) licence. - ↑ Murphy, Katharine (2007-04-09). "Limited scrutiny on nuclear projects". The Age (Melbourne). p. 3.
- ↑ "What is a 'Matter of National Environmental Significance' (MNES)?". Law Handbook. Legal Services Commission of South Australia. 29 August 2020. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
- ↑ "Significant Impact Guidelines 1.1 - Matters of National Environmental Significance". Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. Retrieved 31 August 2020. Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.
- ↑ "Species Profile and Threats Database (SPRAT)". Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, Australian Government. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
- ↑ "Scope of the EPBC Act". Independent review of the EPBC Act. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
- ↑ "The Environment Protection & Biodiversity Conservation Act and the Australian Constitution". National Farmers' Federation. 9 February 2007. Archived from the original (Word Document (.doc)) on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-04.