Brief summary

In accordance with section 5 of the Nature Conservation Act 1992, the conservation of nature in Queensland is achieved through a comprehensive and integrated whole of State conservation strategy.

Conserving Nature – a Biodiversity Conservation Strategy for Queensland (the Strategy) was published in October 2022. The Strategy outlines an approach to conserving the state’s biodiversity values, and acts as a coordinating framework for strategies, programs and initiatives that contribute to biodiversity conservation in Queensland. When the Strategy was published, a commitment was made to develop clear targets for the Strategy and identify indicators against which progress will be reported.

The Biodiversity Strategy contains four goals to Protect, Restore and Recover, Adapt and Connect. Implementation of the Queensland Government’s Biodiversity Conservation Strategy is underway, with key highlights from the Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation’s programs from 2020-24 including:

Goal 1 – Protect: Queensland’s biodiversity is protected and well managed

Increasing Queensland’s protected area system by over 616,712 hectares, demonstrating Queensland’s contribution to the national 30 by 30 target.

Goal 2 – Restore and Recover: Queensland’s biodiversity is restored and rehabilitated to reinstate ecosystem function and recover species populations

Investing significantly to scale up the restoration of ecosystems, including funding 20 carbon projects under the Land Restoration Fund from 2019-2024 that will incentivise restoration or protection of over 13,000 hectares of unregulated native vegetation.

Goal 3 – Adapt: Queensland’s biodiversity is supported to adapt to changing environments

Supporting the conservation and recovery of native species through administering research and community grants programs, as well as boosting efforts to conserve koalas and their habitats by significantly expanding actions under South East Queensland Koala Conservation Strategy.

Goal 4 – Connect: People value biodiversity, including its contribution to their wellbeing, and are motivated to protect it

Improving visitor experiences and revitalising infrastructure on our national parks, supporting people's connectedness to nature.

Performance Framework under development

The Queensland Government has been developing a monitoring framework, with targets and indicators, that will allow evaluation and reporting of the Strategy’s effectiveness and continuous improvements over time. In 2024, the Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation consulted on a draft Performance Framework.