Around 85% of all threatened species in New South Wales are represented on the national park estate, despite national parks occupying only 9.3% of the State. The concentration of threatened species and their habitats highlights the critical role of national parks in the effective conservation of threatened species.
However, there is evidence that the overall decline in biodiversity in New South Wales is occurring even in the national park estate. Key threats affecting threatened species populations in national parks include feral predators and other feral animals, invasive weeds, changed fire regimes and a range of impacts associated with climate change.
The Zero extinctions – national parks as a stronghold for threatened species recovery: National Parks and Wildlife Service Threatened Species Framework (the Framework) outlines a series of actions designed to secure and restore threatened species populations on the national park estate. We have several objectives for threatened species conservation on NSW national parks.
Our commitments
By 30 June 2026:
- Stabilise or improve the on-park trajectory of at least 300 threatened species (measured by reference to metrics appropriate to the relevant species).
- No extinctions on the national park estate (i.e., no loss of threatened species from the national park estate as a whole).
By 30 June 2030:
- Stabilise or improve the on-park trajectory of all threatened species.
- No extinctions on the national park estate.
- Remove # species (target to be determined by 30 June 2026) from the threatened species list as a result of on-park conservation measures.
Our actions
Measures being implemented to protect threatened species on national parks include:
- the declaration of important threatened species habitat as Assets of Intergenerational Significance
- acquisition of key threatened species habitat for addition to the national park estate
- the establishment of a network of feral predator-free areas to support the return of more than 25 locally extinct species
- delivery of the largest feral animal control program in national park history
- establishment of a dedicated ecological risk unit to ensure threatened species are considered in new fire plans
- rolling out a world class ecological health framework across national parks.
International targets
Find out more about international targets being proposed as part of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework under the Convention on Biological Diversity in the First Detailed Draft of the new Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.
