World Resources Institute Home | Graphics
EarthTrends: The Environmental Information Portal

Topics
Coastal and Marine EcosystemsWater Resources and Freshwater EcosystemsClimate and AtmospherePopulation, Health and Well-beingEconomics, Business and the EnvironmentEnergy and ResourcesBiodiversity and Protected AreasAgriculture and FoodForests, Grasslands and DrylandsEnvironmental Governance and Institutions
Tools
HelpVariablesCountry ProfilesFeaturesData TablesMaps

Biodiversity and Protected Areas

COUNTRY PROFILE - Australia

View Technical and Source Notes
     
Australia Oceania World
Total Land Area (000 ha) 774122 856173 13328979
         
Protected Areas
Extent of Protected Areas by IUCN Category (000 ha), 2003:
Nature Reserves, Wilderness Areas, and
  National Parks (categories I and II) 43695 45675 438448
Natural Monuments, Species Management
 
  Seascapes (categories III, IV, and V) 3146 7674 326503
Areas Managed for Sustainable Use and
  Unclassified Areas (category VI & "other") 11312 12746 692723
Total Area Protected (all categories) 58154 66095 1457674
Marine and Littoral Protected Areas {a} 52579 54619 417970
         
Protected Areas as a Percent of Total Land
  Area, 2003 {b} 7.5 % 7.7 % 10.8 %
Number of Protected Areas, 2003 4487 8541 98400
Number of Areas >1 00,000 ha, 2003 91 105 2091
Number of Areas > 1 million ha, 2003 14 14 243
         
Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites), 2002:
  Number of Sites 57 64 1179
  Total Area (000 ha) 5310 5944 102283
         
Biosphere Reserves, 2002:
  Number of Sites 12 12 408
  Total Area (000 ha) 5478 5478 439000
         
Number and Status of Species
Higher Plants
  Total known species (number), 1992-2002 15638 X X
  Number of threatened species, 2002 38 X 5714
Mammals
  Total known species (number), 1992-2002 252 X X
  Number of threatened species, 2002 63 X 1137
Breeding Birds
  Total known species (number), 1992-2002 497 X X
  Number of threatened species, 2002 37 X 1192
Reptiles
  Total known species (number), 1992-2003 876 X X
  Number of threatened species, 2002 38 X 293
Amphibians
  Total known species (number), 1992-2003 228 X X
  Number of threatened species, 2002 35 X 157
Fish
  Total known species (number), 1992-2003 1489 X X
  Number of threatened species, 1992-2002 44 X 742
         
Legal Trade in Selected Wildlife and CITES {c} Status
Year CITES Ratified X    
         
Net International Legal Trade Reported by CITES, 2000 (number) {d}
  Live Lizards -7 -3302  
  Live Snakes 4 -196  
  Live Primates 102 0  
  Live Parrots -75 -4496  
  Lizard Skins 74 1  
  Snake Skins -3 21  
  Crocodile Skins -10521 -13485  
  Wild Cat Skins 10 20  
         
         
Footnotes:
a.Marine and littoral protected areas are not included in the "Total Area Protected" above.
b.Includes IUCN categories I-V. Marine and littoral protected areas are excluded from these totals.
c.CITES is an acronym for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
d.Postive numbers represent net imports; negative numbers represent net exports. Regional figures are the sum of country-level trade statistics, therefore,
 
         
View more Country Profiles on-line at http://earthtrends.wri.org






THE WORLD BANK UNEP THE NETHERLANDS MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS SIDA UNDP USAID
© 2006 World Resources Institute Contact Us Content licensed under a Creative Commons License.