Assessment summaries for indicators of biodiversity state and trend

Indicator	Reasoning	Assessment grade					Confidence
Indicator	Reasoning	Very poor	Poor	Fair	Good	Very good	In state grade	In trend grade
Extent and condition of threatened flora and fauna species	By definition, these species will be in poor (vulnerable species) or very poor (endangered species) condition. The trends are mostly hard to discern from the fragmentary data presented, but the majority of cases suggest a continued decline		Deteriorating				Adequate high-quality evidence and high level of consensus	Evidence and consensus too low to make an assessment
Extent and condition of threatened ecological communities	By definition, threatened communities are in poor condition. It appears that, for the majority of communities, there have been improvements due to management, although there have been some declines (eg sphagnum bogs and fens)		Improving				Adequate high-quality evidence and high level of consensus	Limited evidence or limited consensus
Connectivity of terrestrial native vegetation (ecological community)	The Gungahlin Strategic Assessment led to significant planning of, and monitoring for, connectivity values. Fine-scale modelling of fauna habitat and connectivity across the ACT means that these values are now well understood. However, this knowledge needs to be applied to management and planning decisions to ensure that connectivity values continue to improve. Until the modelling methodology is reapplied, the trend is stable – we are losing connectivity through developments such as the Majura Parkway and the building of new suburbs; however, we are protecting the key links and revegetating some others				Stable		Limited evidence or limited consensus	Limited evidence or limited consensus
Protected areas	More than half of the ACT’s entire land area is protected in perpetuity as part of the National Reserve System. The incomplete confidence in the grade reflects: the poor condition of the ACT’s biodiversity values in our protected areas the fact that the capacity of the reserve system to protect biodiversity in the face of climate change is unclear the fact that the conservation outcomes for biodiversity resulting from land added to the reserve system for offset purposes are unknown					Stable	Adequate high-quality evidence and high level of consensus	Limited evidence or limited consensus
Rare and insufficiently known species and ecological communities	By definition, we cannot say much about the trend for these species. Those that are rare might be naturally rare or might be in decline. It seems that most on the list are in the latter category; hence, the overall grade is very poor, but some might argue for poor	Unclear					Evidence and consensus too low to make an assessment	Evidence and consensus too low to make an assessment

Recent trends

Improving Improving

Deteriorating Deteriorating

Stable Stable

Unclear Unclear

Confidence

Adequate high-quality evidence and high level of consensus Adequate high-quality evidence and high level of consensus

Limited evidence or limited consensus Limited evidence or limited consensus

Evidence and consensus too low to make an assessment Evidence and consensus too low to make an assessment