Our community has told us they highly value the natural environment, the unique species and areas of International, National and State significance in our region. Some of our precious natural assets include:

• Spectacular World Heritage listed Gondwanan Rainforests of Australia and the Myall Lakes National Park, an internationally-listed wetland.
• Port Stephens - Great Lakes Marine Park, home to threatened species such as the grey nurse shark and green turtle.
• Significant populations of the koala.
• The Manning River helmeted turtle, renowned as Australia's most beautiful turtle. Its entire known range is confined to the Manning River Catchment.
• The iconic and shy platypus, one of only two monotremes on the planet.
• NSW's most important nesting site for the endangered little tern at the entrance to the Manning Estuary.
• Migratory shorebirds such as the eastern curlew, the largest migratory shorebird in the world.
• The maternity camp of vulnerable grey-headed flying fox in a patch of Sub-tropical Lowland Rainforest (EEC) at Wingham Brush.
• State-listed threatened ecological communities including littoral rainforest, coastal saltmarsh, swamp sclerophyll forest on coastal floodplains and lowland rainforest.
• The largest area of seagrass in any estuary in NSW in Wallis Lake.

Let's all work together to conserve this incredible diversity of plants, wildlife and natural habitats in our region.

The biodiversity of the MidCoast region has important environmental, economic, social and intrinsic value. Our well-being, lifestyle and economy is connected to the health of the natural environment and the plants and animals within it.

Benefits of biodiversity to the MidCoast region include:

Aboriginal connection: For the Biripi and Worimi Aboriginal people, ecologically healthy Country is integral with identity, spiritual and cultural belonging, and in some cases livelihoods.

Well-being: Experiencing nature contributes to physical and mental health.

Amenity: Access to nature contributes to the liveability of communities.

Water supply: Healthy catchments deliver clean water for drinking, farming and other uses.

Tourism: Nature-based tourism is a key driver of the MidCoast economy.

Primary production: Biodiversity provides ecosystem services such as nutrient-cycling, soil formation, erosion control, water purification and pollination that help support agriculture, fisheries and forestry.

Resilience and adaptation: Biodiverse habitats protect shorelines, store floodwaters and sequester carbon to mitigate climate change risks and natural disasters.

With so many benefits, we can’t afford to lose the ecosystem services biodiversity provides.

Human activities have pushed biodiversity and natural ecological systems into decline. Habitat loss, land clearing, degradation and fragmentation, invasive plants and animals and the impacts of climate change are just some of the pressures on biodiversity. We have a collective responsibility to halt this decline in the MidCoast region.

Australia has a poor track record when it comes to biodiversity loss, ranked second in the world for ongoing species extinction.

The MidCoast region is blessed with large healthy natural areas and high levels of biodiversity. However, there are significant threats which we need to manage more effectively. These include:

• Land clearing and fragmentation
• Habitat degradation
• Introduced plants, pest animals and disease
• Altered fire and hydrological regimes
• Pollution from diffuse-source run-off
• Human impacts
• Changing climate

We can all take steps to manage these threats and halt the decline of biodiversity.

Biodiversity has intrinsic value and plays a vital role in supporting the MidCoast region community’s socioeconomic and cultural well-being. Appreciating the value of healthy habitats, the MidCoast community nominated protection of the natural environment as one of five core values in the inaugural MidCoast Community Strategic Plan in 2016.

To achieve our community’s vision, we are preparing a Biodiversity Framework which will help us work with the community to manage, conserve and restore ecosystem health and biodiversity in our region. Other government agencies and community members are vital to this effort and we invite you to partner with us for biodiversity conservation.

Applying clear and consistent objectives for biodiversity will help us meet our statutory responsibilities and implement actions to halt the decline of biodiversity in the region.

The Biodiversity Framework will have six themes:

Strategic Planning and Policies

Adopting strategic plans and policies to guide best-practice and communicate with stakeholders.

Land Use Planning and Development

Protecting biodiversity through land use and development controls.

Reserves and Conservation Agreements

Helping achieve well-managed public and private conservation areas.

Land Management

Protecting and improving biodiversity values through on-ground work.

Engagement and Partnerships

Building relationships, supporting community stewardship.

Science and Knowledge

Building scientific knowledge for evidence-based management.