About the Symposium

This 2-day event will bring together 200 researchers, practitioners, First Nations people, Industry and Government representatives, and other experts and stakeholders in species conservation to tackle the challenges of halting extinctions and driving long-term species recovery.​

Event Rationale

Australia is a mega-diverse country with nearly 700,000 native species, a high proportion of which are endemic and found nowhere else. Colonisation has caused significant biodiversity loss, with Australia’s record on mammal extinctions being the worst in the world.  Australia’s biodiversity is facing ongoing and compounding threats from land clearing, pollution, invasive species and climate change. Many of Australia’s native species and distinctive ecological communities are currently listed as threatened or endangered.

In 2024, Australia’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan was updated to include 6 national targets to address the drivers of biodiversity decline. A key target is No New Extinctions and includes preventing new extinctions of native species, supporting the recovery of threatened species and maintaining genetic diversity. 

Achieving this target will require more collaboration and support for biodiversity conservation, and a transformative shift to a nature-positive society.​

Aims and Outcomes

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• Share research, knowledge, and experience across sectors 

• Listen to First Nations experts, incorporate their perspectives, and support their leadership in healing Country

• Explore innovative, collaborative and transformative approaches to removing threats, overcoming barriers, and conserving biodiversity, including partnerships with industry. 

• Make recommendations for halting extinctions and achieving genetically diverse, long-term species recovery in Australia.

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​Program

The programming of the event is being guided by a steering committee consisting of:  

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• Elliot Bell – Office of the Threatened Species Commissioner (DCCEEW) 

• Dr Kira Mileham - IUCN Species Survival Commission

• James Biggs - Zoo and Aquarium Association & Centre for Species Survival Australasia

• Dr Andy Sheppard - CSIRO & Threatened Species Scientific Committee

• Dr Rosie Cooney - Director of Nature Conservation, ACT Government

• Andrew Elphinstone - Taronga Conservation Society

• Darren Grover - WWF Australia

• Bruce Hammond  - Bush Heritage Australia

• Dr Anne Wignall – IUCN SSC Conservation Planning Specialist Group, Oceania Regional Resource Centre

• Dylan Pursche - International Environment, UN and IUCN section, DCCEEW

• Sarah Terkes - ACIUCN Executive Director 

• Lisa Malcolm - ACIUCN Programs Manager