P o ec ing Vic o ia’s En i onmen
A e we he e ye ?
This whi epape e iews he use o scien i ic e idence in he policy documen “P o ec ing
Vic o ia’s En i onmen - Biodi e si y 2037” p epa ed by he Depa men o En i onmen ,
Land, Wa e and Planning (2017).
Name : P iya Na asimhan
S uden ID : 36579971
Wo d coun (F om In oduc ion o Conclusions) : 1512
In oduc ion
Ou economic and social de elopmen has come a a big cos o he nume ous indi idual
species o lo a and auna. Thei disappea ance is a ec ing he plane a y balance in ways ha
a e becoming a se ious h ea o he quali y o ou li es and li elihoods (Richa dson e al,
2023).
Vic o ia’s go e nmen has esponded o his eme ging c isis wi h a policy P o ec ing
Vic o ia’s En i onmen - Biodi e si y 2037 (Vic o ia. Depa men o En i onmen , Land,
Wa e and Planning [DELWP], 2017) (hence o h e e ed o as “ he policy” o “Biodi e si y
2037”) o cha a 20 yea plan o ge us om whe e we a e, which is a poo s a e o he
na u al en i onmen , o a mo e heal hy and biodi e se en i onmen by 2037.
Aus alia’s Na ional Science s a emen (Aus alia. Depa men o Indus y, Science and
Resou ces [DISR], 2024) emphasises he place o science o de elop e idence-in o med
policy and s a es ha he go e nmen will incen i ise he ansla ion o science and esea ch
in o sus ainable indus ies. The Vic o ian go e nmen ecognised he impo ance o hese
p inciples and he e ec o he na u al en i onmen on ou li e and enac ed he Flo a and
Fauna Gua an ee Ac in 1988 (Flo a and Fauna Gua an ee Ac 1988). This legisla ion
p o ides a way o p o ec and manage he conse a ion o h ea ened species and
communi ies and o he managemen o po en ially h ea ening p ocesses. This key piece o
legisla ion along wi h o he legisla i e ac ions a na ional le el (En i onmen P o ec ion and
Biodi e si y Conse a ion Ac 1999), ha e been used in he Biodi e si y 2037 plan o ma ch
owa ds a “be e ” Vic o ia, whe e he ne loss o biodi e si y is hal ed and e en e e sed.
The Aus alian Go e nmen APS200 (Aus alia. Dep . o Indus y, Inno a ion, Science,
Resea ch and Te ia y Educa ion [DIISRTE], 2012) [APS200] guide o using science in
policy de elopmen in he public space ecommends a sys ema ic app oach o inco po a ing
science in policy design and e alua ion. This policy p o ides guides o decision making
amewo ks, en i onmen al accoun ing sys ems, ecommends o ming o collabo a i e
communi y g oups o include Abo iginal alues and adi ional ecological knowledge, a
whole-o -go e nmen app oach o implemen a ion, as well egula o ums and p og ess
epo ing s uc u es o keep ack o e e y hing.
The policy se s 2 o e a ching goals o ensu e ha
● Vic o ians alue na u e
● Vic o ia’s na u al en i onmen is heal hy.
Accep ing he gene al wisdom o he o e a ching goals o Biodi e si y 2037 is easy, bu i is
no clea i he a ge s being se ha e adequa e scien i ic backing. In addi ion, some s a egic
decisions aken do no explain hei a ionale and e e o no scien i ic s udies o e idence as
o hei me i . The de ails o he ools used o e alua e he p ocess and collec e idence o
p og ess a e also no anspa en .
Wi h each s age o he policy de elopmen in he APS200 guide, speci ic guidelines and
s a egies a e sugges ed and his is he guide which I ha e e e ed o when analysing his
policy documen . The phases An icipa ion, Fo mula ion, Consul a ion, Adop ion and
E alua ion a e used and e e ed o in he con ex and manne ha hey a e explained in he
APS200 guide.
The nex sec ion de ails some o hese key ailings o ollow a science in o med policy.
The “S a egies” sec ion sugges s how hese sho comings may be o e come in a u u e
e ision o his policy.
Finally, he “Conclusion” w aps up he e iew wi h a ei e a ion o he ake-aways.
Assessmen
Biodi e si y 2037 ollows some o he ecommenda ions ou lined in APS200 P ojec and
makes a numbe o e e ences o scien i ic e idence deli e ed ia go e nmen epo s and
in es iga ions and pee e iewed jou nals, all o hem e e ed in o a subs an ial 32 page
documen , Suppo ing Technical Supplemen s ( ha se es as speci ic e e ence as well as
gene al inspi a ional e e ence), lis ing mo e han 200 i ems.
In he an icipa ion phase, e idence has been used e ec i ely o communica e he u gency o
he issue ( e e ences o los species numbe s, los ege a ion co e age, economic and heal h
bene i s o he na u al en i onmen o humans). Howe e , he e a e missing gaps. Loss o
species numbe s is one line o e idence, bu i is aw da a. While i does indica e a wo ying
end, addi ional lines o e idence o show speci ic examples o he impac o his loss, and
pe haps cascading e ec s up and down he ood chain and he in e connec ed ecosys em
would ha e made a mo e compelling case. Mo ing up he py amid in he DIKW model as
explained by Na i i e al (2019) could ha e p o ided s onge di ec ion o policy.
A signi ican gap appea s in he o mula ion phase, when analysing he e idence p esen ed
wi h espec o he goals se . Ta ge s o some goals appea o ha e been se wi hou adequa e
indica ion o which piece o esea ch indica es he choice o hose numbe s. Fo example,
how many Vic o ians ac o p o ec na u e now and is shoo ing o 5 million Vic o ians ac ing
o p o ec na u e by 2037 an adequa e goal ? This same goal also su e s lack o e iden ial
backing in he e alua ion phase, as i is no clea how o measu e his ac ion o p o ec ing
na u e. Fo example, a ep esen a i e assessmen including su eys o p o ec ed a ea
employmen and ou is cen e s a is ics may ha e gi en mo e cla i y he e.
Simila ly, in he e alua ion phase, when se ing he goals o a heal hy na u al en i onmen ,
he policy documen appea s o pull numbe s ou o a ha when sugges ing ha 4 million
hec a es be ee o pes he bi o es, o ha 1.5 million hec a es be ee o pes p eda o s in
p io i y loca ions. Once again, bo h quan i ies and quali y o e idence poin ing o he cu en
numbe s o hese pes s in speci ic loca ions, why hey a e de e mined o be a p io i y, and
why ha many hec a es is a wo hy goal is missing.
The quali a i e issues con inue in he e alua ion phase wi h no insigh in o he me hod o
using “Change in Sui able Habi a ” (CSH) o e alua e species ne gain. I is no clea how he
CSH model is c ea ed o each species, i i is pee e iewed, i i was compa ed agains o he
app oaches o es ima e ne gain.
These poin s a e all de ailed wi h speci ic poin e s o he loca ion in he policy documen ,
speci ic e idence used, and speci ic issue no ed in Table 1.
Table 1: A summa y o s a emen s om he policy documen and analysis o e idence
used o suppo hem
S a egies
When s udying his policy, e alua ing goals, a ge s, enabling ac ions and planning guidelines
in he ligh o being e idence in o med was no easy. The Biodi e si y 2037 policy ackles a
e y complex, and o some ex en , emo ional p oblem. Asking human communi ies o ade
o po en ial economic and social imp o emen s in hei li e, o sa e a ew species o bi d o
small mammals ha hey a ely see, could be a ough ask. Howe e , i asked o make his
same ade o o bigge e ec s like he quali y o ai hey b ea he o he soil hey g ow hei
c ops in, he answe migh be di e en . Explaining he cascading e ec s o making he igh
choices and hus se ing e y b oad goals is whe e he policy s a s. Pe haps his is exac ly
whe e o s a . To pa aph ase Likens e al (2010), he ideological, poli ical and social
mo i a ions play as big a ole in policy success as he scien i ic e idence ha i is supposed o
based on.
The ele ance and u gency o his policy canno be o e s a ed. Howe e , i ails o deli e he
impac needed. In ac , he Vic o ian Audi o -Gene al's O ice, 2021 audi ed DELWP on he
s a us o hei p og ess in hal ing biodi e si y decline and hence he e ec i eness o his
policy in suppo ing ha goal and ound ha 4 yea s a e he policy was adop ed, DELWP
has no succeeded in demons a ing imp o emen in any o he goals s a ed in he policy
documen .
A big pa o his ailu e s ems om lack o key pe o mance indica o s and epo ing. This
lack o di ec ion can ela e back di ec ly o he poo e idence in eg a ion, as analysed abo e,
hus leading o poo policy cons uc ion.
Table 2 below ou lines 4 speci ic weaknesses ound in he e idence in eg a ion o his policy
documen . Following he s a egies p esen ed in he APS200 guide, a sho e m and long
e m s a egy is sugges ed o add ess each weakness.
The o e a ching need a his ime is o he go e nmen o commission u he s udies, long
and sho e m esea ch on he in e connec edness o species, use mo e pee e iewed
scien i ic indica o s, and design an ex ensi e whole-o -sys em epo ing s uc u e ha
cap u es key pe o mance indica o s e ec i ely.
Table 2 : Sho Te m and Long Te m s a egies p esen ed o iden i ied weaknesses in
e idence in eg a ion.
Conclusion
This whi epape p o ides an o e iew o he mo i a ions and o e a ching goals o he
Biodi e si y 2037 policy, ollowed by an analysis o he quali y, quan i y and anspa ency o
he e idence used by he policy o gi e his di ec ion.
The policy su e s om a lack o speci ic di ec ion when i comes o aspi ing o ce ain
imp o emen numbe s o measu ing hem. Numbe s a e no jus i ied wi h scien i ic backing
and he cu en s a e o he en i onmen is no cap u ed wi h any speci ic numbe s.
I is ha d o judge p og ess o imp o emen s decline in such a scena io.
The go e nmen should in es in mo e i - o -pu pose esea ch, sys ema ic e iews o cu en
esea ch, and pee e iewed and app o ed models o species es ima ion. In addi ion, deepe
analysis o syn hesised e idence should be used o sha pen he pe o mance me ics and
cap u e p og ess wi h ex ensi e and p ecise epo ing.
