Relevant Legislation
There are several pieces of legislation that apply to the conservation efforts of the Golden Sun Moth (GSM). The Australian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act of 1988 classifies the GSM as a threatened and an endangered species (ACT Government 1998). The 1988 Act classified the GSM as an endangered species based on expert opinion. The Australian Conservation Territory (ACT) Nature Conservation Act of 1980 also lists the GSM as an endangered species. Another legislation that recognizes the GSM as an endangered species is the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act of 1999.
International Obligations
The Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (CEPBC) Act of 1999 means that Australia’s conservation efforts are intertwined with international conventions. Under the 1999 legislation, the country has to align its conservation efforts with those of the United Nations (UN). Consequently, the recovery plan is in line with the CEPBC Act of 1999. The Australian Department of Sustainability and Environment was established in 2004 and it is involved with the conservation of endangered species (Department of the Environment and Heritage 2006). This government department’s work is part of the global efforts to conserve the environment.
Affected Interests
The key stakeholders in the recovery plan for the GSM include the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage, and the Arts (DEWHA). The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is also a major stakeholder in the recovery plan of the GSM. The ACT is in charge of the regions that offer habitat to known endangered species. The ecological community as defined under the Natural Temperate Grassland of the Southern Tablelands is also a stakeholder in the GSM conservation. Other stakeholders include the White Box-Yellow Box Blakely’s red-gum grassy woodland recovery initiative, The Gundaroo Common Trust, Friends of Merri Creek, Friends of Grasslands Inc, and the Victorian Government Department of Environment and Primary Industries (Gibson & New 2007).
Social and Economic Impacts
A comprehensive understanding of the GSM will be beneficial to future environmental conservation. For instance, it will be cheaper and easier to conserve other grassy woodland and grassland species in future. The recovery plan for the GSM will offer scientists and conservationists cheaper approaches to the management of grassland-dwelling endangered species. On the other hand, the GSM serves as a pioneer species in the conservation of invertebrates. The recovery plan of the endangered moth will aid in highlighting the importance of invertebrates in the ecosystem. The sponsorship of the GSM recovery plan positively affects other grassland-dwelling species.
Research has shown that there are economic and environmental benefits that are associated with conservation efforts. Although the recovery efforts focus on one species, the process will also involve a handful of other flora and fauna. For instance, the conservation of the GSM will also include conservation of other flora and fauna such as grasslands and the endangered Graceful Sun-moth.
Furthermore, the recovery plan involves the maintenance of a natural environmental integrity. A maintenance of the natural order of things has several economical benefits including enhancing the long-term viability of the environment. In addition, the conservation efforts will have a slowing-effect on the progress of global warming. Most of the factors that are contributing to global warming are also fueling the endangerment and extinction of species.
Some of the communities residing within the GSM locality have attached cultural significance to the endangered species. For instance, the Ngunnawal people within the ACT region have often used the GSM inhabited grasslands in their natural states (Dear 2007). Consequently, any loss of integrity to the natural state of the grasslands negatively influences the social life of the Ngunnawal people.
Benefits to other Species/Ecological Communities
The authorities that are involved in the recovery efforts of the Graceful Sun-Moth have indicated that they have a lot to learn from the conservation of the GSM (Zborowski 2007). In addition, the recovery plans of the GSM share mutual benefits with grass and grassland conservation efforts. Most of the areas that act as GSM habitats are also inhabited by pastoral communities. Consequently, the conservations efforts can be beneficial to both pastoralists and conservationists. For example, sheep and goats can be used to control the advent of woody vegetation. Woody vegetation leads to propagation of open forests. Open forests suppress the growth of grassland hence deterring the breeding of GSM’s.
Related Plans
Some of the plans that might compliment the recovery efforts of the GSM include biological research. It is important to continue with the genetic evaluation of GSM-related species over prolonged periods. In addition, conservationists should refine the methods that are used to monitor both threatened and threatening species. Conservationists have suggested and tried to save the endangered GSM through the establishment of captive colonies. Captive colonies provide conservation efforts with the most accurate and viable plans. Through captive colonies, conservationists can have a chance to study the reproduction patterns, population dynamics, and the fecundity of the GSM. Technological advancements also provide means of studying the complex genetics of the GSM in a captive colony.
References
ACT Government 1998, Golden Sun Moth (Synemon plana). Web.
Dear, C 2007, Restoration of a native grassland inhabited by Synemon plana (Lepidoptera), University of Melbourne, Melbourne.
Department of the Environment and Heritage 2006, EPBC Act Policy Statement 3.12 – Significant Impact Guidelines for the critically endangered golden sun moth (Synemon plana). Web.
Gibson, L & New, T 2007, Problems in studying populations of the golden sun-moth, Synemon plana (Lepidoptera: Castniidae), in south eastern Australia, Journal of Insect Conservation, vol. 11 no. 3, pp. 309-313.
Zborowski, P 2007, A Guide to Australian Moths, CSIRO Publishing, Victoria.