PROTECTED AREAS

National parks and protected areas provide habitat and food for native flora and fauna. Species and communities of species benefit from secure areas in which to forage and breed, and enhance their ability to survive in the long term. National parks and protected areas also allow for the preservation of an area with natural features of scientific or recreational value.

In 2008, Australia's national parks and other terrestrial protected areas covered 12% of Australia's total area. Between 2000 and 2008, protected areas have increased from 61 million hectares to 91 million hectares.

Australia uses the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) protected area classification scheme, which groups protected land into seven categories. Managed resource protected areas (Category VI) showed the greatest increase between 2000 and 2008, rising from 11.7 million hectares to 30 million hectares. National parks (Category II) also showed a substantial increase over the same period, rising from 23.9 million hectares to 32.5 million hectares. These two categories now account for around 8% of Australia's land area.