C.3 Areas and populations under threatC.3 Areas and populations under threat

C.3 Areas and populations under threat

In view of uncertainty about the factors that have restricted distribution, the degree of threat to any particular area or population is difficult to estimate.

No populations are known to be threatened by current or proposed mining or construction, and there is no imminent concern about weed invasion, the impact of exotic fauna, or unauthorised collecting.

Some of the known populations may be less likely to face these types of threats because they are located within the Christmas Island National Park. These include:

• Population 1 - Gannet Hill
• Population 3 - Aldrich Hill; and
• Population 4 - Sydney’s Dale.

It is also notable that The Dales area, being a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention, is a matter of national environmental significance under the EPBC Act.

The Plan of Management for the National Park noted a number of proposed extensions to the park, including:

• an area on the east coast between Margaret Knoll and Ross Hill (excluding mining fields) and taking in Gannet Hill (excluding mining fields); and
• an area on the east coast south of the Ross Hill section around South Point (excluding mining fields) to join the existing Park boundary.

These extensions may afford a higher degree of protection from development to Population 2 and some of the areas likely to contain potential habitat for Asplenium listeri, but may not afford a higher degree of protection from development to Population 5.

However, listing of the species as a threatened species under the EPBC Act offers a degree of protection irrespective of land tenure.