The Flagship Species Approach
Why use a flagships approach?
Australia is known around the world for its unique wildlife and beautiful rugged landscapes. But what many people don't know is that Australia has the worst rate of mammal extinction in the world.
Green turtle
© WWF-Canon, Jurgen FREUND
Since European colonisation, about 10 per cent of Australia's mammals have become extinct. In fact, almost half the mammals that have become extinct globally in the last 200 years were Australian.
This terrible track record is made worse by the fact that most Australian mammals aren't found anywhere else in the world, so when we lose an Australian species it is likely that the planet loses a species forever.
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And it's not just our mammals that are in trouble - our reptiles, birds, frogs and many other species are also facing uncertain futures as threats to their survival increase, In the Pacific, for example, leatherback turtles have declined by 80 per cent in the last 10 years, and face imminent extinction. Over 1600 species and ecological communities are now recognised as threatened under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999 alone, and many more are listed under Australian state legislation. These are just the ones that we know about.
At WWF we recognise that while great efforts have been made by many committed individuals and organisations towards conserving species, we are not yet winning the battle against extinction and the number of threatened species continues to grow.
In response to this growing list, WWF has developed a flagship species program focusing particular attention on a small number of charasmatic and endangered species that can act as ambassadors for Australia's threatened wildlife.
Flagship species are chosen because they are affected by the same threats that also impact on many other species or inhabit places that many other species share. By conserving flagship species, we will protect a suite of other species and ecological communities.
What is a flagship species?
A flagship species is a species selected to act as an ambassador, icon or symbol for a defined habitat, issue, campaign or environmental cause.
By focusing on, and achieving conservation of that species, the status of many other species which share its habitat - or are vulnerable to the same threats - may also be improved.
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Which species are flagship species?
Global Flagships
Threatened kangaroos
- Kangaroos and wallabies fact sheet
- Matschie's tree kangaroo fact sheet
- Brush tail rock wallaby fact sheet
National Flagships
Black cockatoos
- Black cockatoos fact sheet
- Carnaby's black cockatoo fact sheet
- South-eastern red-tailed black cockatoo fact sheet
