The Priorities Action Statement (PAS) for the threatened bats of New South Wales

The conservation of NSW bat species is examined within the framework of the procedure for threatened species recovery, Priorities Action Statements (PAS), introduced in 2005 by the NSW government to replace the previous requirement to prepare recovery plans. One of the merits of the PAS initiative is that it has produced a single statement of the parlous position of bats in NSW, the actions needed to reverse the threats, and a statement of where the priorities lie for action. To assist with that aim, this paper has recorded all 361 actions for the 20 bat species listed as threatened, as well as analyses and comments on that dataset. The PAS process, and the 361 individual recovery actions that comprise the PAS for bats, are described and discussed within the context of current knowledge, so that bat biologists, managers and policy makers can see the scale and emphases of the recovery process for bats. Research and habitat management are the dominant themes in recovery actions for bats. Research actions comprise 163 (45%) of the 361 actions, and the 89 habitat management actions comprise 25% of all bat recovery actions. The primary message from the PAS process is that it has been possible to arrive at a set of actions to provide a basis for management, both at a funding level and a field level, for which research is an integral part. The PAS for bats represents the first official DECCW statement of recovery actions required for all bat species listed as threatened. It provides an indication of the scale and magnitude of threats confronting the bat fauna of NSW. Their future will depend upon the extent to which the PAS for bats is acknowledged, acted upon, and the time and resources given to bat biologists to implement identified recovery actions.