Back from the Brink.
A 100-page roadmap for environmental reform in Western Australia — bringing together conservation organisations, Aboriginal leaders and environmental specialists in 36 recommendations and 15 case studies. With direct relevance to the tingle forests of Walpole.
A roadmap for environmental reform.
Back from the Brink is a policy document published by the Conservation Council of WA (CCWA) in June 2026. The report argues that WA's environmental laws and regulatory institutions are failing to protect the state's globally significant biodiversity, and sets out 36 recommendations across four areas of governance reform.
It was developed collaboratively with conservation organisations, Aboriginal leaders, lawyers, scientists and environmental specialists, and is supported by 15 detailed case studies of current and past environmental issues from across WA — from the Nullarbor caves to Juukan Gorge, from the Boddington bauxite mine to the prescribed burning of tingle forest near Walpole.
It is presented here as a resource for visitors interested in the broader natural and policy context of the Walpole-Nornalup region. The positions in the report are those of CCWA and its contributors.
What the report says about Walpole
Case Study 2 of the report focuses on the impacts of large-scale prescribed burning in the South West of WA — including a December 2024 prescribed burn near Walpole in which the report notes that over 140 giant tingle and karri trees collapsed as a direct consequence.
The report argues that fire-sensitive ecological communities of the Walpole Wilderness Area — including the EPBC-listed Empodisma peat swamps, and Red, Yellow and Rate's tingle forests — should be excluded from large-scale prescribed burning programs. It calls for these centuries-old, irreplaceable ecosystems to be protected as a baseline against which the impacts of fire management can be measured.
"DBCA prescribed burn (Dec 2024) in the old growth tingle forests near Walpole resulted in the destruction of centuries-old trees. DBCA has burns planned for the fire-sensitive tingle forest every year, resulting in the continuing loss of irreplaceable, iconic, tingle trees." — Back from the Brink, Case Study 2
The report's broader Walpole-relevant material includes recommendations on protecting critical and remnant habitat across the South West biodiversity hotspot, on funding Recovery Plans for the three threatened black cockatoo species that visit the region (including the endangered Baudin's black cockatoo, treated in Case Study 3), and on strengthening protections for the Southwest's Gondwanan plant communities.
Four themes of reform
The report organises its 36 recommendations around four areas of governance, each addressing a different aspect of how environmental decisions are made and enforced in WA.
Strategic Decision Making
Calls for an ambitious WA Biodiversity Strategy aligned with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, a bioregional planning framework with no-go zones, substantially increased conservation funding, and expanded support for Aboriginal Ranger Programs and Caring for Country.
Environmental Law & Processes
Argues for strengthening the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016, funding Recovery Plans for all threatened species, protecting critical and remnant habitat, reforming environmental impact assessments, reviewing prescribed burning in the South West, and modernising WA's water laws.
Monitoring & Compliance
Identifies that WA has not published a State of the Environment report in nearly 20 years. Recommends two-yearly SoE reports, stronger mine rehabilitation and pollution regulation, public reporting of compliance outcomes, and a statutory "right to reasons" for decisions made under environmental legislation.
Independence & Public Participation
Recommends an independent Environment Court for merits-based review of decisions, safeguards for the independence of the Environmental Protection Authority, restoration of public appeal rights, and free, prior and informed consent for Aboriginal peoples in line with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Some of the key findings
A selection of the facts the report cites in support of its case for reform.
90% of the South West's primary vegetation had been cleared by the year 2000. In parts of the Wheatbelt, native vegetation loss exceeds 93%.
WA's threatened species list grew between 2024 and 2025, with critically endangered flora rising from 174 to 178 species, and endangered fauna from 59 to 66.
The 2025–26 WA Government allocated just over $100 million to environmental protection — about 0.2% of the state budget.
The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions has Recovery Plans for only 70% of WA's Critically Endangered, Endangered and Threatened Ecological Communities, and none for vulnerable species.
WA has not published a State of the Environment report since 2007 — nearly 20 years. Other Australian jurisdictions report every 2–5 years.
Over 410 square km of the Northern Jarrah Forest has been cleared for mining since 1963 — a figure that could reach 120,000 square km by 2075 under current trajectories.
Read the full report.
The complete report covers each recommendation in detail, supported by case studies, references and policy analysis. It is published by the Conservation Council of WA and available to download as a PDF.
Conservation Council of WA
The Conservation Council of Western Australia (CCWA) is the state's peak non-government environmental organisation. It represents a network of more than 100 member groups working on conservation issues across WA — from local bushland to the marine parks of the Kimberley and the forests of the South West.
CCWA acknowledges the Whadjuk people of the Noongar nation as Traditional Owners of the land on which it primarily operates, and the Traditional Owners of all Countries across WA where it works. The Back from the Brink report was made possible through the support of the Koorabup Trust.
Visit ccwa.org.au ↗