26th June 2025
Today's NSW State of the Environment Report paints a grim picture of the health of NSW ecosystems according to the Nature Conservation Council of NSW, the state's leading environmental organisation.
The State of the Environment report is NSW's premier scientific report card, released every three years. It describes the health of our life support systems - the land, water, air and ecosystems, and it tracks trends over time. This year almost all indicators are "getting worse".
Key Report Findings
Since the last report, 36 more animal and plant species have been listed as threatened with extinction.
Since 2021, there have been 190 fish kill events, with tens of millions of fish dying in some events.
Alarmingly, the fastest growing segment of threatened animals is those which are critically endangered, which grew by 35 species over the same period. This is a stark indicator of the worsening biodiversity crisis, and shows current settings to protect endangered species are not working.
Across the state, distribution of native land mammals continues to shrink, with fewer habitats left to offer safe refuge. The clearing of native vegetation remains significantly higher than before land clearing laws were loosened in 2016, with agriculture the main driver.
Projections show that only half of all native animal species currently listed are expected to survive the next 100 years.
Recommendations
In response to the State of the Environment report card, NCC is calling on the NSW Government to:
- Rein in land clearing for agriculture by closing legal loopholes.
- End native forest logging, protecting 1 million hectares of our most precious forest for conservation and recreation.
- Reduce water extraction by irrigators, allowing inland rivers to connect and flow.
- Restore coastal estuaries to protect communities from climate impacts.
- Increase funding for environmental programs from 1.6% to at least 2% of state expenditure to resource an effective NSW Nature Strategy.
Statements attributable to Jacqui Mumford, Chief Executive Officer of Nature Conservation Council NSW:
"Every NSW resident should be outraged that our shared natural heritage is being stolen from under our feet.
"The risk to First Nations cultural heritage is intolerable. Indigenous knowledge must be informing the protection and restoration of Country.
"This report confirms what we already know, and the message couldn't be clearer. Nature in NSW is in deep trouble and those in power are failing to turn this alarming trajectory around.
"Our state's environment is being mismanaged, and until the developers, irrigators, and logging companies are kicked out of government back-rooms, nothing will change.
"The ecological carrying capacity of NSW has been slashed to 29% of its natural level since colonisation.
"Our rivers are being sucked dry, forests are shrinking, and species are vanishing. We need the NSW Government to act with the urgency that the biodiversity crisis demands.
"The NSW Government urgently needs to develop and implement their Nature Strategy, fix the laws that aren't working and truly chart a path out of this crisis."
"This is an opportunity for Premier Minns to secure a legacy as the government that stood up for nature by acting urgently to stop extinction, restore ecosystems, and protect the future for all of us."
Statements attributable to Mel Gray, Inland Rivers Campaigner, NCC:
"This report is truly alarming. River health is plummeting. Waterbird populations have suffered sharp declines and native fish kill events have increased dramatically since 2018.
"Even with wetter conditions in recent years, poor riparian and wetland health has meant a spike in water pollution and an increase in native fish kill events. Combined with the sudden crashing of water bird populations in inland NSW, it paints a chilling picture - and it's just getting worse.
"Despite overwhelming evidence and years of promises from Labor in opposition and as a new government, for the people and wildlife of the Darling-Baaka River nothing has changed.
"We know how to solve this. The Connectivity Expert Panel has provided a blueprint, backed by science and the law, for restoring the Darling-Baaka River to life, and yet it sits on a shelf."
Statements attributable to Jacqueline Mills, Senior Climate Campaigner, NCC:
"NSW has warmed by 1.4 degrees since 1910, and sea levels have risen 12 cm in the last 35 years.
"Climate change is one of the biggest drivers of species extinctions, yet NSW is not on track to meet its emission reduction targets.
"The Minns government needs to redouble its efforts to bring on renewable energy and give nature a fighting chance.
"Everyone in our state has been impacted by climate-fuelled disasters, yet coal and gas companies are pouring more fuel on the fire every day.
"Today's report makes it clear that transition to clean energy and a phase out of coal mining can't come quickly enough to preserve our way of life."
