No doubt you have observed the widespread browning of vegetation across Western Australia (WA) following record temperatures in February 2024. Perhaps you have also read about the ecosystem collapse reported in 2010 and 2011? Apparently, the first forest collapse possibly in the world, occurred thirteen to fourteen years ago in WA (Western Australia’s catastrophic forest collapse).

Ecosystem collapse is when ecosystems alter significantly from their originally state leading to species and habitat loss, reduced vegetation cover and are unlikely t recover (University Wollongong – Environmental State of Play – March 2021).

So why is this important for Environmental and Social Governance (ESG) and sustainability reporting and compliance performance? Firstly, it is the collective efforts of many that will make the difference so we should not ignore this. We also know that events like this will increase in duration and frequency meaning that current baseline information, which is the basis of most of impact assessments is likely to exclude data that reflect ecosystem collapse scenarios. Consider this an opportunity.

By the law of averages, there will be many instances where the baseline data will rapidly be superseded, and the range of metrics and targets assigned to evaluate ecological performance for sustainability reporting in the current day will require adjustment. This in turn, will influence regulatory compliance performance and the ability to meet commitments, objectives and targets which could now be on the optimistic side of the range in values rather than realistic.  

For those interested, the map below by the Bureau of Meteorology in their ‘Drought Statement’ for June 2024 illustrates soil moisture as the lowest on record in many parts of Western Australia (WA) (Drought Statement (bom.gov.au)). That is, the lowest for more than 100 years.