Half of the plants found within a corridor stretching from the Barrington to Hawkesbury could be extinct within 50 years due to the impact of climate change, a new report warns.
Hunter Community Environment Centre researcher Paul Winn modelled 74 threatened flora species within the 1,180 square kilometre region.
He found 64 (or 86 per cent) are likely to suffer significant contractions, with 38 (or 51 per cent) having no suitable habitat within the next 50 years under a worst case climate scenario.
"The present protected area network was not designed to accommodate climate change and the biodiversity values it currently protects may not all survive under different climatic conditions," the report says.
"As the distribution of most species, populations and communities is determined by climate, most will be adversely affected by the inevitable changes we will see to the climate with populations necessarily having to move across the landscape to remain within their climactic envelope."
The first Barrington to Hawkesbury Climate Corridors Alliance report, released in December, combines habitat suitability modelling and NSW government climate corridor mapping to identify 22 corridors essential for the survival of threatened species in face of climate change.
The area encompasses the Myall Lakes and Hunter Estuary, listed under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, and connects the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area in the south to the Barrington Tops World Heritage Area in the north.
National Park reserves make up about 240,000 hectares (21.3 per cent), state forests 120,000 hectares (11 per cent) and other public lands about 44,400 hectares.
The Hunter Community Environment Alliance has called for an immediate moratorium on further land clearing within identified climate change corridors.
It also wants environmental planning instruments such as state environmental planning policies and local environment plans to be amended to conserve climate corridors from further development.
Also, targeted voluntary private land acquisition of large core areas of high quality habitat should be pursued.
Environmentalists argue the 26-hectare area of bushland at 505 Minmi Road is a vital link in the creation of a sustainable conservation corridor between the Watagans and Port Stephens. The government declined to acquire the land.
State Labor has indicated that it supports the report's five recommendations with the exception of a moratorium on further land clearing.
Dr Winn said it was vital that action be taken to protect flora and fauna species within the region while there was still time to prevent their extinction.
"The Barrington to Hawkesbury Climate Corridor proposal protects these species habitat from further degradation and fragmentation and connects them with large-scale functioning wildlife corridors that span climatic gradients and enhance the capacity of populations to seek refuge as the climate changes," he said.
"If we are to provide the greatest chance for native species to survive the ravages of climate change, these connected habitats must be protected from further fragmentation and
degradation. If we wish to minimise native species' extinction, climate refugia and identified Climate Corridors must be legally protected."
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