It is with a great deal of pleasure that we celebrate the recent completion of a master’s thesis by Fungimap Committee member – Lachlan Penninkilampi – on Fungi in Australian Environmental Law.

Lachlan’s thesis assesses the extent to which fungi are effectively included in Australian environmental law, and finds they are generally neglected.

Few fungi are listed for protection; they have never been the subject of environmental litigation; and they are virtually absent from protected area management planning. This neglect is despite fungi warranting specific attention because of their diverse values and unique conservation and restoration requirements.

It analyses environmental laws of the Commonwealth, Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Tasmania, and Victoria to ascertain whether fungi are included or excluded in those jurisdictions and the legal consequences of those inclusions and exclusions.

It then covers environmental litigation and conservation practice to consider whether the inclusion of fungi under law has had any significant consequences for their conservation or restoration from a practical perspective.

It notes that reforms are required if there is to be any reasonable confidence in environmental law protecting Australia’s fungal diversity, now and into the future and offers a reform agenda to include fungi by recognising and integrating them into existing laws and creating new laws for the benefit of biodiversity generally and fungi in particular.

The thesis concludes by setting out directions for future research, illustrating how fungi could open a new, rich field of inquiry for scholars of environmental law.

If you would like to read the thesis in full it is available by downloading here.

Congratulations again Lachlan