The "Australia State of the Environment" (SoE) 2001 report was prepared by the independent Australian State of the Environment Committee for the Commonwealth Minister for the Environment and Heritage. The report provides an assessment of the "big picture" of the state of Australia's environment at the beginning of the 21st century. The biodiversity theme report was commissioned to provide the technical background information for the SoE 2001 report and builds on Chapter 4 of the Australia State of the Environment 1996 report. It provides an evaluation of the state of Australia's biodiversity over five years. The report uses a set of environmental indicators developed to identify trends and chart responses to issues related to our environment and biodiversity.