Bold new plan to halt Aussie extinction crisis
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has announced a bold plan to stop any new extinctions of plants and animals in Australia.
Under the new 10-year Action Plan, 30 per cent of Australia’s land mass will be protected and conserved.
Conceding the Commonwealth’s “current approach” to combatting the crisis “has not been working”, Ms Plibersek has also promised to prioritise 20 places and 110 species for recovery and protection.
“If we keep doing what we've been doing, we'll keep getting the same results. Australia is the mammal extinction capital of the world,” Ms Plibersek said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The need for action has never been greater.”
Fifteen new species added to Australia's endangered list
Tuesday’s announcement follows her release of the State of the Environment Report in July which Ms Plibersek warned of “crisis and decline in Australia's environment”.
It also coincides with 15 species and three ecological communities being added to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act. Four other species were also uplisted into higher protection categories.
The fauna species added to Australia’s growing list of endangered species are:
Western beautiful firetail (Bird) - Endangered
Malanda rainbowfish - Critically endangered
Oxleyan pygmy perch - Endangered
Parma wallaby - Vulnerable
Grey snake - Endangered
Gravel Downs ctenotus (Lizard) - Critically endangered
Key’s matchstick grasshopper - Endangered
Koalas and greater gliders face threats despite protections
Despite receiving federal protection, many of Australia’s 1900 threatened species continue to be impacted by human activity.
In August, Ms Plibersek approved the destruction of critically-endangered western ringtail possum habitat to make way for a new road in Bunbury, Western Australia.
More than 3,600km north-west on the Gold Coast, koala habitat is still bulldozed for housing, shopping centres and road developments despite the species being uplisted to endangered this year.
State logging operations, which are largely exempt from the EPBC, continue to bulldoze both koala and endangered greater glider habitat.
Conservationists welcome Plibersek's plan
Ms Plibersek’s extinction goal was welcomed by environment non-profit Australian Conservation Foundation which characterised it as “ambitious”.
Its nature program manager Basha Stasak said the plan will be “essential” to ensuring the protection of species including koalas, mountain pygmy possums, and greater gliders.
“Stopping the destruction of wildlife habitat is the key to achieving this objective,” she said.
“Unfortunately, Australia has a woeful record when it comes to protecting our unique species. Australia is a world leader in sending mammals to extinction and it is largely because we keep destroying their homes.”
WWF-Australia's Rachel Lowry praised the plan for having clear objectives and a focus on transparent reporting.
“It’s wonderful to see Australia join other developed countries, including New Zealand and members of the EU, in setting a target of zero new extinctions," she said.
"Halting extinctions is achievable, particularly for a wealthy nation with science-based solutions."
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