Richard Fuller: That's exactly right, and especially with migratory organisms it's really tough to get it right. Contrast that with Southwest Australia, which harbours an astonishing 7,239 vascular plant species, almost 80% of which are found nowhere else in the world(Alphen, 2016). Work on the drafting of the new Biodiversity Conservation Regulations is underway (Service, 2017). One of the causes of increased levels of carbon dioxide is the burning of carbon-based fuels such as coal, oil and gas. Deforestation and forest fragmentation have an adverse effect on the biodiversity of animals and plants. He says the work is important because a bird-pollinated system of plants is likely to be quite different to one pollinated by insects and could yield novel insights. "The predominant one is landclearing ongoing clearing for habitat. A genial Aussie with an American accent, Mike gesticulates as he meanders from one fascinating topic to another. In the past 20 years extinctions have also become common on continents. However, the current status of information and knowledge about WAs biodiversity is often unclear because its collection and management is fragmented across multiple industry, government and research organisations and there are no established mechanisms for aggregating and synthesising the data. Conservation of Australia's biodiversity Biodiversity is the variety of all life forms on earth - the different plants, animals and micro-organisms and the ecosystems of which they are a part. But we are just one of many species on Earth, and our demand for resources - land, water, food, and shelter - shapes the environment for other wildlife too. 141 of Australias 207 mammal species, 25 unique to the state; more than 400 reptile species, more than 40% unique to the state; hundreds of thousands of invertebrate species; and. SW Western Australia is one of the worlds major biodiversity hotspots. By subscribing you become an AG Society member, helping us to raise funds for conservation and adventure projects. Mike agrees 1.5 million sq. The growing demands of an expanding human population (often associated with changes in demography) and growing global markets are placing additional pressures on our natural wealth with long-lasting consequences. There is still time to act to reverse biodiversity loss and secure a nature-positive world by 2030, but urgency is needed. Recent reports and studies have . That great PhD student ShawanChowdhury has just finished his PhD on global patterns in migratory butterflies and thinking about conservation of those species. There have been periods in the Earth's long history when mass extinctions have occurred. Valuing certain species over others, valuing certain ecosystem processes over others is fraught with difficulty. For millennia, humans have been reshaping ecosystems, directly . However, as a country, we are among the worst on biodiversity conservation, with a loss of 5-10% as noted in study between 1996 to 2008. 1).It experiences a strongly Mediterranean climate with frequent droughts (Saunders et al., 1993, Hobbs and Cramer, 2003) and is part of the South West Australian Floristic Region, a recognized global biodiversity hotspot (Mittermeier et al . Latin America & the Caribbean have sustained a loss of 94% since 1975. I'm also interested in the health and well-being benefits of experiences of nature, and we are showing increasingly that experiences of nature fundamentally underpin human health and well-being. WAs Gondwana Link takes in a major biodiversity hotspot in Australias far south-west, while the Trans-Australia Eco-Link covers 3500 km from Arnhem Land in the NT to Port Augusta in SA (see map, opposite). And so, how many times have you come to arguments? Mitsch and Gosselink describe wetland environments as falling between the cracks of two disciplines (Mitsch & Gosselink 2007). We found alarming declines in many of the migratory birds that visit Australia each year, and we've been trying to partition out where are those threats to those species, and we are finding some in Australia and some elsewhere along their migration routes. By examining extinction rates in the fossil record and Australias relationship to the size of different islands, Mike has calculated that to give all Australian species a good chance of surviving whatever the future throws at them will require a minimum of about 1.5 million sq. Biodiversity loss and climate change are both driven by economic activities and neither will be successfully resolved unless both are tackled together, according to a joint report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). We see squirrel gliders the next day, but they have been trapped for an RTA-funded project monitoring highway populations and fitting poles to help the marsupials glide the 70 m needed to cross an otherwise insurmountable road barrier. I know that you worked to some extent with Hugh Possingham who I think was the Queensland Chief Scientist last year, this year as well, and he came into an argument in South Australia talking about the need to cull koalas because in a certain area they were interfering with, say, the tree growth and suchlike. Mikes proposal is certainly a bold and innovative idea and DECCW is exploring it with him, says Linda Broome. It is an ongoing challenge that has multiple complex issues and trade-offs. km) to about 15 per cent (1,250,000sq. Biodiversity loss includes the worldwide extinction of different species, as well as the local reduction or loss of species in a certain habitat, resulting in a loss of biological diversity. Thank you for reading. We have an obligation to look after them and the land looks after us, Bruce says. Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The beginning of biodiversity conservation in WA is rooted in the setting aside of land by the State for the protection of flora and fauna in the late 1800s and early 1900s when the first reserve declared was in September 1899 for the purpose of the Protection of Boronia near Albany; and the first national park, Greenmount National Park (which has now become John Forest National Park) was established in 1900 on the outskirts of Perth. The latter phenomenon can be temporary or permanent, depending on whether the environmental degradation that leads to the loss is reversible through . The Western Australian Biodiversity Science Institute (WABSI) is an independent, collaboration mechanism. According to the UK Natural History Museum's biodiversity intactness index, high levels of biodiversity loss has occurred in regions including the UK and Ireland, parts of western Europe and stretches of North America . WABSI will contribute to this need by providing more certainty around the decision making processes. Australia's biodiversity is in a bad way From time to time, you might hear that another animal is endangered or that more trees have been cut down to make way for new housing. We missed [understanding] this here and thats why small mammals have been going extinct in northern Australia. High value biodiversity within the State is at escalating risk though a range of processes including: As a consequence, a growing number of ecosystems and individual species are under threat. Professor Wintle estimated Australia needs to spend $1.5 billion to $2 billion a year to halt biodiversity decline. Only this month, the University of Queensland released research, and I quote: 'Gone forever. In this section, there's a wealth of information about our collections of scientific specimens and cultural objects. This equates to retaining natural . The fact is, in the past few hundred years, Australia has the worst record in the world for mammal extinctions. Email: enquiries@integratesustainability.com.au. Over 60 per cent of the continent is under assault by inappropriate land use, and in the process there is no valuing anything native; everything is being trampled and pushed back. Contrary to popular opinion, mining is a much smaller problem. Richard Fuller: You're welcome, thank you. The total number of species of birds on earth is estimated to be around 10,000! Australia has a high percentage of endemic species (meaning, they occur nowhere else in the world). Retrieved from Gaia Resources: https://www.gaiaresources.com.au/state-dieback/, Service, D. o. More than 80% of Australia's flowering plants and land mammals are endemic, as are 88% of our reptiles, 45% of our birds and 92% of our frogs. Whatever the level of impact created by Australia's Indigenous people, they adapted their own lifestyles and survived in all parts of the continent for many thousands of years. Agricultural pesticides have been linked to widespread invertebrate biodiversity loss in two new research papers. Then, almost immediately after we discover its alive, in comes climate change, says Mike. Species of animals and plants under threat may be listed in one of the following categories: Mammals are a diverse group of animals that are found below and on the ground, in trees and oceans. Their property, which falls within the key Slopes to Summit area of the GER corridor, supports species such as the gang gang cockatoo and agile antechinus. km sounds daunting. Australia is the only western country to have large areas of rainforest intact. Basically we are talking about how to sensibly use a finite resource, the landscape, in support of people. Using his palaeontology background, Mike has devised a bold and potentially controversial plan to save the species. Governments are failing us Join us in calling for change JOIN THE MOVEMENT TODAY The kids are terrified of them. The Ministerial Guidelines provide further details on the criteria and procedures that apply. These findings were backed up by Siegy in 2009, when his own research showed honeyeaters flying hundreds of metres between banksias. And the reason it does that is because we've messed up the habitats in the first place. For them, the goal is to leave their land in a much better state than when they inherited it. And climate change, which hasn't been the biggest driver of biodiversity loss so far, is expected to take that role in the decades . This has led to habitat change through land clearing and urbanisation, hunting . Are we preserving the Amazon? It is already threatened by feral cats, foxes, development and shrinking supplies of bogong moths one of its major food sources. Robyn Williams: Biodiversity, a problem as shocking as climate change. The loss of biodiversity is in large part irreversible, and each time we lose species we lose something that cannot be got back and we lose part of our fundamental life-support system. The fact that this part of Australia has been relatively stable over geological history is another reason for the incredible biodiversity here, and such a long-lived and stable ecosystem here is worthy of protection, he says. Australia among seven nations responsible for more than 50 per cent of global biodiversity loss, Catch up with The Loop, your quick wrap of this morning's news. We pay our respect to Aboriginal Elders and recognise their continuous connection to Country. Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia. The WA wheatbelt covers an area of ca. Humans rely on various plants, animals, and other organisms for food, building materials, and medicines, and their availability as commodities is important to many cultures. This has led to loss and fragmentation of habitats, with a range of biological effects, which include the slow dismantling of ecological communities and species habitat resulting in eventual species extinctions and loss of biodiversity richness. The success of Western Shield and previous programs has resulted in the removal of the woylie, tammar wallaby and quenda from Western Australia's threatened species list. Environmental change over the last few hundred years. There are other good reasons for bringing farmers on board for conservation. Most of our work on Our World in Data focuses on data and research on human well-being and prosperity. In short, biodiversity provides us with clean air, fresh water, good quality soil and crop pollination. Professor Kingsley Dixon, director of science at Kings Park and Botanic Garden in Perth, says understanding the biodiversity of the region is important for conserving it. A variety of grants are already available as incentives from public and private bodies. But its going to really catch up to other farmers who have been flogging the land.. The World Wildlife Fund argues that Perth may be the wildlife capital of the world, with over 2,100 plant species, 15 amphibian species and 156 native birds , with seasonal influxes from visiting seabirds and migrating shorebirds (World Wildlife Fund 2013). Of the 109 countries studied, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, China and the United States (primarily Hawaii) also ranked inside the top seven as the worst offenders on conservation. The Australian Museum respects and acknowledges the Gadigalpeople as the FirstPeoples and TraditionalCustodians ofthe land and waterways on which theMuseumstands. Richard Fuller: We spend a lot of time studying migratory birds, species that migrate from Australia up to the Arctic and back, and that has been a fascinating line of work, looking at the amazing migration journeys of these animals, the threats that they face along the way, and what could be done about those threats. The greatest threat to biodiversity is the size and rate of growth of human population. ' He explains that, metaphorically, his family is turning off a light switch on their whole farm, which he hopes will make a big difference and influence others. Biodiversity is declining faster than at any time in human history. Southwest Western Australia 2.1 During its visit to Western Australia (WA) on 7-8 November 2011, the Committee held a public hearing in Perth, before visiting various sites in the southwest corner of the state. I think it would be better to pool our diverse strengthsto envision and trial strategies that could turn it all around long before we reach that precipice, he says. Five ways you can help stop biodiversity loss in your area - and around the world Published: December 20, 2022 1.56pm EST Want to write? Reduction in biodiversity was calculated by looking at species that had their IUCN red list upgraded during the period, such as from "least concern" to "threatened", or "vulnerable" to "endangered". According to the CSIRO, habitat loss from land clearing is a primary driver of biodiversity loss in Australia. Celebrity Life. While there have certainly been extinctions in Australia during the past 40,000 to 50,000 years, scientists are unsure about which, if any, were caused by Indigenous people. Higgs, P. (2016, July 26). Robyn Williams: Yes, the ants mean lunch and dinner for half the Australian population, including the furry ones. One species eats another, each is important. The worst thing we can do is the nonsense of wildernessthere are few places on the planet that havent had humans managing them in some way, Mike says. Robyn Williams: Well, one of the interesting things about your lecture, and I don't know whether your students reacted at the Fuller Laboratory, is you said the first thing you see if you want to Google conservation is lots of furry animals, but on the other hand you've got animals with feathers and then you've got all those insects. Postal: 23 Eaglehawk Drive, Ravenswood 6208 National parks are the leftover bits, he says. Discover what they reveal about the history of Earth and our solar system and what makes them so essential to our existence. Join us, volunteer and be a part of our journey of discovery! Compared to Australia, which recorded a biodiversity loss of between 5 and 10 per cent of the total global decline, the study published in Nature found Indonesia had "absolutely the highest number of declining species", representing around 21 per cent of the total decline during the period. All ecosystems now show the impact of the dominant species, humans. It wasnt always my plan to come back;but it had a lot to do with these conservation projects, the 26-year-old tells me. Image copyrightHolly Story. The short answer is that Invertebrates are animals without a backbone. ttsdale reserve, near Canberra part of the Great Eastern Ranges conservation corridor. But the issues we face go much deeper than this. We still have work to do on our engagement with biodiversity in Western Australia, and Perth specifically, before we can become a model for future cities. First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we But it now faces a new threat as the snow cover it needs for insulation during hibernation is reduced annually. A rich diversity of snails in north-west Western Australia is sublime evidence of evolution in action. We hope that we are leading by example in the way that we are managing it.. Minister backs down in fight to keep WA live sheep exports afloat. Although much of his current work focuses on conservation, his background is in palaeontology and he brings this knowledge into other arenas. Quality soil and crop pollination years, Australia about 15 per cent ( 1,250,000sq potentially controversial plan to the! That great PhD student ShawanChowdhury has just finished his PhD on global patterns migratory. As falling between the cracks of two disciplines ( mitsch & Gosselink 2007 ) background is palaeontology! 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