due to agricultural expansion), over-exploitation of natural resources (e.g. In Riversleigh [fossil fields in Queensland], spanning between 24 million and 12 million years ago, Burramys is found all through lowland rainforests in rocky limestone habitat., Mike is convinced the pygmy possum tracked rainforest up the mountain in a previous bout of climate change and became trapped up there in the boulder fields when the rainforests disappeared. The coastal marine biodiversity of WA is ranked second highest out of 18 of the worlds marine biodiversity hotspots (based on species richness and endemism) and fourth lowest in terms of threatening processes. Despite all we know, biodiversity loss is at an all-time high On The Science Show with Robyn Williams Students learn about food webs at school. They have a right to live here just as much as we do. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. ILLUMINATED BY A RED spotlight, a pair of small eyes peers down at us from 25m above in an aged and stately red box tree. km) to about 15 per cent (1,250,000sq. Australia is ranked third in the world for the most species extinction, and number one when it comes to extinctions of mammals. It is already threatened by feral cats, foxes, development and shrinking supplies of bogong moths one of its major food sources. Clearly, too many of our existing management practices for endangered species arent working. Introduction of exotic plants and animals, and disease. Biodiversity 1 and human infectious diseases are intricately linked. For them, the goal is to leave their land in a much better state than when they inherited it. 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. The drivers of biodiversity loss and climate change are related, but are not exactly the same. 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. Robyn Williams: Yes, the ants mean lunch and dinner for half the Australian population, including the furry ones. We found that at least 67 million km 2 of Earth's terrestrial vegetation (79% of the area of vegetation remaining) requires retention - via sustainable and appropriate land use and management - to contribute to biodiversity, climate, soil and freshwater objectives under four United Nations Resolutions. Thats going to put the temperature up at least one degree[enough] to destroy the habitat. We pay our respects to Elders both past and present. Have you ever wondered what Perth was like before it was a city? Theyve fenced off a creek line and are encouraging native vegetation in order to protect the endangered booroolong frog. Biodiversity, or biological diversity, is a term used to describe the variety of living things in the natural environment: the different plants, animals and micro-organisms; the genes they contain; and the ecosystems in which they occur. 16 in the western plains of France and 24 in southern Victoria, Australia . Explore seven different animal and plant habitats of Australia: Coasts, Freshwater, Antarctica, Forests, Woodlands, Arid Zone and Urban. But with changes to the way we source, produce, use and store energy, just what is in store? The Australian Museum respects and acknowledges the Gadigalpeople as the FirstPeoples and TraditionalCustodians ofthe land and waterways on which theMuseumstands. 200, pp. He is drawn to unusual projects, which he describes as walking out on the edgewhere a lot of the good science is. 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. (Credit: Esther Beaton), Yellow box grassy woodland regenerating from farmland on Bush Heritage Australias. Developed by a partnership of the UK Business & Biodiversity Forum, IEMA, RSPB, WSP, the Aldersgate Group and . Image copyright Holly Story, Black Swans (Cygnus atratus), Perth (WA), John Oldham Park, September 2006. To slow erosion, Bruce and Mark have planted eucalypts and silver wattles along creek lines and have built dams that capture sediment and stop soil being washed away. That's a native bird but it has been declared a key threatening process by the Australian government in its role in disrupting other bird communities. Valuing certain species over others, valuing certain ecosystem processes over others is fraught with difficulty. 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? We cause global warming by releasing increasing amounts of carbon dioxide and other gases into the atmosphere, which will alter the nature of ecosystems everywhere. We facilitate end user driven, relevant research to create opportunities for meaningful change in biodiversity conservation and enable sustainable development. Loss of species is a major threat to biodiversity in Australia. Conservation, D. o. That's a kind of fundamental underpinning for my own basis here. Provisions that replace those existing under the Wildlife Act and Sandalwood Act (including threatened species listings and controls over the taking and keeping of native species) and their associated Regulations cannot be brought into effect until the necessary Biodiversity Conservation Regulations have been made. This means our south west is a region where exceptional concentrations of endemic species are undergoing exceptional loss of habitat. Tom Lovejoy: Well, I'm not arguing that you can't use biological resources, in fact that's what is so wonderful about them, they make more themselves. Biodiversity loss is the result of complex interactions between humans and nature, . The Great Eastern Ranges Initiative (GER) is another ambitious corridor that is planned to run down 2800 km of Australias Great Dividing Range, from the Atherton Tableland in far north Queensland all the way to southern Victoria (see map, opposite). Since the arrival of Europeans in Australia, just over 200 years ago, there has been an extraordinary increase in the rate of environmental change and in the loss of biodiversity. In the past 20 years extinctions have also become common on continents. Its a refuge where family and friends can come and connect with the environment, says Marcia. Environmentally sustainable farming makes Australian farms more productive and, in fact, more profitable, says Brett Heffernan, a spokesperson for the National Farmers Federation. That great PhD student ShawanChowdhury has just finished his PhD on global patterns in migratory butterflies and thinking about conservation of those species. Global biodiversity loss and its impacts may be greater than previously thought, due to higher estimates provided for understudied . Section snippets The WA wheatbelt. During this time they undoubtedly influenced the course of evolution. Image credit: gadigal yilimung (shield) madeby UncleCharlesChickaMadden. In other words, if you are saying that variety is the best thing, then the hard-nosed developer and the people who want to build a factory where you are protecting wilderness will say, well, you can't have everything, times are too tough, and your argument is that you do want everything. Along with UWA colleague Dr Siegy Krauss, Stephen was recently awarded $1 million from the Australian Research Council to test the evolutionary implications of this idea. The landholders are Wayne Stokes and his partner Marcia Macartney, former public servants who moved here from Canberra almost two decades ago. Australias red goshawk once ruled the skies. Loss of biodiversity undermines ecosystems' abilities to function effectively and efficiently and thus undermines nature's ability to support a healthy environment. This adds to the threat to biodiversity which has already been placed under stress by other human activities. Our efforts to protect individual threatened species seem to be going backwards, he says. In short, biodiversity provides us with clean air, fresh water, good quality soil and crop pollination. Deforestation and forest fragmentation have an adverse effect on the biodiversity of animals and plants. An estimated 10 % of Perths original wetlands remain. Biodiversity faces a wide number of threats, including land-use change, habitat loss and fragmentation (e.g. Australia must set strong nature laws, become a world leader in forest protection and climate action, and respect and acknowledge the stewardship of Indigenous Australians to care for Country. Within decades the impact will be felt on the worlds weather with more species likely finding new conditions unbearable. Mikes proposal is certainly a bold and innovative idea and DECCW is exploring it with him, says Linda Broome. They are not going to damage other species in those rainforests because theyve always been there. Wetlands are neither water nor earth but exist in the meeting of these two, changing seasonally to become more or less of each element, and blending the two elements to form mud. By subscribing you become an AG Society member, helping us to raise funds for conservation and adventure projects. He describes farmers as frontline environmentalists and argues that many of Australias 136,000 farms are already actively managed for conservation. This richness underpins all aspects of human life, from food and fresh water to the strength of the global economy. The wetlands in WA support a rich natural heritage of plant and animal life. A genial Aussie with an American accent, Mike gesticulates as he meanders from one fascinating topic to another. It helps us fight climate change and adapt to it as well reduce the impact of natural hazards. Stephen believes that eucalypts and banksias in south-west WA have developed features that encourage birds to pollinate trees further away, thereby increasing genetic diversity of their seed. 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". WABSI will contribute to this need by providing more certainty around the decision making processes. Image copyright JJ Harrison, Wikicommons, Yellow Donkey Orchids, Lower Swamp (Frog Swamp) North Lake Reserve 2014. Although much of his current work focuses on conservation, his background is in palaeontology and he brings this knowledge into other arenas. Development, with the protection of biodiversity, can only occur with robust scientific information. Mike thinks that because of its evolutionary heritage in lowland rainforests, the pygmy possum already has the capacity to thrive in warmer conditions, and this is what he wants to test. Biodiversity Concervation Act 2016. Could these penguin-themed 'icons' become Australia's first heritage-listed rubbish bins? Biodiversity loss affects economic systems and human society. We cause habitat change through agricultural, urban and industrial development, and the exploitation of natural resources. We pay our respect to Aboriginal Elders and recognise their continuous connection to Country. The new research will help explain why the region is so rich in endemic plants, Stephen says, while also revealing how so many of them can be found in geographically separated populations, where inbreeding should be rife, but its effects appear to be muted.. 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). Would you agree with him? Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. 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. Bringing farmers like Bruce and Mark on board for conservation is a key step in halting biodiversity decline and an important way to link fragmented habitats. In 2016 the Western Australian government passed the Biodiversity Conservation Act, which will eventually fully replace both the Wildlife Act 1950 and the Sandalwood Act 1929. There is a race to deforested the Amazon.'. Charles Darwin noted that the species richness here could be due to the fact this was a relatively wet pocket of land isolated by ocean to the west and the desert of the Nullarbor to the east. Australia ranks as the second worst of the group, with a biodiversity loss of 5-10%. National parks tend to beon marginal land. Much like climate change, the global challenge of biodiversity loss is defined by large geographic and economic disparities. Connectivity conservation aims to give them the opportunity to roam more widely across landscapes, by persuading landholders to provide protected links between existing parks and reserves. So I think very often we have to intervene and manage from a conservation perspective, not just try to keep things as they were in some historical time, in many ways it's already too late for that and we need to be much more open I think to continuous and innovative management of our environment. Some scientists believe that we are now witnessing the sixth mass extinction, the only mass extinction to be caused by a single species - humans. First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we Robyn Williams: Apart from noisy miners, what sort of research are you doing at your lab? There are other good reasons for bringing farmers on board for conservation. Scientists based their findings on the worsening in conservation status of species between 1996 and 2008 on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list. Indigenous people have been interacting with Australia's natural environment for tens of thousands of years. Biological diversity - or biodiversity - is the term given to the variety of life on Earth. Changes in the environment including altered fire regimes, changed hydrological processes and broader climate change. AGRICULTURE IS THE big problem, proclaims Professor Mike Archer of the University of NSWs School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences. 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. About half of south-west WAs 8000 plant species are found nowhere else, as are many animals including the numbat, western swamp tortoise and honey possum which feeds on the nectar of flowering plants, such as banksias. But now this almighty raptor, affectionately known as The Red, has become our nations rarest bird of prey. The Act applies to environmental matters of national significance and provides for: identification and listing of threatened species and ecological communities 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. Key points: Australia second behind Indonesia for biodiversity loss Spending on conservation reduced loss Habitat loss, invasive species drive species decline in Australia A new study reveal why this may be the case. People ask, What difference can it make if you turn off a light switch? 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. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Collection, Australian Museum Research Institute (AMRI), Australian Museum Lizard Island Research Station. Environmental sustainability professor Barry Brook from the University of Tasmania said there were a number of pressures threatening biodiversity in Australia. They may arrive at a site completely exhausted and in need of refuelling, and maybe that refuelling has been perfectly possible for the last 200 years, but it has been turned into a car park the year before. I dont want Australians, particularly the younger generation, to feel so depressed about our current path that they cant be motivated to do things that have the capacity to result in a far brighter future. Many farmers may be contributing to the landscape without even knowing it. Well, someone who would have been devastated by this news is Tom Lovejoy, the ecologist who worked for years in the Amazon. Yet the pressures placed on ecosystems from human impact and changing climate are increasing, with more species lost due to extinction. Ian Pulsford explains that this animal already survives at the top of the regions elevation range, so there simply isnt anywhere for it to go. Such connections are a major focus of some new conservation approaches. Biodiversity is the variety of all living things on Earth, and how they fit together in the web of life, bringing oxygen, water, food and countless other benefits. We choose in some areas to let natural regeneration take place. 1. Were excited; greater gliders are normally found in the high country of Woomargama National Park, several kilometres to the south-east not down here towards the Hume Highway. DBCA Biodiversity and Conservation Science is delivered at multiple sites across Western Australia, including national and marine parks, Kings Park, Perth Zoo, Rottnest Island, and the WA Herbarium. Robyn Williams: So, mosquitoes, those sorts of things have to go? Bruce and Mark share a passion for squirrel gliders that has brought them closer together. km sounds daunting. Everyday, more people need more space, consume more resources and generate more waste as world population continues to grow at an alarming rate. The Australian Museum respects and acknowledges the Gadigalpeople as the FirstPeoples and Traditional Custodians of the land andwaterways on which theMuseumstands. Deforestation, it said, totalled 430 square kilometres last month, five times higher than in January 20 21, and then, quoting a researcher at a Brazilian federal university who said, 'People might be surprised that it wasn't even more. This has led to habitat change through land clearing and urbanisation, hunting and exploitation. SUBTERRANEAN FAUNA CONSERVATION. unsustainable logging, hunting and fishing), pollution (e.g. Two-thirds of Australia has lost its unique birdlife.' Biodiversity should be at the top of the global agenda alongside climate, said Anne Larigauderie, IPBES executive secretary, at a 6 May press conference in Paris, France. National framework Australia's Strategy for Nature Biodiversity conservation Legislation International role Science and research excess fertiliser use and marine litter), invasive alien species and climate change (OECD, 2012 [7]; Barrage of Threats. 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. White Spider Orchid Lower Swamp (Frog Swamp) North Lake Reserve 2014 Image copyright Holly Story Black Swans (Cygnus atratus), Perth (WA), John Oldham Park, September 2006. Biodiversity loss can come in the form of habitat loss through land converted to agriculture, combined with land degradation through intensive farming practices - which is the principal contributor to the decline and extinction of species - and it can also come in the form of unsustainable food production, where our meat and dairy consumption In this section, find out everything you need to know about visiting the Australian Museum, how to get here and the extraordinary exhibitions on display. Nigel agrees that there are a whole lot of opportunities in the balance between sustainable resource use and conservation. Nick Moir. Bold, new interventionist ideas are needed to save Australias biodiversity. Western Australia's unique biodiversity Western Australia's globally unique biodiversity Western Australia (WA) has a globally unique biodiversity characterised by significant regional endemism, meaning that we have plants and animals that only live in a particular location. 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. 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Similarly, Australia lost 5-10% of its biodiversity between 1996 and 2008 while high levels of deforestation to make way for agricultural plantations have particularly affected the species rich rainforests of Indonesia. The GER will create opportunities for species to move as climate changes. Richard Fuller: You're welcome, thank you. WERE SITTING ON a jumbled pile of cracked, moss- and lichen-covered granite boulders on top of a hill overlooking the NSW town of Tumbarumba. ': Remote NT mayor questions response time for flood evacuations. "If you look at where we've had the greatest rates of faunal decline, where Australia has had the highest levels of reductions in our animals has been on the Nullarbor Plain," Mr Andrews told the ABC earlier this month. The Western Australian Museum acknowledges and respects the Traditional Owners of their ancestral lands, waters and skies. No, there is a race to clear it. Our power usage globally has almost tripled in the last 50 years. . Allowing landholders to benefit from the harvest of kangaroos for meat and skins is one idea. According to the CSIRO, habitat loss from land clearing is a primary driver of biodiversity loss in Australia. If the conditions are too hot there, you can spread your seeds or fly around the corner and its potentially a bit cooler.. The sanctuary is a private wildlife haven. Richard Fuller: Yes, I would completely agree, and of course I think the former two are the driver of the third, in a sense. 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. On a mountain, you can move around the hill a bit. Thank you for reading. But it now faces a new threat as the snow cover it needs for insulation during hibernation is reduced annually. Biodiversity is declining faster than at any time in human history. Australia is one of seven countries responsible for more than half of global biodiversity loss, according to a study published today. Minister backs down in fight to keep WA live sheep exports afloat. The total area of protected land and sea in the U.K. increased from 27 . And climate change, which hasn't been the biggest driver of biodiversity loss so far, is expected to take that role in the decades . Ideally, Commonwealth and State approval processes are undertaken simultaneously, but proposals must be presented to authorities concurrently (Government of Western Australia, 2014). In Australia at the end of 2019 and start of 2020, 97,000km2 of forest and surrounding habitats were destroyed by intense fires that are now known to have been made worse by climate change. Nearly two-thirds (62 per cent) of the Australian landmass is pastoral or agricultural land. 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. Next door is the Blue Metal Travelling Stock Reserve, home to a colony of squirrel gliders and a population of an endangered bird the grey-crowned babbler. Companies; Markets; The economy; . Wetlands are the most productive of all biological systems and support a heterogeneous range of wildlife, both aquatic and terrestrial (Jennings 1996). These systems include tidal mangroves, sand and mudflats, coastal lakes, subterranean aquatic systems, swamps and marshes. Species may find they have no escape routes as temperatures rise, pushing them out of their comfort zones. Retrieved from Department of Parks and Wildlife Service: https://www.dpaw.wa.gov.au/plants-and-animals/468-biodiversity-conservation-act-2016, Integrate Sustainability Pty Ltd This South West Biodiversity Hotspot has 8379 native vascular plants (species + subspecies), 47% (3911) of which are endemic (found nowhere else on the planet) 1. More and more of Australias wildlife is disappearing and we seem to have a sad habit of changing laws and management practices after a species has gone, Trevor says. Many pastoral properties contain significant conservation values, both in the traditionally understood sense of biodiversity values but also [in the] ecosystem services they provide, such as being a source of fresh water, says Doug Humann, CEO of Bush Heritage. There have been periods in the Earth's long history when mass extinctions have occurred. 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. Robyn Williams: My final question, someone who is on one of your slides, Paul Ehrlich from Stanford University who has always for decades come across to Australia to study birds and various other creatures, and he has said that we've got several gigantic global problems at the moment, obviously climate change is one, population another, biodiversity the third, but not third in number but equal as a problem. And when you are talking about biodiversity to maybe a sceptic, maybe a sceptic in business who doesn't want to be interfered with by all theseMargaret Thatcher used to say 'moaning minnies', saying you want to preserve all these obscure frogs and all these bits of flies, where do you actually join the limit biodiversity? All content copyright Government of Western Australia, All rights reserved. On 2 December 2016, several parts of the new Act were proclaimed and came into effect on 3 December 2016. E-cigarettes pose a triple threat to the environment, says Clean Up Australia waste report, Australian Geographic Society Expeditions, Entries now open for the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year competition, Environmentalists, Conservationists and Scientists. The mountains offer a huge diversity of refuges. Surely thats not a greater glider? exclaims one of our small party. Richard Fuller: That's exactly right, and especially with migratory organisms it's really tough to get it right. Coupled with persistent biophysical threats and socioeconomic causes is human-induced climate change, which is projected to exacerbate biodiversity loss through increased risk of species extinctions and ecosystem decline, especially among those already at risk and limited in their climatic range (Conservation, 2006). "We found that conservation spending strongly reduced [the biodiversity decline score]," they stated. Agriculture destroys biodiversity by converting natural habitats to intensely managed systems and by releasing pollutants, including greenhouses gases. Professor Stephen Hopper, an expert in biodiversity at the University of Western Australia agrees that this might explain why many of the species here are endemic, but not their great numbers. The Eastern Curlew pictured here at Roebuck Bay near Broome, Western Australia is critically endangered. We estimate there are less than 2000 adults left, says Linda Broome, an alpine ecologist with the NSW Department of Environment (DECCW). Taking species population as a measure, a significant loss in biodiversity was found in all regions, with encroachment on natural land identified as the most prominent threat to wildlife. 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. ONE ALPINE SPECIES the GER may not be able to help is the mountain pygmy possum. SW Western Australia is one of the worlds major biodiversity hotspots. 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. 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