Melbourne Universitys Kylie Soanes and Will Sowersby, tag a squirrel glider near Kyeamba, NSW. Key points: Australia second behind Indonesia for biodiversity loss Spending on conservation reduced loss Habitat loss, invasive species drive species decline in Australia Mike agrees 1.5 million sq. This equates to retaining natural . We have an obligation to look after them and the land looks after us, Bruce says. The total area of protected land and sea in the U.K. increased from 27 . Image copyrightH.-U. 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. Thank you for reading. 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. Theres no doubt in my mind that we can do this if were not fettered by pessimisminnovative approaches are popping up all over Australia.. In this section, explore all the different ways you can be a part of the Museum's groundbreaking research, as well as come face-to-face with our dedicated staff. 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). On Monday the papers carried a Reuters report on destruction in the Amazon. During the past 24 million years, close relatives of the mountain pygmy possum have been common throughout Australias lowland rainforests. Robyn Williams: The late Tom Lovejoy, one of those I mentioned before in The Science Show we should remember, whose work was so significant, at the same level maybe as Rachel Carson, whose book Silent Spring was published 60 years ago. Its a refuge where family and friends can come and connect with the environment, says Marcia. Robyn Williams: And that's quite an interesting example, isn't it, because if you are a bird lover or even some of those furry creatures, then if they are migratory they need to turn up in a certain place so that their timing is right for the emergence of certain insects in great numbers, and if the insects aren't there, these creatures just starve. 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Unless you understand the processes you may disadvantage the species by not supporting the processes that brought it into being in the first place, he told Australian Geographic. The latter phenomenon can be temporary or permanent, depending on whether the environmental degradation that leads to the loss is reversible through . This is Lovejoy on The Science Show some years ago: Tom Lovejoy: After a great deal of thinking about it, it seems to us that there is no intelligent way to choose between one species and another, and in fact it's not an intelligent choice to make. The IUCN red list uses a series of categories to rank how close a species is to extinction, from "least concern" through to "extinct in the wild". Robyn Williams: Richard Fuller is Professor of Biology at the University of Queensland. Southwest Australia is recognised as one of the worlds 35 recognised biodiversity hotspots. Mikes proposal is certainly a bold and innovative idea and DECCW is exploring it with him, says Linda Broome. 2.2 Southwest WA is one of Australia's 15 national biodiversity 'hotspots' and the only biodiversity hotspot located in . Australias South West: A Hotspot for Wildlife nd Plants that Deserve World Heritage Status. Biodiversity Concervation Act 2016. But tell me, without being supercilious, do you have fly spray in your house? 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. 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. But now this almighty raptor, affectionately known as The Red, has become our nations rarest bird of prey. "[But] it's also what's known as 'lags' or 'extinction debt'. Another problem with Australias national parks is that the land they cover is not often intensively managed and this may not be the best way to protect native wildlife. Biodiversity Australia is a team of Environmental Management Consultants who provide specialist environmental management services for the Resources and Infrastructure, Government and Defence Aviation and Residential sectors. We need new strategies, 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. The GER will create opportunities for species to move as climate changes. An estimated 10 million hectares (100,000 sq km . So I think there's fascinating stories and there are important lessons to learn, almost wherever we look in the natural world. ICLEI Cities Biodiversity Center South Tower, Sable Park 14 Bridge Boulevard Century City, Cape Town, 7441 +27 21 202 0381; biodiversity@iclei.org Kenle, Wikicommons, Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus leucocephalus), Lake Joondalup, Perth, Western Australia, Australia, 2012. Image copyright Holly Story, Black Swans (Cygnus atratus), Perth (WA), John Oldham Park, September 2006. RESEARCH INTO THE birds and mammals that pollinate banksias and eucalypts in south-west Western Australia is challenging existing theories on the regions enormous biodiversity. The introduction of new species is also a threat to Australia's biodiversity. Many factors are to blame for biodiversity loss, including wetlands destruction, damming and disruption of waterways, invasive species, exotic wildlife diseases and climate change.We also continue to develop more and more of our nation's terrestrial habitats. The Australian Government promotes the conservation of threatened species and biodiversity through the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions ( DBCA) is the Western Australian government department responsible for managing lands and waters described in the Conservation and Land Management Act 1984, the Rottnest Island Authority Act 1987, the Swan and Canning Rivers Management Act 2006, the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority Using his palaeontology background, Mike has devised a bold and potentially controversial plan to save the species. Everyday, more people need more space, consume more resources and generate more waste as world population continues to grow at an alarming rate. Two-thirds of Australia has lost its unique birdlife.' Biodiversity 1 and human infectious diseases are intricately linked. Students learn about food webs at school. A staggering amount when compared to England, where the land mass is proportionate to the South West but there are only 1500 native vascular plants species and a mere 3% are endemi 2 . One species eats another, each is important. The study clearly linked adequate conservation funding to better species survival, which makes it all the. "The predominant one is landclearing ongoing clearing for habitat. Professor Wintle estimated Australia needs to spend $1.5 billion to $2 billion a year to halt biodiversity decline. Within decades the impact will be felt on the worlds weather with more species likely finding new conditions unbearable. 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. "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. Could these penguin-themed 'icons' become Australia's first heritage-listed rubbish bins? Mining is only 0.2 per cent of that land area, says Mike. 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. Further down the line, if the breeding program is successful, the idea is to release them into lowland rainforests. Western Australia is home to many of these plants and animals and has some of the richest and most unusual biodiversity on Earth, much of which occurs nowhere else and is recognised as being significant at both national and global scales. Australia is one of seven countries responsible for more than half of global biodiversity loss, according to a study published today. This richness underpins all aspects of human life, from food and fresh water to the strength of the global economy. Astronomer Professor Richard de Grijs from Macquarie University explains all the upcoming celestial events visible from Australia this year, and the best datesand times to see them: Make miniature mechanised minions with teeny tiny tools! Two-thirds. New South Wales and Queensland have been particularly bad for that over the past two decades," Professor Brook said. In coming years, Bruce and Mark are likely to fare much better than farmers who have not been making these changes Well still have to adapt to climate change to make a living, Mark says. Rather than rushing to rescue individual species, scientists are using broad-scale solutions to save our wildlife. 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. The Australian Museum respects and acknowledges the Gadigalpeople as the FirstPeoples and Traditional Custodians of the land andwaterways on which theMuseumstands. Biodiversity faces a wide number of threats, including land-use change, habitat loss and fragmentation (e.g. How have population growth, habitat change and introduction of new species affected Australia's biodiversity? 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