km) to about 15 per cent (1,250,000sq. It does have its place in communicating the role of different aspects of nature, the right to wrongs of different environmental management settings, for example. Image copyright Holly Story, Black Swans (Cygnus atratus), Perth (WA), John Oldham Park, September 2006. Conservation efforts need to be coordinated so together they produce the best chances for the survival of plants and animals which have evolved for specific ecological conditions and have little tolerance when those conditions are altered. Western Australia; Business Show subsections. L-R: Sonya Sawtell-Rickson, CIO, Hesta; Adrian Ward, CEO, Accounting for Nature; Andrew Saunders, head of natural climate solutions, QIC. Come and explore what our researchers, curators and education programs have to offer. Retrieved from The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/australias-south-west-a-hotspot-for-wildlife-and-plants-that-deserves-world-heritage-status-54885. Between 7 and 10% of all species on Earth are located in Australia, with 85% of Australia's plant species endemic to the continent. 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. The UN global assessment report painted a stark picture: the decline of the world's natural support systems means that human society is in danger.. The excitement doesnt last long, though; a few camera flashes reveal the eyes belong to a common ringtail possum. The State of Dieback. 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. "I knew there were a lot of threatened species in Australia, but I didn't realise things were getting worse so quickly.". [It] also supports a lot of wildlifeand there are a lot of resources there, says Nigel. Land and natural resource use practices have also left a legacy of problems that have set in train a number of degrading processes which continue to impact on biodiversity. This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced. This richness underpins all aspects of human life, from food and fresh water to the strength of the global economy. Join us, volunteer and be a part of our journey of discovery! They identified key pressures on biodiversity loss to be agricultural development and increasing population. We overharvest resources which reduces both population sizes and genetic diversity of commercial species, such as fish. White Spider Orchid Lower Swamp (Frog Swamp) North Lake Reserve 2014 The Australian Museum respects and acknowledges the Gadigalpeople as the FirstPeoples and Traditional Custodians of the land andwaterways on which theMuseumstands. Conservation, D. o. Australia is the only western country to have large areas of rainforest intact. One species eats another, each is important. The kids are terrified of them. You develop ownership of these little gliders. 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". Recent reports and studies have . The Nature Positive Business Pledge, a new framework designed to support businesses to act on biodiversity loss and contribute towards nature restoration has launched today, with the support of major organisations in the infrastructure, transport, utilities and construction sectors.. Australia is one of seven countries responsible for more than half of global biodiversity loss, according to a study published today. 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. Discover what they reveal about the history of Earth and our solar system and what makes them so essential to our existence. This has led to habitat change through land clearing and urbanisation, hunting . 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. Iain Gordon, a biodiversity expert with the CSIRO in Townsville, says land quality is as important as quantity. 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. Its a legacy.. 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. 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. Its a refuge where family and friends can come and connect with the environment, says Marcia. Get incredible stories of extraordinary wildlife, enlightening discoveries and stunning destinations, delivered to your inbox. In terms of bang for the buck, we get the most results for the least effort by conserving this corridor, Ian says. When one is communicating to others or when one is trying to work out the worth of different species, I think we start to fall into really difficult territory. Farms are often overlooked for biodiversity priority, but its these areas that birds are coming to because theres a more reliable nectar source herea lot of the threatened species live in these areas., Yellow-box grassy woodland, a threatened habitat type found on the Lynchs farm, has been extensively cleared in the south-east because it occurs on fertile soils. So we are certainly facing enormous challenges, but I am also optimistic, I do see strong responses to that, both at governmental level but really driven by a groundswell of change, and I think that connection between people and nature is really fundamental, and enhancing that connection enables us to articulate more clearly and argue more persuasively for change at the highest level. While private conservation partners, such as Bush Heritage and the NCT, are buying up properties to fill some gaps, other gaps can be plugged by bringing communities of private landholders on board. The greatest threat to biodiversity is the size and rate of growth of human population. Minerals are the building blocks of our planet. The GER will create opportunities for species to move as climate changes. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. This equates to retaining natural . 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). A genial Aussie with an American accent, Mike gesticulates as he meanders from one fascinating topic to another. ABN 18 602 180 512, Office: Lower Ground Floor, 3 Richardson Street, West Perth WA 6005 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 This adds to the threat to biodiversity which has already been placed under stress by other human activities. The Ministerial Guidelines provide further details on the criteria and procedures that apply. He said that spending on conservation is worthwhile when it involves preserving habitat or targeting pests. The habitat loss is so great that it will cause more extinctions than any other factor, the study notes, particularly when coupled with other deleterious effects of livestock production, including climate change and pollution. Everywhere weve found fossils of these species of miniature possums its always been in lowland rainforest in Central Australia and the Simpson Desert it was there in scrubby lowland rainforest. Robyn Williams: Richard Fuller is Professor of Biology at the University of Queensland. Western Australia; Travel Videos; Entertainment. Home News Biodiversity hotspot in WA explained. We missed [understanding] this here and thats why small mammals have been going extinct in northern Australia. Mining is only 0.2 per cent of that land area, says Mike. Vaping, or using electronic cigarettes, not only pollutes the surrounding air, it also creates a new contaminated e-waste stream. Pollution: Garbage dumped into the water supply, chemical runoff from industrial applications, and air pollution from cars and factories all have a negative effect. Australian Geographic acknowledges the First Nations people of Australia as traditional custodians, and pay our respects to Elders past and present, and their stories and journeys that have lead us to where we are today. Take a look at what some of our readers had to say about Australia's biodiversity loss. Environmentally sustainable farming makes Australian farms more productive and, in fact, more profitable, says Brett Heffernan, a spokesperson for the National Farmers Federation. When we go away, theres such a beautiful feeling when we come back herethe smells and fragrances at different times of year, or when its wet it helps you get grounded and get rid of some of the stress of the city, Wayne says as we watch a horse cantering across a paddock far below. 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. For millennia, humans have been reshaping ecosystems, directly . Southwest Australia is recognised as one of the worlds 35 recognised biodiversity hotspots. Human population growth is reducing biodiversity in the following ways: Many ecosystems have been lost during the past 200 years. Mark lived overseas for five years and found his way from London and Paris to the base camp of Mt Everest. 200, pp. This has led to habitat change through land clearing and urbanisation, hunting and exploitation. 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. Some scientists believe that we are now witnessing the sixth mass extinction, the only mass extinction to be caused by a single species - humans. "Modest recovery of biodiversity in a western European country: The Living Planet Index for the Netherlands", Biological Conservation, Vol. Its clear that conventional conservation is not working and not lasting.. The main factor in the loss of biodiversity is the increased rate of population growth. That's a kind of fundamental underpinning for my own basis here. 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. In the early days the settlers would have been targeting sections of the landscape that had yellow box to clear for pasture.. Celebrity Life. 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. We hope that we are leading by example in the way that we are managing it.. Our efforts to protect individual threatened species seem to be going backwards, he says. Biodiversity loss disrupts many ecosystem processes, such as community structure and interactions, and can cause ecosystem malfunctioning, ranging from reduced biomass productivity to weakening ecosystem resilience (1, 2).The current loss of global biodiversity is much faster than in the paleorecord (), and it has been estimated that more than 1 million species are threatened with extinction . Biodiversity is the diversity of species, ecosystems and genes on earth. Bold, new interventionist ideas are needed to save Australias biodiversity. Twenty-five kilometres north-west of the Murray River, the farm is near Albury, NSW. 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. 2.2 Southwest WA is one of Australia's 15 national biodiversity 'hotspots' and the only biodiversity hotspot located in . Australian Geographic acknowledges the First Nations people of Australia as traditional custodians, and pay our respects to Elders past and present, and their stories and journeys that have lead us to where we are today. 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. Richard Fuller: Yes, I would completely agree, and of course I think the former two are the driver of the third, in a sense. Get incredible stories of extraordinary wildlife, enlightening discoveries and stunning destinations, delivered to your inbox. Deforestation and forest fragmentation have an adverse effect on the biodiversity of animals and plants. There is no question that charismatic biodiversity is a great communicator to the public at large about the beauty and the wonder, but I think it's incredible when you start to tell stories of some of our more obscure species on this planet and reveal those stories and tell them in a compelling way, as E. O. Wilson did, for example, with ants, it could really put those things on the map and could really excite people's interest. RESEARCH INTO THE birds and mammals that pollinate banksias and eucalypts in south-west Western Australia is challenging existing theories on the region's enormous biodiversity. Bruce Lynchs farm, 150km to the south-west, is also part of the Slopes to Summit region and offers a great example of how adjoining habitat patches can be combined for a better conservation result. Both State and Commonwealth regimes apply the mitigation hierarchy (Australian Government, 2012; The Government of Western Australia, 2011). Red Sea and northern Australia. Donate. Richard Fuller: You're welcome, thank you. 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. A key part of their approach has been to plant silver wattles and other trees that provide important habitat for gliders and threatened species such as migratory swift parrots, known to visit a neighbouring property. Minister backs down in fight to keep WA live sheep exports afloat. Perths wetlands directly or indirectly support most of its wildlife. live, learn and work. 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] challenge is not to prognosticate about the height of the piles of dead species that will litter the wayside of the future if we stick with current strategies. Other, bolder, more aggressive ideas such as relocating species outside their known ranges and co-opting alien species to help battle native declines come from left field. Species may find they have no escape routes as temperatures rise, pushing them out of their comfort zones.