Biodiversity Risk in Australia
The Wilderness Society Australia
Life. Support. We work to support the living world that makes all life possible.
Australia is big on biodiversity. So much land, so much unique wildlife. Much of Australia’s wildlife is found nowhere else on Earth. The island continent holds over 10% of the world's biodiversity.
Australia’s forests and bushlands have uniquely evolved due to the continent’s geology and ancient soils. Species have evolved together in relative isolation across global and local shifts in climate tending towards increasing dryness over millenia.
This has produced eucalyptus, acacias, melaleucas, casuarinas, callitris, mangroves, and a suite of rainforest and grassland species; many of which are uniquely Australian. Likewise, much of the wildlife that depend on and are part of these ecosystems are known only to Australia. The koala, kangaroo, quoll, wombat, numbat, lyrebird and emu to name a few.
But it is being trashed at an astounding rate.
The figures are daunting.
We've managed to wipe out 50% of the continent's forest and bushland in just 200 years of colonisation. Australia is number 1 for mammal extinctions in the whole world (Brazil, Haiti are not even close). Plus we are No. 2 for biodiversity loss just behind Indonesia.
Our deforestation front is the worst in the developed world, ranking alongside the Amazon, the Congo and Borneo. Machinery drags through the landscape, snapping trees like matchsticks, killing countless animals, destroying their homes. While the erosion from deforestation is also clogging our waterways and smothering one of the wonders of the world, the Great Barrier Reef.
This happens as our Reef bleaches and dies from overheating and many other ecosystems suffer from a now rapidly changing climate. Yet Australia continues to dig up, ship out and burn the key sources of the problem — coal, gas and oil.
First Nations people were custodians of the land for tens of thousands of years, and in just 200 years of colonisation, we've driven 55 wildlife species and 37 plants to extinction. Everything from the Christmas Island pipistrelle (a small bat) to the iconic Tasmanian tiger.
We live in a truly special country. But our nature laws and government regulations are failing to halt deforestation. Meaning unique habitats and species are hurtling toward extinction. Even the Koala is now at risk.
While the world is focused on Brazil, the Congo or Indonesia - Australia is dragging the chain (literally).
On 28 January 2021, Australia’s Federal Environment Minister released a long-awaited report of the Independent Review of Australia’s environment laws by Professor Graeme Samuel AC.
‘Australia’s natural environment and iconic places are in an overall state of decline and are under increasing threat’ — Professor Graeme Samuel AC
The Independent Review shows that the system of environment laws in Australia is broken and only fundamental reform of our national environment laws will turn around Australia’s extinction crisis and safeguard our iconic natural and cultural heritage. And what has the government done in response? Continued to push for further weakening of the laws by passing the responsibility onto the state governments.
If Australian laws aren't working - do you know you're not part of the problem? When they start tallying up the losses will your company be responsible? Can you trust the Australian government to save the koala? Protect the world's largest flowering trees? Protect our exports from facing sanctions and penalties?