<p><em>Editor’s note: News about conservation and the environment is made every day, but some of it can fly under the radar. In a recurring feature, Conservation News shares a recent news story that you should know about.</em></p><p>Australia has lost more mammals to extinction than <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/05/world/australia/species-extinction.html"></a><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/05/world/australia/species-extinction.html" target="_blank">any other continent</a>.</p><p>That bleak statistic is behind the country’s new strategy to protect 110 species over the next decade — and squash its reputation as “the mammal extinction capital of the world,” <a href="https://minister.dcceew.gov.au/plibersek/media-releases/minister-launches-threatened-species-action-plan-toward-zero-extinctions"></a><a href="https://minister.dcceew.gov.au/plibersek/media-releases/minister-launches-threatened-species-action-plan-toward-zero-extinctions" target="_blank">according to</a> Australia’s Environment and Water Minister, Tanya Plibersek.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/biodiversity/threatened/action-plan"></a><a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/biodiversity/threatened/action-plan" target="_blank">Threatened Species Action Plan</a> aims to prevent new extinctions; it comes on the heels of a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/19/world/australia/environment-report.html"></a><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/19/world/australia/environment-report.html" target="_blank">five-year survey</a> that found Australia’s wildlife and ecosystems face a much greater challenge from climate change than previously thought. The 2019-2020 bushfires alone, which were <a href="https://time.com/5759964/australian-bushfires-climate-change/"></a><a href="https://time.com/5759964/australian-bushfires-climate-change/" target="_blank">exacerbated by climate change</a>,
are responsible for the deaths and displacements of <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-53549936"></a><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-53549936" target="_blank">billions of animals</a>.</p><p>While some conservationists are encouraged by the plan’s commitments, it has raised questions about what species are worth protecting in a high-stakes situation, <a href="https://twitter.com/_LisaMCox"></a><a href="https://twitter.com/_LisaMCox" target="_blank">Lisa Cox</a> reported for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/04/australia-announces-plan-to-halt-extinction-crisis-and-save-110-species"></a><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/04/australia-announces-plan-to-halt-extinction-crisis-and-save-110-species" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>.</p><p>In identifying just 110 priority species out of the nearly 2,000 listed as threatened in the country, critics say the strategy picks “winners” — such as the koala, the brush-tailed rock wallaby and the Australian sea lion.</p><p>They warn the plan doesn’t go far enough in addressing the underlying causes of Australia’s environmental decline — land clearing, invasive species and the continued <a href="https://www.oecd.org/environment/australia-needs-to-intensify-efforts-to-meet-its-2030-emissions-goal.htm"></a><a href="https://www.oecd.org/environment/australia-needs-to-intensify-efforts-to-meet-its-2030-emissions-goal.htm" target="_blank">reliance on fossil fuels</a> — and falls short of investments needed to combat the biodiversity and extinction crisis, including new environmental laws and more funding.</p><p>Australia spends about around 7 percent of the targeted 1.6 billion Australian dollars ($1 billion) per year required to halt species loss and recover nationally listed threatened species, according to <a href="https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/news/43943-fail–our-report-card-on-the-government%27s-handling-of-australia%27s-extinction-crisis"></a><a href="https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/news/43943-fail–our-report-card-on-the-government%27s-handling-of-australia%27s-extinction-crisis" target="_blank">economic analyses</a>.</p><p>Australian authorities say prioritizing certain species doesn’t equate to ignoring others. Rather, the priority species are key to entire ecosystems.</p><p>“And if we focus on those species, we create a kind of halo effect for the whole ecosystem the plant or animal is part of,” Plibersek <a href="https://minister.dcceew.gov.au/plibersek/transcripts/interview-patricia-karvelas-abc-radio-national"></a><a href="https://minister.dcceew.gov.au/plibersek/transcripts/interview-patricia-karvelas-abc-radio-national" target="_blank">told</a> the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Radio National.</p><p>While it’s the first time Australia has set a zero-extinction target, the plan builds on the country’s commitment to protect <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jul/19/tanya-plibersek-pledges-new-environment-laws-to-end-years-of-wilful-neglect-by-coalition"></a><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jul/19/tanya-plibersek-pledges-new-environment-laws-to-end-years-of-wilful-neglect-by-coalition" target="_blank">30 percent of its land and sea</a> by 2030 — up from the current 22 percent that’s protected.</p><p>The Threatened Species Action Plan includes protecting 50 million hectares (123 million acres) of land and sea by 2027. And there’s plenty of research showing that well-managed protected areas are a powerful tool for conserving wildlife.</p><p>A recent <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/conl.12865"></a><a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/conl.12865" target="_blank">study</a>, which Conservation International contributed to, examined mammal diversity in protected and non-protected areas — and found that diversity in protected
areas outperformed non-protected areas by 66 percent.</p><p>Another <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ecog.05166"></a><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ecog.05166" target="_blank">study</a> led by Lee Hannah, Conservation International’s senior climate change scientist, found that limiting temperature increase to 2 degrees Celsius while conserving
30 percent of tropical lands could cut species extinction risk in half. </p><p>And protecting land “isn’t just about creating national parks or protected areas (although that’s a good start for many places),” Hannah <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/study-protecting-tropics-could-save-half-of-species-on-brink"></a><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/study-protecting-tropics-could-save-half-of-species-on-brink">told Conservation News</a>.
“There is a whole suite of possible conservation tools that a government can implement to protect biodiversity while benefiting from the land, including community conservancies, Indigenous-managed conservation areas and land-use zoning.”</p><p>“The most important thing to do is figure out which conservation system is the best option for a local setting based on social environments, land uses, development needs, the species you are trying to protect and more,” he added. </p><ul><li>Further reading: <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/study-protecting-tropics-could-save-half-of-species-on-brink"></a><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/study-protecting-tropics-could-save-half-of-species-on-brink">Study: Protecting tropics could save half of species on brink</a></li></ul>
<p>Read the full story <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/04/australia-announces-plan-to-halt-extinction-crisis-and-save-110-species"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/04/australia-announces-plan-to-halt-extinction-crisis-and-save-110-species" target="_blank">here</a></a>.</p>
<p><em>Mary Kate McCoy is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.</em></p>
