On October 6th, Australian officials announced that they are going to preserve 30% of their landmass as a part of a program called the Threatened Species Action Plan: Towards Zero Extinctions. 110 species and 20 places will be prioritized and the plan will make sure help is provided where it’s the most needed.
Australia is one of the most biologically diverse places on earth and the continent’s mammals in particular can’t be found anywhere else on this planet.
“The Threatened Species Action Plan strengthens our commitment to stopping the extinction of Australia’s plants and animals,” said Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to Good News Network. “Based on input from researchers and experts from the community, this plan identifies 20 priority places and 110 priority species and will guide recovery actions that will benefit a broad range of threatened species and their habitats.”
146 million US dollars in total will fund this project which has created 20 listings of species and 3 of ecosystems from the nation’s threatened list that will be top priority. 50 million hectares are expected to be provided for and the plan also mandates a five-year review.
Australian conservationists have had great success with certain goals, for example restoration of ecosystems like the one on Macquarie Island, recently.
Environmentally sensitive areas are returned to indigenous hands to be managed as national parks in the far northern part of Queensland. Around 4.7 million hectares have so far been handed back to indigenous people.
To be able to make a brighter future come sooner we must take care of our nature and its inhabitants – just like Australia is planning on doing.
