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https://theconversation.com/fully-recovering-australias-threatened-species-would-cost-25-of-gdp-we-cant-do-it-all-at-once-so-lets-start-here-245669>
"Australia has already lost at least 100 species since European colonisation.
Across land and freshwater habitats, 1,657 species are currently threatened
with the same fate. Their populations have fallen 2-3% every year over the last
quarter century.
The accelerating loss of species is one of the greatest environmental
challenges of our time. Losing biodiversity threatens cultural values, economic
stability and society’s wellbeing.
Like many nations, Australia has pledged to stem these losses. We have signed
international commitments to restore nature and halt species extinctions.
These are noble and necessary goals. But at present, we lack an understanding
of the sheer size, range of options – and expense of the challenge.
In our new research, we estimate the costs of bringing Australia’s threatened
species back to their potential ranges. Rather than being limited by current
spend on conservation, we calculated what it would cost to fully recover
Australia’s threatened species across their viable range.
Our cost models are designed to also be used at different resolutions and
scales, from small urban parks up to landscape scale. We found the costs vary
greatly, from very low to more than A$12,600 per hectare for areas where
intensive efforts such as habitat restoration through tree planting and weed
removal would benefit species.
To undo all the human-induced damage and bring nature roaring back across their
viable continental range would come with a staggering cost – A$583 billion per
year, every year, for at least 30 years. That’s 25% of our GDP.
This, obviously, is infeasible. But it shows the extent of 200 years of human
impacts on nature in Australia.
Importantly, it is a cautionary tale for what further damage will cost to
repair. And – more positively – it gives us a way to cost and plan for species
recovery at local or regional levels."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
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mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
