<
https://theconversation.com/half-the-remaining-habitat-of-australias-most-at-risk-species-is-outside-protected-areas-256818>
"More and more Australian species are being listed as critically endangered –
the final stage before extinction in the wild. Hundreds of species of plants
and animals are now at this point.
For a species to be critically endangered, it is on death’s door. Its numbers
must have shrunk alarmingly and its outlook is bleak. Why? One common reason is
habitat loss. If we convert bushland or swamps into farmland or suburbs, we
reduce how much space species have to survive.
Our new research examines how much habitat is left for 305 of Australia’s
critically endangered species – more than 70% of the total. Alarmingly, we
found almost half the remaining habitat is outside the protected area estate.
That means the last remaining areas where these species are clinging on could
very easily be cleared.
The good news? We now know exactly which areas most need to be safeguarded. If
we protected an extra 0.5% of Australia’s land mass, we could slash the risk to
hundreds of species approaching the point of no return. This is a relatively
small amount compared to the 22.5% of Australia that already has some form of
protection. The Australian government has committed to increasing this to 30%
by 2030."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
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
