Search

The Nature Repair Bill has been passed by the Federal Parliament in Australia, creating a "nature repair market" that aims to protect and restore biodiversity. The bill excludes biodiversity offsets, which have been found to lead to net biodiversity loss, and expands the scope of the "water trigger" under national environmental law. The Biodiversity Council has welcomed the legislation but emphasizes the need for rigorous rules and standards, as well as ensuring the involvement of First Nations organizations and communities. Critics have raised concerns about the potential reliance on offsets and the need for sufficient funding for nature repair. The bill is seen as a step in the right direction, but there are still uncertainties and challenges to be addressed in implementing the market. [Extracted from the article]

Australia has been identified as the country with the highest proportion of unique plant species on earth, with almost 9 in 10 Australian plant species being endemic. However, a report released at a global meeting of plant conservation experts highlights that Australia needs to do more to prevent the decline and extinction of its unique plants. The report states that only 39% of Australia's unique plant species have had their threats and conservation status assessed, compared to 87% in New Zealand and South Africa. The conservation of plants is crucial for maintaining functioning ecosystems and habitat for many species, and Australia needs to commit more resources to protect its unique biodiversity. [Extracted from the article]

FEATURES THE Biodiversity Council has assessed the May 2023 Federal Budget as making some small and important steps towards better protecting nature, but "overall is grossly inadequate to halt biodiversity declines and recover nature". Biodiversity Council member Rachel Lowry, from WWF Australia, said there appeared to be little additional money for on-ground conservation action despite large, rapid and well documented declines in Australia's threatened species. The Biodiversity Council brings together leading experts, including Indigenous knowledge holders, to raise awareness of Australia's biodiversity crisis and to promote evidence-based solutions. [Extracted from the article]

FEATURES NEW RESEARCH published in Austral Entomology has identified the top 26 Australian butterfly species and subspecies at greatest risk of extinction within the next 20 years. Many caterpillars of the small bronze azure are tended by one species of sugar ant (Camponotus terebrans) and the ants are rewarded by a sugary secretion produced by the caterpillars. Australian fritillary the most at risk Australia's most imperilled butterfly is the Australian fritillary (Argynnis hyperbius inconstans) from the east coast. [Extracted from the article]

FEATURES GLO:wau/01dec21:42n1.jpg PHOTO (COLOR): The beautiful nursery frog is restricted to a mountain peak in the Daintree Rainforest of north Queensland. Our frogs in greatest peril The study found that four species are likely to already be extinct: Queensland's northern gastric-brooding frog, mountain mist frog and northern tinker frog, and the yellow-spotted tree frog from the Australian Alps. Another four species are hanging on in the wild but are likely to be extinct by 2040 unless there is effective new action to save them: the southern corroboree frog and Baw Baw frog in the Australian Alps, and the Kroombit tinker frog and armoured mist frog in Queensland. [Extracted from the article]