BIODIVERSITY IS VITAL TO NATURE, BUT WHAT IS IT?

This year, leaders from around the world will be coming together to agree to a new set of goals for nature. The UN conference, known as COP15 or Biodiversity COP is an opportunity for countries to come together and agree to a plan to set nature in recovery, aiming for a nature-positive world by 2030.

Australia is known for its wild places and unique wildlife - many found nowhere else in the world. We have a critical opportunity to put Australian wildlife on the agenda at COP15. Help us protect and restore nature by adding your name to to urge leaders around the world to protect biodiversity.

What is biodiversity?

Biodiversity is the collection of all the different types of life found in any one area. It is the trees and grass that grow there, the animals that call them home and even the microorganisms, like bacteria, that live on the plants and animals. Biodiversity is all these things living together to create an ecosystem, which allows life to thrive. And every part of it is essential.

Australian biodiversity

Here, in Australia, scientists have identified more than 1.75 million species of plant, animal and microorganism, and the odds are, there are many more, as yet unidentified life forms, living among us. Australia’s biodiversity is unlike any other in the world, with 46% of our birds and 69% of our mammals unique to this country. Have you ever seen an American koala? Neither have we.

Biodiversity is important for our continued existence.

Biodiversity creates balance, and every life form plays a part in maintaining that balance. If we lose the bacteria that purify water, the trees won’t be able to get the water they need, and as a result, many animals will lose their food source. And it’s not just the animals that require biodiversity to survive. As humans, we rely on this rich variety of nature for things like clean drinking water, food, medicine and shelter. A functioning ecosystem also helps to break down waste and regulate the climate. Put simply, life without biodiversity isn’t much of a life at all.

Our biodiversity is under threat.

Human progress has pushed our biodiversity to the brink. As human populations continue to grow, we put increasing pressure on plants, through landclearing, pollution, overexploitation of resources, human-induced climate change and the introduction of foreign species to our delicately balanced ecosystem. As a result, species extinction has increased by between 1,000 and 10,000 times the natural rate worldwide.

In Australia, we’ve already lost the Tasmanian tiger, as well as numerous bird, and other marsupial species. Currently, under the EPBC (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation) Act, there are 89 animal species listed as Critically Endangered and a further 188 species listed as Endangered.

We’re record holders!

Throughout Australia, our iconic ecosystems are collapsing, including the Great Barrier Reef and the Murray Darling Basin, and we are looking to lose a great deal of crucial biodiversity as a result. Things are so bad right now that Australia holds the record for the worst mammal extinction rate in the world. Not really a record to be proud of.

The United Nations Biodiversity COP

This year, the United Nations will hold the Biodiversity COP where they’ll make once-in-a-decade decisions that will be critical for our global climate and environment. Our leaders need to take this opportunity to provide stronger protections for biodiversity by committing to protecting 30% of Australia’s land and 30% of Australia’s oceans by 2030. They need to increase investment in Indigenous Protected Areas, and announce a plan for zero human-induced wildlife extinctions. It might sound like a lot, but a lot is what we need right now.

But what does this mean?

By protecting 30% of both our lands and oceans by 2030, we need them to be ecologically representative, well-connected and effectively and equitably managed. These areas need to be carefully chosen and monitored closely to ensure our leaders deliver on their goals and our expectations. It’s not enough to just say they’re protected. We also need to strengthen and improve Australia’s environmental laws, including establishing an Independent Environment Protection Authority to enforce Australia’s nature laws. This will help protect countless Australian species.

We need to stop the loss

Stopping biodiversity loss is possible, but it requires action, and we are running out of time to take that action, and in doing so, hopefully, stem the decline of the natural world. If we’re going to reverse biodiversity loss and protect our wildlife, governments need to take action to protect and restore habitats and address drivers of natural loss. It might seem difficult, but if we don’t act soon, we may be too late.

How can you help?

Australia’s wildlife, wild places and plants wouldn’t be the marvel it is without our unique biodiversity. But climate change, habitat loss and invasive species are threatening the survival of ecosystems and species around the world. Nature and wildlife need urgent protection, and you can make a difference.

With your help, we’re calling on leaders around the world to commit to ambitious goals so we can reverse nature loss by 2030. Add your name today and help to protect nature in Australia and around the world.