Minister for the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek has today released the Threatened Species Action Plan: Towards Zero Extinctions. This Plan sets out a pathway for threatened species conservation and recovery over the next 10 years.
The need for action to protect our plants, animals and ecosystems from extinction has never been greater. This was highlighted in the State of the Environment Report.
The Action Plan has ambitious targets, which include preventing any new extinctions of plants and animals, and protecting and conserving at least 30% of Australia’s land mass.
By prioritising 110 species and 20 places, the Plan will drive action where it is needed most and will deliver flow-on benefits to other threatened plants and animals in the same habitats.
The government is committed to protecting threatened species and is spending $224.5 million on the Saving Native Species program to boost outcomes for threatened native plants and animals.
The priority species and places have been identified by independent scientists who applied prioritisation principles, including risk of extinction, multiple benefits, and uniqueness.
The Minister today also announced listing decisions for 20 threatened species and 3 threatened ecological communities.
Fifteen species and three ecological communities have been added to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act list of threatened species. Four species have been upgraded to a higher threat category, while one species will retain its current threat category.
A comprehensive statutory Conservation Advice is now in place to guide protection for all the species and communities listed.
Many of these species were very badly affected by the recent Black Summer Bushfires.
These listings show us that the previous approach has not been working. The previous government had their head in the sand about the crisis in our environment. The launch of the Action Plan will set us on a stronger path for the future.
