Launching the plan at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia’s Minister for the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek said the Labor government had a “very ambitious target” to conserve more than 30% of Australia’s land mass by 2030.
“We’re talking about an extra 50 million hectares (about 124,000 acres) of landscape that we need to find and to manage in a way that protects the landscape and the species that depend on it,” Plibersek said.
The new plan identifies 20 places and 110 species that will become the focus of conservation efforts.
The government says the priority species were selected based on several factors, including their uniqueness and risk of extinction, while the priority places represent a “broad range of Australian landscapes and ecosystems.” The areas include the forests of Far North Queensland, Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory, and Kangaroo Island in South Australia.
“By focusing in on these species and these places, we have the biggest chance of success,” Plibersek said.
The World Wildlife Fund Australia’s Chief Conservation Officer, Rachel Lowry, applauded the government’s commitment to Australia’s threatened species but said the plan should go further.
It’s unclear how it will help our other ‘non priority’ threatened species such as our endangered greater glider for example,” Lowry said in a statement
The plan also includes continued emphasis on “actions that can most benefit threatened species,” such as minimizing the impact of threats like feral cats and foxes, getting the community involved in and leading recovery efforts, and helping priority species adapt to climate change so they ultimately become more resilient