Australia's biodiversity crisis and the need for the Biodiversity Council

J. Dielenberg; S. Bekessy; G. S. Cumming; A. J. Dean; J. A. Fitzsimons; S. Garnett; T. Goolmeer; L. Hughes; R. T. Kingsford; S. Legge; D. B. Lindenmayer; C. E. Lovelock; R. Lowry; M. Maron; J. Marsh; J. McDonald; N. J. Mitchell; B. J. Moggridge; R. Morgain; P. J. O'Connor; J. Pascoe; G. T. Pecl; H. P. Possingham; E. G. Ritchie; L. D. G. Smith; R. Spindler; R. M. Thompson; J. Trezise; Kate Umbers; J. Woinarski; B. A. Wintle

Australia's biodiversity crisis and the need for the Biodiversity Council

J. Dielenberg, S. Bekessy, G. S. Cumming, A. J. Dean, J. A. Fitzsimons, S. Garnett, T. Goolmeer, L. Hughes, R. T. Kingsford, S. Legge, D. B. Lindenmayer, C. E. Lovelock, R. Lowry, M. Maron, J. Marsh, J. McDonald, N. J. Mitchell, B. J. Moggridge, R. Morgain, P. J. O'ConnorJ. Pascoe, G. T. Pecl, H. P. Possingham, E. G. Ritchie, L. D. G. Smith, R. Spindler, R. M. Thompson, J. Trezise, Kate Umbers, J. Woinarski, B. A. Wintle

Western Sydney University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Australia is a mega-biodiverse region. Millions of years of geographical isolation have resulted in high species diversity and endemism. So far, >21 000 species of plants, 8000 species of vertebrates, and 110 000 species of insects and other invertebrates have been described (Chapman 2009). An exceptionally high percentage are endemic; 93% of flowering plants, >80% of invertebrates, 87% of mammals, 93% of reptiles, 94% of frogs, 74% of freshwater fishes and >50% of temperate marine fishes in Australia are found nowhere else (Lintermans 2013; Cresswell & Murphy 2017). Since European colonisation, Australia's rich biodiversity has been in rapid decline. This decline has been driven by habitat destruction and fragmentation due to land clearing for agriculture and urbanisation; the introduction of invasive plants, animals, and diseases; the disruption of First Peoples practices in caring for Country, including fire management; and the extraction of water including the modification and regulation of freshwater ecosystems. These pressures are now being exacerbated by climate change.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	69-74
Number of pages	6
Journal	Ecological Management and Restoration
Volume	24
Issue number	2-3
Publication status	Published - 1 May 2023

Open Access - Access Right Statement

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.

Keywords

threatened species
biodiversity conservation
communication
populations and communities
legislation
policy

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Cite this

Dielenberg, J., Bekessy, S., Cumming, G. S., Dean, A. J., Fitzsimons, J. A., Garnett, S., Goolmeer, T., Hughes, L., Kingsford, R. T., Legge, S., Lindenmayer, D. B., Lovelock, C. E., Lowry, R., Maron, M., Marsh, J., McDonald, J., Mitchell, N. J., Moggridge, B. J., Morgain, R., ... Wintle, B. A. (2023). Australia's biodiversity crisis and the need for the Biodiversity Council. Ecological Management and Restoration, 24(2-3), 69-74.

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title = "Australia's biodiversity crisis and the need for the Biodiversity Council",

abstract = "Australia is a mega-biodiverse region. Millions of years of geographical isolation have resulted in high species diversity and endemism. So far, >21 000 species of plants, 8000 species of vertebrates, and 110 000 species of insects and other invertebrates have been described (Chapman 2009). An exceptionally high percentage are endemic; 93% of flowering plants, >80% of invertebrates, 87% of mammals, 93% of reptiles, 94% of frogs, 74% of freshwater fishes and >50% of temperate marine fishes in Australia are found nowhere else (Lintermans 2013; Cresswell & Murphy 2017). Since European colonisation, Australia's rich biodiversity has been in rapid decline. This decline has been driven by habitat destruction and fragmentation due to land clearing for agriculture and urbanisation; the introduction of invasive plants, animals, and diseases; the disruption of First Peoples practices in caring for Country, including fire management; and the extraction of water including the modification and regulation of freshwater ecosystems. These pressures are now being exacerbated by climate change.",

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Dielenberg, J, Bekessy, S, Cumming, GS, Dean, AJ, Fitzsimons, JA, Garnett, S, Goolmeer, T, Hughes, L, Kingsford, RT, Legge, S, Lindenmayer, DB, Lovelock, CE, Lowry, R, Maron, M, Marsh, J, McDonald, J, Mitchell, NJ, Moggridge, BJ, Morgain, R, O'Connor, PJ, Pascoe, J, Pecl, GT, Possingham, HP, Ritchie, EG, Smith, LDG, Spindler, R, Thompson, RM, Trezise, J, Umbers, K, Woinarski, J & Wintle, BA 2023, 'Australia's biodiversity crisis and the need for the Biodiversity Council', Ecological Management and Restoration, vol. 24, no. 2-3, pp. 69-74.

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KW - communication

KW - populations and communities

KW - legislation

KW - policy

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ER -

Australia's biodiversity crisis and the need for the Biodiversity Council

Abstract

Open Access - Access Right Statement

Keywords

UN SDGs

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