Think Australia's bushfires killed a lot of animals? Weak environmental laws threaten the lives of more

In a previous life, I obtained an environmental science degree and worked as a fauna ecologist for an environmental consultancy.

Koalas are predicted to be extinct across New South Wales
and Queensland by 2050 according to conservation groups.

On an environmental impact study (EIS) in the rocky jump-up country out of Winton a few years ago, my colleagues and I recorded a healthy population of rock wallabies living in the caves and cliffs where a proposed coal mine was to be built.

Despite being listed as vulnerable under the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, the presence of the animals wasn't a barrier to the project going ahead.

The developers' planned to catch and remove the wallabies they could, and those they couldn't catch were going to be fenced inside the tailings dam where they would most likely die.

This wasn't an unusual scenario.

Every EIS I worked on — for coal, coal-seam gas, gas refinery, bauxite, housing estates, and airport expansion projects — during a three-and-a-bit year period found species listed as vulnerable or endangered.

Read the ABC News story by Nick Kilvert - “Think Australia's bushfires killed a lot of animals? Weak environmental laws threaten the lives of more.”

How English-style drizzle killed the Ice Age’s giants

Wet weather at the end of the last ice age appears to have helped drive the ecosystems of large grazing animals, such as mammoths and giant sloths, extinct across vast swathes of Eurasia and the Americas, according to our new research.

Giant sloths: killed by rainy weather? 

The study, published in Nature Ecology and Evolution today, shows that landscapes in many regions became suddenly wetter between 11,000 and 15,000 years ago, turning grasslands into peat bogs and forest, and ushering in the demise of many megafaunal species.

By examining the bone chemistry of megafauna fossils from Eurasia, North America and South America over the time leading up to the extinction, we found that all three continents experienced the same dramatic increase in moisture. This would have rapidly altered the grassland ecosystems that once covered a third of the globe.

The period after the world thawed from the most recent ice age is already very well studied, thanks largely to the tonnes of animal bones preserved in permafrost. The period is a goldmine for researchers – literally, given that many fossils were first found during gold prospecting operations.

Read the piece on The Conversation - “How English-style drizzle killed the Ice Age’s giants.”

Environment needs billions of dollars more: here’s how to raise the money

Conservation is not cheap, but it is worth it.

Extinction threatens iconic Australian birds and animals. The regent honeyeater, the orange-bellied parrot, and Leadbeater’s possum have all entered the list of critically endangered species.

It is too late for the more than 50 species that are already extinct, including bettongs, various wallabies, and many others. Despite international commitments, policies and projects, Australia’s biodiversity outcomes remain unsatisfactory.

A 2015 review of Australia’s 2010-2050 Biodiversity Conservation Strategy found that it has failed to “effectively guide the efforts of governments, other organisations or individuals”.

Insufficient resourcing is one cause of biodiversity loss. The challenge is impressive. Australia must tackle degradation and fragmentation of habitat, invasive species, unsustainable use of resources, the deterioration of the aquatic environment and water flows, increased fire events, and climate change.

This all requires money to support private landholders conducting conservation activities, to fund research, to manage public lands, and to support other conservation activities conducted by governments, industry, and individuals.

So where can we find the funds?

Read the piece on The Conversation by the Director of the Australian Centre for Agriculture and Law at the University of New England, Paul Martin; a researcher a the Centre for Agriculture and Law from the University of New England, Amy Cosby; and a lecturer in Law from the University of New England, Kip Werren - “Environment needs billions of dollars more: here’s how to raise the money.”

Nearly 100 Australian species threatened by climate change

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early half of 200 Australian species are threatened by climate change, according to our research published today in PLOS ONE.

Climate change is one of the major contributors to global biodiversity loss, and plant and animal species can be affected by climate change in different ways. Some may be directly affected by sea level rise or snow melt, whereas some may lose a pollinator or prey species that they rely on.

Species that cannot move to more suitable habitats, or who have no suitable habitat left, risk becoming extinct. Understanding how each of our species is affected by climate change means we can help them survive it.

Read the story - “Meet the Australian wildlife most threatened by climate change” – on The Conversation.