The theme of this year’s International Day of Biological Diversity aims to walk the talk – something PlantingSeeds does in abundance. The theme – ‘From Agreement to Action: Build Back Biodiversity – focuses attention on how we can help – beyond the dialogue.
Australia is classed as a ‘megadiverse’ region – along with 17 other countries. It makes up less than 10 per cent of the earth’s surface but supports over 70 pc of the world’s biodiversity.
Many of Australia’s species are endemic, with 85 pc of flowering plants, 85 pc of mammals and 45 pc of birds occurring nowhere else.
Unfortunately, our country is also experiencing high rates of extinction. Following Australia’s colonisation, in the last 230 years various land use practices such as excessive land clearing, unsustainable hunting and the introduction of invasive species have led to the extinction of 50 pc of animals and 60 pc of plants – that we are aware of.
The Rio Earth Summit resulted in the United Nations’ Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1992, which Australia has been party to since 1993. The CBD is a legally binding framework with three objectives: Conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources.
Australia released its Strategy for Nature 2010-2030, with the strategy requiring that all parties must conduct biodiversity assessments and implement long-term biodiversity management plans into any projects involving the disturbance of biodiversity.
Following the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in 2022 and findings from the five-year review, Australia has shifted its focus to updating biodiversity action plans and engaging the public in biodiversity conservation activities.
Biodiversity research has found that Australia has only officially named 25 pc of current species. This leaves a massive gap in our biodiversity data, but also presents great opportunities for citizen science to collaborate with scientists and assist in filling in the missing pieces!
Australia harbours some of the most species-diverse regions on the planet, including the Great Barrier Reef, the Wet Tropics of Queensland, the South-west Australian ecoregion, the Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia and Kakadu National Park!
However, our concept of biodiversity can overlook urban biodiversity, which may not receive the same protection and conservation efforts as other ‘obvious’ biodiverse regions.
This is where conservation activities such as urban greening and habitat creation can help our native species thrive! These practices are at the forefront of what makes up our B&B Highway; a continuously growing habitat corridor project spanning across multiple states of Australia.
To move from Agreement to Action, biodiversity education, conservation activities and citizen science are essential in Building Back Biodiversity.