The pace at which the Australian government is approving the destruction of habitat relied on by threatened species has increased in recent years, despite scientists warning of an escalating extinction crisis, according to an environment group analysis.
The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) compiled publicly available information on federal decisions that gave the green light to developments that involved clearing of forests and other areas relied on by threatened species.
It found levelling of more than 200,000 hectares of threatened species habitat an area larger than Queenslands Fraser Island (Kgari), or more than 100,000 Melbourne Cricket Grounds was approved over the decade to the end of 2021. In the five years between 2016 and 2017, more than half (120,000 hectares of that total) was approved.
ACF discovered that almost three-quarters (74%) of the clearings approved by national environment laws were for new or expanded mining developments. The most affected species was a koala. In February, it was listed as threatened in New South Wales, Queensland, and the ACT.
The foundation discovered that more than 25,000 hectares had been cleared for koala habitat. One mine, the Olive Downs metallurgical comine in central Queensland, was allowed to be cleared. A fifth of this was done to make room for a $175m federal loan.
Other significantly affected threatened species included the critically endangered swift parrot, the greater glider (7,400 hectares), the forest red-tailed black cockatoo (1,800 hectares) and the spot-tailed quoll (1,200 hectares).
Jess Abrahams is a national nature campaigner for ACF. She said the investigation exposed the cumulative effects of federal government decisions made in isolated instances. She stated that it revealed that the commonwealth was contributing to extinction rather then protecting endangered native animals.
Abrahams said federal data gave only a partial picture of land clearing across the country as two major industries agriculture and native forest logging were rarely assessed under national laws. Under forestry deals between Canberra and states, logging is effectively exempted under the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
Abrahams stated that if we value Australia’s unique wildlife and plants, we must do more for them. This means stronger environment laws that prevent habitat destruction as revealed by this research, more funding, and specific plans for endangered species recovery.
Sussan Lee, spokesperson for the federal environment ministry, stated that the ACF analysis focused on one aspect only and did not consider offset requirements to protect threatened animals or how much cleared had actually occurred.
According to the spokesperson, $128.5 million was announced last week to support environmental law reform. It would allow for better management of the cumulative effects of developments in certain areas by shifting from project-specific to regional-level assessment. They stated that it would also cover a review of national offset strategy and improvements to data about threatened species.
Terri Butler, the opposition’s environment spokesperson, did not respond before publication.
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Megan Evans is a lecturer and research fellow at University of New South Wales in Canberra. She said the results of this investigation were not surprising.
Evans claimed that there was no central record by the federal government of the extent of threatened species habitat remaining. Officials relied almost entirely upon information provided by developers to assess proposals. She stated that development were routinely approved with the promise of offsets to limit their impact on the environment.
There is not a centralised database with protected habitat data and offsets. She stated that the system isn’t transparent and that it is getting worse.
Australia is the capital of mammal extermination in the world. There are 34 species that have been lost to extinction since European colonization. Numerous studies, including an audit by Graeme Samuel (ex-competition watchdog chief), have shown that Australia’s natural environment is in decline, and that the EPBC Act is failing.
The auditor general’s report last week found that the federal government could not prove it was protecting Australias endangered species because it was not monitoring many species, habitats, and threats. 38 scientists working in Australia and Antarctica discovered last year that 19 ecosystems were at risk of collapse due to human impacts. They called for urgent action to prevent this from happening.
