SYDNEY, Feb 4 (NNN-AAP) – Saving Australia’s priority species from extinction would cost almost 10 billion U.S. dollars annually, for 30 years, a new report found.
The report, published today, found that preventing extinction for 99 priority species would cost an estimated 15.6 billion Australian dollars (9.6 billion U.S. dollars) per year.
The federal government in 2022, committed to reversing the decline of 110 priority species. The species were selected based on six criteria, including their risk of extinction, cultural importance, uniqueness and feasibility of conservation.
The list included iconic species such as koalas, wallabies, wombats and echidnas.
The new report from Griffith University, the University of Queensland and the Australian branch of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), focused on the cost of preventing extinction for 99 of the 110 species.
Michelle Ward, lead author of the study from Griffith University, said that, the 15.6 billion AUD figure would prevent the imminent extinction of many of the species, but that some, including many species of frogs, were found to be non-recoverable, largely due to the impacts of climate change.
She said, reversing the decline of the species and undoing damage done by habitat loss, disease and other threats would cost 103.7 billion AUD (64.4 billion USD) annually, and getting them off the threatened species list entirely, would cost 157.7 billion AUD (98 billion USD) every year.
Co-author and Head of Evaluation and Science at WWF-Australia, Romola Stewart, said that, Australia’s growing threatened species list is a result of under-spending on conservation, over a period of decades.
“Turning this tragedy around will take a dramatic increase in action and investment,” she said. “This is achievable for a wealthy nation like Australia.”
According to the Threatened Species Recovery Hub, 100 species endemic to Australia have been declared extinct, since European colonisation in 1788. The list of extinctions includes 38 plants, 34 mammals, 10 invertebrates, nine birds, four frogs, three reptiles, one fish and an algae.– NNN-AAP
