The forests of the Amazon basin are often referred to as the lungs of the Earth, nurturing life through rich, tropical biodiversity. Although often overlooked, it’s equally fitting to consider the jungles of the Asia-Pacific as the Earth’s heart. After all, they contain 20% of the world’s plant and animal species, and by some measurements make up six of the world’s 25 biodiversity hotspots. Australia adds to the variety, with its wealth of native vegetation. Each one of these areas is unique and plays an integral part in the world’s interrelated ecological systems.
The positive news is that the
international community recognises them as such. Last month marks the one-year
anniversary of the Asia-Pacific Rainforest Summit in Brunei-Darussalam, an
initiative set up in 2014 to discuss the alarming rate of deforestation in the
region.
In the last five years, Indonesia
has overtaken Brazil to become the greatest forest-clearing nation in
the world. South-east Asia more broadly has lost almost 15% of its forests over
the last 15 years. Representing the Turnbull government at the summit,
then-newly promoted Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg himself recognised the
significance of these figures and declared that Australia was “committed” to
rainforest protection throughout the Asia-Pacific.
A year on, Australia has appeared to
take steps to support its Asian neighbours, such as contributing funding to
assist in ending illegal logging. However, it is interesting to note that while
the government seems to portray itself as one of the chief proponents in
curbing international deforestation, land clearing remains hugely significant
in Australia. In actual fact, the east coast of the continent is
considered one
of the worst deforestation areas in the world today.
http://www.wwf.org.au/news/news/2017/tree-clearing-causing-queenslands-greatest-animal-welfare-crisis#gs.lfpuVWc
Take a bow, the Turnbull Coalition Government, NSW Berejiklian Coalition Government, Victorian Andrews Coalition Government, Queensland Palaszczuk Labor Government and Tasmanian Hodgman Coalition Government – you are making Australia famous for all the wrong reasons.
Take a bow, the Turnbull Coalition Government, NSW Berejiklian Coalition Government, Victorian Andrews Coalition Government, Queensland Palaszczuk Labor Government and Tasmanian Hodgman Coalition Government – you are making Australia famous for all the wrong reasons.
The Guardian, 7 September 2017:
Australia is rapidly losing its world-famous biodiversity. More than 90 species have gone extinct since European colonisation (including three in just the past decade) and more than 1,700 species are now formally recognised as being in danger of extinction.
Despite the pride many Australians feel in our unique natural heritage (and the billions of dollars made from nature-based tourism), the amount of federal funding for biodiversity conservation has dropped by 37% since 2013.
If a local industry or public institution experienced such a drastic funding cut, the people affected would petition their local representatives and the issue would be raised in parliament as a matter of local or national importance.
Threatened species cannot of course lobby government. But all threatened species on the land have at least one elected official who should take responsibility for them.
Threatened species as local constituents
A member of parliament’s primary job, besides being a party member and parliamentarian, is to speak up for local interests. Data from the Species of National Environmental Significance shows that every federal electorate contains at least one threatened species, so every single federally elected politician has a role to play in abating species extinction.
We’ve used that data to create a map that shows the number of threatened species in each federal electorate, along with details of the local MP and their party. It’s obvious from a glance that a handful of electorates contain most of Australia’s threatened species.
If you live in these electorates it's time to shame and name your MP at every opportunity.
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